Former school board president will fill vacant Pueblo City Council seat

A new member was selected to join Pueblo City Council Monday evening.

Dennis Flores will fill the seat vacated by Chris Kaufman.

Flores is a former board president for Pueblo City Schools. He served eight years on the school board and currently serves on the Colorado State University Board of Governors.

He said his number one priority is balancing the budget. Flores told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that public safety and health should be of most concern, followed by the condition of city streets.

“Obviously, our citizens believe that our roads really need better maintenance so i’ll be looking at that area. That’s probably the number one concern outside of the safety issue,” Flores said.

Flores retired one year ago from Steel City Agencies, where he worked as a property and casualty insurance agent.

Flores said he plans to run for office next year, since his term expires at the end of 2015. He replaces Kaufman, who resigned in August after accusations surfaced that he, along with councilwomen Ami Nawrocki and Sandy Daff, violated the Colorado Sunshine Law by discussing public city business over emails.

Flores was one of five candidates being considered to fill the vacant seat.

He received five votes from Pueblo City Council. Nawrocki voted for Ginger Maggrett, former dean of students at IntelliTec Colleges.

Flores’ first meeting as a council member will be on Tuesday, Oct. 14.