Race for mayor to begin in Colorado Springs

Nearly a week after the midterm elections wrapped up, the candidates of a different election in Colorado Springs are gearing up to begin campaigning.

The 2015 Colorado Springs municipal election will take place next April. Among the offices voters will choose is the seat for mayor.

El Paso County Commissioner Amy Lathen plans to launch her campaign next Monday. She was the first to announce her plans to run in September. A day later, Attorney General John Suthers confirmed he’s also running.

According to the Makepeace for Mayor website, Mary Lou Makepeace, who served as mayor from 1997 to 2003 is contemplating another run for mayor in the 2015 election. The Makepeace for Mayor Facebook page said there will be an announcement Wednesday.

The big question remains whether current Mayor Steve Bach will run for reelection. A city spokesperson said he hasn’t decided.

This will be the first election in which voters will elect a new mayor, after seeing the new strong-mayor form of government in place. KRDO political analyst Josh Dunn said voters will seek a better relationship between the mayor and city council.

“That doesn’t mean that city council and the mayor have to always get along,” he said. “But there’s no doubt that people in Colorado Springs think that some of the animosity and some of the fighting has been counterproductive, and they would like to see a relationship between those two institutions that’s a little bit better, a little bit more cordial and one where at least the people think that they’re willing to set aside their personal disagreements to advance the best interests of the city.”

Dunn said the final ballot will probably have four to five plausible candidates.