Jerry Heimlicher, who is resigning from the Colorado Springs City Council to move back to his home state of Tennessee, received heaps of praise from his colleagues Tuesday — Heimlicher’s last meeting as a councilman.

Here’s what they had to say:

Mayor Lionel Rivera

“You were the ultimate district council member…What I’m going to remember the most, though, is the support you gave me personally when all this controversy broke about conflict of interest that was fabricated by a couple of folks in the community. You stepped out, took a risk and said, ‘You know what? Lionel hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m behind him 100 percent.’ And you did that before everything was clear. I appreciate that more than anything else. That meant a whole bunch to me and (my wife) Lynn.” 

Vice Mayor Larry Small

“Jerry and I became more than colleagues up here. We became very, very good close friends. We worked on a number of things together…I got involved in a whole lot of things through him because he really paid very, very, very close attention to the needs of District 3…He knew their needs. He knew their desires…Anything Jerry became passionate about, he worked on and he saw it through.”

Councilwoman Jan Martin

“You’ve been a real mentor to me, and you’ve become a good friend, so you’re going to be sorely missed, Mr. Heimlicher. The one thing I didn’t quite get from you was always speaking my mind. I don’t know anybody who’s better at always saying whatever comes into their mind … I really respect that about you.”

Councilman Randy Purvis

“I thank you for your service, and it was a pleasure serving with you.”

Councilman Bernie Herpin

“I’m going to miss my bookend. When I got appointed to City Council, Jerry didn’t know much about me but we became fast friends…I’ve enjoyed your leadership. I’ve enjoyed the way that you have cared for your district. I’ve enjoyed the way that you have looked out for those less fortunate in our community, starting the parking meter program to help those less fortunate in the community.”

Councilman Tom Gallagher

“Jerry, I think you’re a great guy, but I’m going to miss Mary Margaret the most. We’ve agreed on some things. We’ve disagreed on things. The important thing is we always treated each other with respect. I don’t envy your replacement because the size of those shoes are immense, physically and figuratively. I’m going to miss you.”

Councilman Scott Hente

“We have varying degrees of friendship up here, but I will tell you and if (my wife) was sitting here she’d say the same thing, it’s been our distinct honor to become friends with the Heimlichers.”

Only Councilman Darryl Glenn was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, so who knows what he would have said, but it may not have been so complimentary.

Glenn has been publicly criticized by Heimlicher, who has called him “ambitious to a fault” and accused him of casting certain votes to further his political career. Glenn is running for county commissioner.

When contacted by The Gazette recently about Heimlicher’s departure, Glenn declined to comment.

But I guess if you don’t have anything nice to say, you don’t say anything at all.

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