Fountain mayoral candidate with felony conviction says he wants to serve community
FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) - You can find it in Fountain all night and day. Sometimes it's on the main road off the highway into Fountain; other times, it's parked out in front of City Hall.
A big truck with a sign urging voters to put Al Lender in the Mayor's Office. It's Fountain's most prominent political advertisement.
But who is Al Lender?
KRDO13 Investigates found that Lender is no stranger to Fountain City Hall and was previously convicted of defrauding the federal government.
In 2005, the voters elected to recall Lender from his position as city councilor. Lender came in third during the recall. Darell Craighead won the election with 250 more votes than the next closest candidate.
According to a Colorado Springs Gazette article, part of the reason why Lender was recalled was that Lender admitted that "he spent several years in prison in the 1980s for selling cocaine."
Now he's on the ballot in 2025, but facing new questions about new criminal convictions.
In 2015, the United States Department of Justice announced in a press release that Lender had been sentenced to three months in federal prison for two counts of making false statements to the government.
The DOJ says Lender pleaded guilty after it was discovered that he received more than $130,000 in disability benefits from the VA and Social Security after he said that he was 100% disabled while Lender negotiated and fulfilled landscaping contracts for Zac Towne Paint & Quarter Horses, which his wife was the sole proprietor.
KRDO13 Investigates asked Lender what he had to say about this 2015 conviction over the phone today.
"No, I have nothing. Why? What do you want to know about it, Michael? I did something wrong and I paid the price," Lender said over the phone.
During this phone call, Lender said he was in the middle of dealing with a health issue, and he had to get off the phone, but he later added over text, "I’m a free man that just wants to help my community that I love."
The 2015 felony criminal conviction won't stop Lender from running for, or holding office. KRDO13 Investigates reached out to both the Secretary of State's Office and the City of Fountain, who both said there were no rules to prevent convicted felons from running once they've completed their sentence.
Now this November, voters in Fountain will have a choice: Will Al Lender complete his 20-year-long political comeback, or will incumbent Sharon Thompson be awarded another four years in office?
Election day in Fountain is November 4.
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