Competitive ballot in November for Pueblo

Thousands of signatures have been collected by different groups in Pueblo, all to change the laws on everything from marijuana to law enforcement.

To gather up enough signatures, “It takes a lot of planning, a lot of organization, you’ve got to have a lot of heart to do it,” said Charlene Graham, from Citizens For A Healthy Pueblo.

This year on the November ballot, just from the city alone, there are four council initiatives and two citizen initiatives. City officials say this is the largest number of ballot choices they have seen in years.

“I’ve been clerk for 22 years and I’ve never seen, in the city limits of Pueblo, I have never seen competitive ballot questions,” said City Clerk Gina Dutcher.

One of those competing questions is between the city and the anti-marijuana group, Citizens For A Healthy Pueblo. Citizens For A Healthy Pueblo is proposing the legality of retail marijuana in the city and the city is asking if there should be retail stores.

“With two of them on there it’s going to be confusing to the voters as to which one says what. And I think voters tend to get confused and just vote one way on all of them,” Graham said.

While the city council ultimately decides what goes on the ballot, council president Steve Nawrocki says it’s not that simple.

“We all have been told by our city attorney, a citizens initiative, we really need to, as long as it meets all of the criteria, we need to just let that go onto the ballot,” Nawrocki said.

For voters, deciding what to approve will take some careful consideration.

“People are knowledgeable enough, they’re going to figure out what they want,” Nawrocki said.

The only fear from some: confusion could lead to a “no” vote.