City council candidates discuss collective bargaining for CSFD proposal and Drake Power Plant

All eleven candidates running for Colorado Springs City Council gathered to discuss some hot button issues and tell voters what they would do if elected to better the community.

The public forum was Saturday night at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion. The candidates were asked about homelessness, affordable housing, and population growth.

They were also asked about a ballot measure, Issue One. The collective bargaining for fire department initiative which mayor John Suthers, who is also running for re-election, came out against. While every candidate said they support our firefighters, seven of them say they are against the measure. Regina English says, “It needs to be fair across the board it should not be favored just toward one class of workers.” Gordon Klingenschmitt added, “They are already earning three and a half maybe four and a half as times as much as the taxpayer earns themselves. We need to rethink our budget and lower everyone’s taxes.”

As for the four candidates who support it, Bill Murray the incumbent said, “Please ladies and gentlemen, give the firefighters a break. Nobody has ever used collective bargaining before. Give them the opportunity to demonstrate it.” Terry Martinez agreed by saying, “We need to be able to give them the voice at the table. It’s not necessarily just about wages or any of that.”

The candidates were also asked about the future closing of the Martin Drake Power Station. Dennis Spiker, the youngest of the candidates said it should have been closed a long time ago. “Before we put in the scrubbers and filtration system in and the 200 million dollars of waste that we put in,” Spiker said, “we didn’t need to keep Drake power plant going to keep power on the grid.” Tony Gioia believes it can be shut down sooner than 2035, “I do believe we can close it earlier potentially in the mid to late twenties.”

Others say it will take time because they want to make sure rates will not go up once it shuts down. Former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said, “I think we need to replace it, but we have to do it in a logical way.” Athena Roe agreed adding, “And guarantee that rates will not go skyrocketing over the next ten years and the elderly can pay for their utilities and anyone else who is on a fixed income.”

As for recreational marijuana, only two out of the eleven candidates, Dennis Spiker and Randy Tuck said they were for recreational shops opening in the Springs. But everyone said it should be up to the voters to decide