Gov. Polis delivers regional version of State of the State address Thursday in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Weidner Field, the city's new soccer stadium, hosted a visit from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for a speech Thursday afternoon.
Polis delivered a localized version of his annual State of the State address on the field at 3 p.m.; the Chamber of Commerce sponsored the event, and an audience of around 400 attended.
The governor arrived after attending the Denver Nuggets' championship parade, wearing Nuggets attire and receiving applause and cheers with praise for the Nuggets and the Colorado Springs Switchbacks soccer team.
Much of the emphasis in his speech was on the lack of affordable and available housing, which he describes as the state's biggest issue; a large apartment construction rises above the south end of the stadium.
"They've frequently squeezed out the most affordable kind of inventory -- entry-level homes, duplexes, quadplexes for rental, accessory dwelling units," he explained. "These are the kind of homes that can be more affordable and are often harder to build. And yes, Colorado Springs has done better than many cities."
Polis said that he and the Legislature teamed up to make progress, but more is needed and is on the way.
"With an unprecedented coalition around housing," he stated. "There are very few things that bring the Chamber and the business community together with environmental groups, workers groups and unions, to create more housing people can afford, closer to where the jobs are."
The governor also touched on improvements in health care, the economy, and the start of universal free preschool -- a program that he envisioned while running for his first term -- adding that Colorado, and Colorado Springs in particular, have bright futures.
"I think we're closing in on our goal to make Colorado one of the ten safest states in the nation," he said.
The audience generally supported Polis' comments, with at least one exception.
"What I would like to hear more about, is maybe Colorado Infrastructure, a little bit more of the homeless pandemic that we have going on," said Mark Gonzales. "But overall, it looks like our economy is strong here in Colorado Springs."
The governor also received cheers when he said that he's hopeful of U.S. Space Command remaining in town permanently, and not moving to Huntsville, Alabama.
After the speech, Polis planned to visit the Colorado Springs Police Department's training academy, which received state funding for officer recruitment, retention and training.
