Mayor responds to criticism over city vehicle use policy

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - On Thursday, KRDO13 Investigates sat down directly with the Mayor of Colorado Springs, Yemi Mobolade, to ask about a city audit and some of the fallout regarding new policies his office put in place.

For some background, KRDO13 Investigates has been following the details on an audit that investigated a tip regarding the Mayor of Colorado Springs' city-owned vehicle use and security detail.

The audit committee found that the mayor's security detail accompanied him for five incidental errands either on the way to or from a city work event. The audit committee also found the mayor's wife used his city-owned vehicle and properly reported it to the city.

A Mayor's Office spokesperson confirmed to KRDO13 Investigates that for a limited time during the summer of 2025, while the Mayor's personal vehicle was in the shop, his wife, Abbey, used the City vehicle issued to the Mayor. They added that this use was temporary and properly reported.

As a result of the audit committee's findings, they recommended that a policy be put in place. The mayor's office, in turn, created a policy.

However, after putting these rules in place, it stirred mixed reactions from council members and strong opposition from two former mayors.

PAST COVERAGE: New policy allows Colorado Springs mayor to use city vehicle for personal trips, Councilmember to introduce stricter policy

Former Mayor of Colorado Springs John Suthers sent KRDO13 a statement in regard to the new policy.

“The mayor’s new policy is ethically problematic. The city policy in personal use of city vehicles should be prohibited and not condoned,” wrote John Suthers.

KRDO13 followed up to ask whether Suthers ever used a city vehicle for personal use and why no policy was created while he was in office. His office called KRDO13 and said Suthers declined to comment further.

Steve Bach, former Mayor of Colorado Springs, ahead of Suthers, also shared his thoughts on the new policy with KRDO13.

Bach told KRDO13 that anyone other than the mayor driving their city-designated vehicle should not be allowed. He pointed to concerns over liability and who is insured if there were to be an accident. Bach contends that he has been in that seat, and it is very hard. He says he's glad there's a policy in place, but he believes there should be more common sense used in the process.

Bach stated that this new policy is an embarrassment to the city and a black eye for Mayor Mobolade. He said when he became the mayor, he was offered a city-owned vehicle, but declined. Bach said he would drive his personal vehicle and was reimbursed for his mileage on city business.

Bach explained that he would also have a security detail for city events. Mayor Yemi Mobolade says he has less security than the former mayors.

Some members of the city council introduced a more stringent policy for elected officials' security detail and city vehicle use. Not all members of the council are on board with it. The next hearing for that ordinance will be held at the end of May.

The mayor says the city auditor's findings prompted his office to examine vehicle use policies from other municipalities. The office researched best practices across the state and from other cities to inform the new administrative framework, according to the mayor.

The Mayor's office benchmarked its new vehicle use policy and security detail against several other local governments, including Denver, Nashville and Albuquerque, as well as the state of Colorado, according to the mayor.

This research focused on cities with a "strong mayor" form of government, acknowledging the different dynamics compared to council-city manager structures.

The mayor stated that his job is a 24/7 job and that his availability is crucial. He highlighted the complexities of leading Colorado Springs, which is the 39th largest city in the country, while also raising young children.

He noted that his city vehicle has become his primary mode of transport because he and his family decided to donate his personal vehicle.

Addressing public criticism from former mayors regarding the new policy, the mayor indicated that if they had read the policy, they would see it is "a lot more strict than the policy that was in place when they were mayors."

He characterized the criticism as "politics," observing that "the political temperature has risen" since he announced his campaign.

"I don't want to play politics. I wake up every morning to keep our community safe. I wake up every morning to take care of our city, fix our infrastructure, and our residents expect that out of me. My predecessors, they served their time, so they get to speak. But I have a job to do, and I'm focused on my job," said Mayor Mobolade.

KRDO13 Investigates asked the mayor about concerns from some residents about using a city-owned vehicle for personal trips, such as to Crested Butte, which some perceived as a misuse of taxpayer resources.

"I would say that's the exception, and it's not the norm. If you look at my calendar, 99% of what I did is for the city. Now, I was assigned this vehicle when I first became mayor. It has become my primary vehicle. So I don't have another vehicle, in part because my family and I made the choice to donate my vehicle to a single mom with three kids, and that is still the right thing to do," said Mayor Mobolade.

The policy now includes more boundaries and guidelines for personal use, requiring the mayor to reimburse the city for such instances or report them as an IRS fringe benefit.

Regarding a separate policy introduced by the City Council, the mayor expressed openness to transparent policies but not "politics."

"I am open to policies that are transparent, that ensure that we are being good stewards of our taxpayer money. You have me any day, but I will not stand for politics because that is a destruction of even our own local democracy. And our residents are tired of it. And I'm tired of it too," said Mayor Mobolade.

He accused council leadership of attempting to undermine his leadership to support what he believes to be their preferred candidate, Dan Nordberg.

"Every action that comes out of council leadership is to undermine my leadership so that their preferred candidate can get back into office," stated the Mayor.

He says the ongoing debate is a waste of time.

"I argue that all the time we're spending all of this for something that is less than 1% of my schedule is waste, fraud and abuse. This is not what people elected us to do. So we're wasting a lot of time. There are a lot of fraudulent actions, and it's an abuse. Truly, of taxpayer resources. And we have to be better," said Mayor Mobolade.

The Mayor said he is committed to his elected duties, focusing on community safety and infrastructure improvements. He reiterated that he is open to collaborative efforts for transparent policies but will not engage in what he considers political maneuvering.

You can read the mayor's new policy below.

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