Issue 1, collective bargaining for Colorado Springs Firefighters defeated by voters

Despite firefighters best efforts, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and knocking on more than 50,000 doors to try and get voters on their side, Issue 1 was soundly defeated Tuesday night.

Firefighters and their loved ones waited anxiously for the initial results to come in. Checking their phones and watching the t.v.’s but when the initial results were released, the watch party didn’t erupt in boos or groans from their defeat. Just murmurs of disappointment.

“We had no indication that this was going to be the spread that it was,” said firefighter John Roy and spokesperson for those in support of the initiative.

Initial polls had Issue 1 passing. Supporters did not expect to lose by this much. Even though all the ballots had not been counted yet, supporters could see how things were going to turn out.

“This sort of result is discouraging because realistically what it demonstrates is people are thinking more about the short term than the long term,” Roy says. The firefighter already analyzing the loss and wondering how much of the loss was caused by misinformation.

” I think a lot of people were captivated by this misinformation,” Roy says, “when in reality we were going for an agreement that was demonstrated to be successful in 15 other fire departments in the state of Colorado.”

It also might have to deal with the amount of money thrown into the race. We estimate both sides spent more than half a million dollars.

Mayor John Suthers, who was just re-elected in the same election, is a huge opponent of the issue. Hitting hard on the fact that firefighters already make $80,000 a year through ads. Even he was surprised by the margin of victory, he’s happy with the result.

“We were able to convince them that this was not something in the interest of the people of Colorado Springs,” Suthers said, “and I am really hardened by that result.”

Firefighters we spoke to say they are not going to hold grudges against the community for voting the way they did. But the association is worrying now about how many workers they could potentially lose because of the decision.

Roy says, “I think our biggest concern would be – we have high-quality firefighters who might end up leaving for other departments.”

Many hoping that would not be the case.

For full results of the election click here.