Pueblo mayor talks roads, homelessness and anti-mayor petition at public forum
Anna Lynn Winfrey
The Pueblo Chieftain
Published 5:55 a.m. MT Feb. 4, 2023
Mayor Nick Gradisar discussed a circulating petition to get rid of the mayor's office, Pueblo's road conditions, homelessness and more at the first community connections open forum of 2023 at the Vail Hotel on Friday morning.
The last community forum was held in August 2022. A few of the fall events were postponed because of the Chile & Frijoles Festival, Colorado State Fair and Gradisar’s run-ins with COVID-19, Pueblo Director of Public Affairs Haley Sue Robinson said.
Getting a jump on the lies by claiming events in 2022, after all “COVID” restrictions were lifted, caused a events to be postponed.
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Colorado State Fair |
Chile & Frijoles Festival |
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August 28-September 7 2020 |
Sept. 26-27 2020 |
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August 27 through September 6, 2021 |
Sept 24 and 25, 2021 |
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August 26 through September 5 2022 |
September 23-25th, 2022 |
Remind me which events were postponed? Oh, a few of the mayor's planned events had to be “postponed” because who ever scheduled them couldn't figure out when annual events were and scheduled events for the mayor.
Robinson added that the mayor is planning on hosting these events the first Friday of every month at different locations in the city. The location for the March event has not yet been confirmed.
So nice of the mayor to plan to host these events on Friday when most of the citizens who vote are still at work and can't participate!
Gradisar urged the crowd of a few dozen Puebloans to avoid signing the anti-mayor petition and voting it down if it qualifies for a ballot.
“I tell people who don't like the job I've done as mayor to vote for somebody else — but don't throw out the system and go back to the (city manager) system that stagnated this community for 60 years when we have that form of government,” Gradisar said.
Of course Gradisar urges people to avoid signing the anti-mayor petition – it would cost the citizens of Pueblo FAR less in taxes if his office was eliminated! The mayor system has been far more “broken” and less cost effective than the city council (city manager) system ever was. The main problem with the city council(city manager) system is the lack of new ideas and the “good-old-boys” that kept getting re-elected year after year regardless of how little they did for their districts!
Having a mayor with absolute veto power, regardless of what the city council or the people want, is ludicrous! Mayor Gradisar has shown on numerous occasions proven he does not care what the people want it is about what HE wants and he wants everything HIS way!
Gradisar took a dig at city councilor Lori Winner, without directly naming her, saying she has “sour grapes” after finishing third in the 2018 mayoral election. Winner has been involved in collecting signatures to pose the question to voters that would revert the city to a city manager-led government.
Pueblo voters approved transitioning to a mayoral government in 2017. The upcoming mayoral election, scheduled for November of this year, will be the city's second since the transition.
The group of people gathering signatures to get the question on the ballot will need to collect 3,768 valid signatures by March 1. If enough signatures are gathered and city council approves, a special election would need to be held sometime in the early summer.
Many voters rejected the idea of having a mayor with absolute power over all decisions made by the city council – but it is a prime example of the will of the many violating the rights of the few! It is not surprising the mayor stooped to taking some jabs at Lori Winner. It is surprising though that the city transitioned to a mayoral government in 2017 but didn't elect a mayor until 2019! I urge everyone to sign the anti-mayor petition to remove the mayor from power and never let anyone have that much power over the citizens of Pueblo ever again!
Organizers hoped to collect enough signatures by Jan. 23 so the question could be included in an election already planned for May 2 in Pueblo West, but they collected approximately one-third of the required signatures by that point. The cost of administering the election could have been cheaper if it was simultaneous with the Pueblo West election.
This paragraph leaves me wondering what exactly the author is talking about. What “election” in Pueblo West, which is not included in the incorporated area of Pueblo. Pueblo West is an unincorporated settlement in the county of Pueblo. Residents of Pueblo West have NO vote in Pueblo elections, especially a mayoral election, which isn't until November 7, 2023!
Multiple attendees asked Gradisar about the condition of roads; Barbara Zorc expressed frustration about the condition of Prairie Avenue.
“It’s like driving on a railroad track. I have had better roads in Rye — it’s just annoying,” she said, adding that the road is a major thoroughfare that many Puebloans take to get to King Soopers.
Gradisar said that Prairie Avenue is on the list of roads scheduled for repair in 2023. Prairie Avenue is a difficult road to address partly because the conditions have gotten so bad and the city’s access to the right-of-way is limited because of complications from when it was annexed.
The city also will have to remove some power poles on the sidewalk that block accessibility for people getting around on wheelchairs and bicycles, Gradisar said.
“It can't be done overnight,” Gradisar said. “A lot of Prairie Avenue will have to be rebuilt rather than overlaid, simply because it's been so long. But it's on the list, it's gonna get done.”
He added that the city recently hired a private company to assess the quality of its roads.
In response to some questions about agencies outside the city government, Gradisar said there was not much he could do and referred people to specific agencies that could help them address their concerns
Sounds like more deflecting blame, passing the buck, and finger pointing. Gradisar has been mayor since 2019 and has done nothing to make improvements until this year – an election year – imagine that!
Maybe instead of putting $1.3 million into a walking bridge across the Arkansas, within yards of a bridge with a protected sidewalk (4th Street bridge), some of the worst roads in Pueblo should have been fixed!
Now, January 2023, another walking bridge is being built near Main Street. Yes, I understand neither 4th Street bridge nor Main Street provide access to the north side of the Arkansas trail but adding a ramp or stairs should have been far more cost effective. But what does mayor Gradisar care it isn't his money!
If the project goes over budget I am sure he will put pressure on Code Enforcement to violate more home owners rights and collect exorbitant fines and fess for exercising their 4th Amendment rights!
Or maybe charge higher fees for getting a business license. Or maybe over collect on taxes of goods and services, like THC products, and then create a ballot item which asks the citizens if the city can keep the stolen money!
Then instead of returning the money to the THC retailers the city refunded less than $2.00 to everyone in the city – which was the least cost effective thing to do! Some people don't shop at “pot shops” and got a tax 'refund' for taxes they never paid! Not only did that situation alert the residents of Pueblo that the mayors office is corrupt it should have alerted the residents to the 'legalized theft' the mayors office is involved in.
One attendee asked about removing people from the YWCA board and re-opening the swimming pool that shuttered in 2018.
The pool was unprofitable to the YWCA and needed substantial repairs, the Chieftain reported in 2018.
“If you're talking to these people who want to change the form of government, they think the mayor is all-powerful and I can just wave a wand … but I can't. That's a separate entity,” Gradisar said.
As stated before when the issue was put to a vote of the people it was understood that the mayor would have complete veto power over the city council. That puts the mayor in an “all-powerful” position over all matters regarding how the city is run, what projects are approved, and even the collection of excessive taxes – with no charges being filed for abuse of power, illegal tax collection, or fraud for the theft.
Some attendees also asked the mayor about housing and people experiencing homelessness.
A resident of the Grove neighborhood said that since many people experiencing homelessness were kicked out from behind the King Soopers near the Fountain Creek area, many have started staying near a path that goes to the Arkansas River area. She asked if the mayor could add additional lighting or increase the security presence in that area.
Gradisar said that the city does not have any specific plans to address that, but indicated the city could do something about it. He added that the Pueblo Police Department is not fully staffed, but there are bicycles available for officers and that they could include a daily cycling patrol of the area.
I am sure there are numerous police officer ready willing and able to cycle through that area daily. Here again the mayor refuses to acknowledge his role in the reason the police department is not fully staffed.
Should we mention that the mayor and the chief of police, who he appointed, are long time friends? Should we mention that is a conflict of interest to appoint a friend to such a position, especially when they are not qualified to hold such an office in the city government? Does it matter that the city attorney has close personal relationships with the mayor, chief of police and several officers on the police force?
Robinson relayed a question from a viewer watching the forum on Instagram about whether the city was preparing for an “influx” of new people experiencing homelessness from Colorado Springs if they started hearing about the shelters available in Pueblo.
Gradisar said that there are shelters available in Colorado Springs and noted that there was not a permanent homeless shelter when he assumed the office of the mayor four years ago.
Pueblo Rescue Mission has been in operation since 2016. The Pueblo Rescue Mission provides shelter, food, clothing, and spiritual guidance to the homeless and less fortunate people of the community. So more lies to bolster his image in the minds of people who don't have a clue he has no idea what he is talking about! Denver and Colorado Springs have been sending homeless people to Pueblo for years. Every time a bus load of people arrive in Pueblo the services here are over whelmed with people. Just recently the mayor proclaimed Pueblo does not have a homeless problem and he did not see any homeless camps along fountain creek.
He said that the leaders of the Pueblo Rescue Mission and Crazy Faith Ministries, a downtown church that the city has designated as an emergency shelter for cold nights during this winter season, have told him that most of the people who come through the doors are experiencing mental health problems.
The city didn't designate Pueblo Rescue Mission as an emergency shelter for cold nights this winter or any other time! I guess Faith Mission Homeless Services, in operation since 1966, doesn't count, because the mayor didn't know about it? I find it very ironic that a mayor who only weeks ago proclaimed Pueblo doesn't have a homeless problem is answering questions about homeless people in Pueblo!
Some people who live in the Vail Hotel building also told the mayor that they haven’t had adequate heat in their apartments for five months. Representatives from the housing authority advised those residents to see them after the meeting to address the issue.
Gradisar was elected Pueblo’s first mayor in recent memory in a runoff election in early 2019. He is running to serve a second term. The mayoral election is scheduled for Nov. 7.
I hope many Puebloans find and read this article. I find it sad and disturbing that people actually support this criminal as the mayor of Pueblo. I guess that is how the world is evolving people are willing to over look the atrocities of their preferred politician rather and face the harsh reality that they have been duped!
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey.
I left the original authors contact information on this article. The final paragraph of the original article should tell you all you need to know about the authors intelligence! Gradisar was elected in January 2019, the first mayor in Pueblo since 1911, it wasn't a “runoff election”!
The residents of Pueblo, if they have been paying attention, know it is time to remove this position from the city payroll. The salary range for a Mayor job is from $47,731 to $68,834 per year in Colorado. However, mayor Gradisar takes home over $200,000 a year – more than elected state officials!
