Darryl Glenn

Alissa Vander Veen, special projects manager for the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder, said today via e-mail when asked whether newly elected county Commissioner Darryl Glenn had recommended her for the job with the county.

Vander Veen, who was hired by county Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams in January, had a consulting firm that specialized in campaign finance.

Glenn was one of her clients.

Angela Dougan

A developer is the source of City Council candidate Angela Dougan‘s first campaign contribution.

Gary Erickson, a longtime residential and commercial developer, contributed $2,000 to Dougan’s campaign Nov. 16, according to Dougan’s latest report of campaign contributions and expenditures.

Erickson was at the center of a controversial proposal to declare about 200 acres of undeveloped land on the north side of the city as — I’m not kidding here — an urban renewal site.

The council signed off on the urban renewal designation in May.

“The city next will negotiate an economic development agreement with Erickson that council members said will contain two key conditions,” business reporter Rich Laden reported back then.

“Copper Ridge must attract its first anchor store by 2015 and its second by 2018, while the city will conduct a financial review before the Powers’ bonds are issued. If those conditions aren’t met, Copper Ridge will lose its urban renewal status,” according to the story.

Dougan is running for District 2, which — no surprise here – is the northeast quadrant of the city.

She has received only one other donation since filing papers to run for the District 2 seat, which is being vacated by newly elected county Commissioner Darryl Glenn.

Joseph Woodford, who is retired, gave Dougan $1,000 on Nov. 19.

Today is the deadline for mayoral and council candidates to file campaign reports, so expect a story later on gazette.com and in tomorrow’s Gazette.

The group that championed the successful November ballot initiative to switch to a strong-mayor form of government is also required to submit a campaign report today. The group raised close to, if not more than, $1 million, but it still hasn’t filed its report with the City Clerk’s Office.

Dougan, a 46-year-old mother and wife, has spent $744 so far, including $500 to Colorado Springs-based Bo Consulting for campaign consulting and $100 to Super Fine Designs on South 8^th Street for a logo design, according to Dougan’s campaign report.

The only other City Council candidate, Brandy Williams, hasn’t received any campaign contributions – or spent any money – since she filed her declaration of candidacy Nov. 4, according to her latest report.

Williams, a civil engineer, is running for an at-large council seat.

City Councilman Darryl Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves, will be pulling double duty as a politician from now on.

Glenn, who was elected to the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners last week, plans to stay on the City Council until Feb. 4.

That means Glenn, who will be sworn in as county commissioner Jan. 11, will serve both as a city councilman and a county commissioner for about four weeks.

“Essentially from this point forward, I will be wearing two hats,” he said in a telephone interview this morning.

Glenn plans to make a formal announcement at today’s council meeting, which starts at 1 p.m.

Here’s a copy of his resignation letter:

November 8, 2010

Mayor Lionel Rivera, Member of City Council and Colorado Springs City Council District #2 Residents

 RE: Letter of Resignation

Dear Mayor, City Councilmembers and City Council District #2 Residents

It’s been a privilege to serve as your colleague and City Council representative.  I’m very appreciative of the support that I’ve received over the years.  I’d also like to thank the residents of Northern El Paso County for providing me with the opportunity to serve as your next County Commissioner.

After a review of the City Charter, consultation with the City and County attorneys, input from Councilmembers, Commissioners, and some district residents, I have concluded that it’s in the best interest of the District to submit a notice of my intent to resign as the City Council representative for District #2 with an effective date of Friday, February 4, 2011 at 8AM.

This decision was based on a review of the following four potential scenarios:

Appointment of a new District representative by the current City Council:  City Charter Article II Section 2-30 Subsection (a) states in part: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Councilmember more than sixty (60) days prior to the next general municipal election, the Council shall appoint an eligible person to fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days of the date of the vacancy and that person will serve until the next general municipal election.  This scenario would be applicable if a) the effective date of my resignation occurred prior to February 4, 2011 or b) the effective date of my resignation occurred after the February 8, 2011 certification date for all candidates seeking election during the April 2011 municipal election and this date was prior to the April 19, 2011 swearing-in of the new Council.

In my opinion, there are too many potential negative impacts to the District under this scenario.  Over the next few months, City Council must remain focused on making several policy decisions that will have a significant impact on the health, safety and welfare of our community.  These decisions will most likely require a 9-member experienced Council.  Starting this month, we will be making critical decisions regarding the approval of the 2011 budgets for the general city and enterprises, the evaluation of a potential legacy decision regarding our hospital, adopting critical land-use and licensing regulations, evaluating potential ballot questions for the April 2011 election, and strategic planning for the conversion to a Strong Mayor form of government.  Furthermore, with the close proximity of the next municipal election, I strongly feel that the District is in a better position than the current Council to select an individual to represent the best interest of the District going forward.

Appointment of a new District representative by the new Council: Again, City Charter Article II Section 2-30 Subsection (a) states in part: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Councilmember more than sixty (60) days prior to the next general municipal election, the Council shall appoint an eligible person to fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days of the date of the vacancy and that person will serve until the next general municipal election.  This scenario would be applicable if the effective date of my resignation occurred after the swearing-in of the new Council and the date was more than sixty (60) days prior to the April 2013 municipal election.

In my opinion, there are even more potential negative impacts to the District under this scenario.  In this case, the District would be relying on an inexperienced Council to select a representative to serve until April 2013.  This individual may or may not have views that are reflective of the majority interests within the District.  Furthermore, this scenario also intentionally bypasses an opportunity for the District to select its representative.

No action alternative: Under this scenario, I would continue to serve out the remainder of the District term ending April 2013.  This option is possible because an election to County or higher office does not require a member of Council to forfeit office.  Specifically, City Charter Article II Section 2-30 Subsection (b) Forfeiture of Office states: the office of Mayor or Councilmember shall be forfeited if:

1. At any time during their term of office they lack any qualification for the office of Mayor or Councilmember prescribed by this Charter or by law;
2. Violate any express prohibition or requirement of this Charter;
3. Are convicted of a crime which constitutes a felony in the jurisdiction of which it occurred; or
4. Fail to attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the Council without being excused by the Council

Furthermore, City Charter Article III Section 3-40 Restrictions Upon Members of the Council states:  The Mayor or Councilmembers shall not hold any other City office, position, employment, or be employed by any agency for which their compensation is directly paid by the City.

While this scenario is possible under the Charter, the interest of District is best served by having its own elected representative.

Resignation on February 4, 2011: As previously stated, City Charter Article II Section 2-30 Subsection (a) states in part: If a vacancy occurs in the office of Councilmember more than sixty (60) days prior to the next general municipal election, the Council shall appoint an eligible person to fill such vacancy within thirty (30) days of the date of the vacancy and that person shall serve until the next general municipal election.  However, the Charter further states that if a vacancy occurs in the office of a Councilmember within sixty (60) days of a general municipal election, such vacancy shall be filled at the next general municipal election. 

February 4, 2011 falls exactly within the sixty (60) day period prior to the April 5, 2011 general municipal election.  With this effective resignation date, the District shall be able to select its representative from an open field of potential candidates free from a previously appointed Council incumbent.  The Council will also be relieved of its obligation fill the vacancy.  

While the February 4, 2011 effective resignation date will briefly leave the District without a representative until the selection and swearing-in of a new representative after the April municipal election, I strongly believe that this alternative will result in the selection of the best representative for the District.

In making this decision, I also felt it was extremely important to provide everyone with as much notice as possible.  Based on the direction from the City Clerk, due to the fact that the vacancy for this position doesn’t occur until 8AM on February 4, 2011, potential candidate will not be able to circulate nomination petitions until this date and time.  However, by submitting this notice of resignation today, potential candidates can immediately declare their intent to run for the District position instead of waiting for an indefinite period of time for a potential vacancy to occur.  The Clerk has also informed me that potential candidate should also be aware that they will only have until February 9, 2011 to submit their petitions to the Clerk for verification.  As of today, the City Clerk’s schedule has the Council certifying the candidate names to the ballot on February 8, 2011.  Based on this scenario, the Mayor will have to postpone the candidate certification and instead schedule a Special City Council session on February 10, 2011 to accommodate the District 2 candidates. 

In closing, I again want to thank everyone for their support over the years.  It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as the District 2 City Council Representative.

Regards

Darryl Glenn

District #2

Colorado Springs City Councilmember

Starting Wednesday, Colorado Springs Councilman Sean Paige is holding a series of town hall meetings in District 3, which encompasses the southeast part of the city.

“It’s an informal opportunity to talk with Paige about any items of interest involving the city,” Paige said in an e-mail.

Paige, who was appointed to the District 3 City Council seat after former Councilman Jerry Heimlicher resigned, is running for election in April, possibly as a mayoral candidate.

When asked whether politics played a factor in his decision to hold town hall meetings, including why he didn’t hold them before, Paige said he wasn’t doing it with the election in mind.

“You’re reading too much into this,” he said in an e-mail.

“I’m about to mark a year on Council, a lot is going on, including budget season, and I want to get some feedback from folks around the district. If they want to give me some feedback on how I’m doing, that’s fine too,” he said.

Paige said he enjoys interacting with the public.

“I attend a lot of meetings, but not many that are just free-wheeling forums in which wide-ranging discussions take place. I think it would be good for me, and good for my constituents. I really had forgotten that I could hold town halls until Darryl (Glenn) did his. I invited Randy Purvis to sit in on the Westside Center meeting, and he said he’ll join me,” he said.

All the meetings will be from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
 
Scheduled meetings include:
 
Wednesday, October 13th
Westside Community Center
1628 West Bijou Street in Old Colorado City

Wednesday, October 20th
Cheyenne Mountain Library Community Room
1785 8th Street 
 
Wednesday, October 27th
Hillside Community Center
925 South Institute Street

Wednesday, November 3rd

Colorado Springs City Hall
Pikes Peak Conference Room (2nd Floor)
107 N. Nevada Ave

“I’m very, very critical of our council’s nonpartisan structure. It allows people to pander to the right.”

— Councilman Darryl Glenn, during a meeting today with The Gazette’s Editorial Department. Glenn, a hard-core Republican, is running for county commissioner.

As the old saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Despite repeated requests, Colorado Springs Utilities has been refusing to provide a ratepayer-funded analysis that includes employee health care costs and proposed premium splits.

The data will be the subject of discussion at Wednesday’s Utilities Board meeting, and Utilities spokesman Dave Grossman said the city-owned enterprise didn’t want the information to get out before then.

“There’s a lot of information that’s in the report that really requires the experts there to go through it all,” Grossman said Monday.

At least three council members — Tom Gallagher, Darryl Glenn and Randy Purvis – saw it differently and provided the data to The Gazette.

Councilman Sean Paige also said he was willing to share the information, though he only had it in hard copy.

“I’m still sort of looking it over in preparation for tomorrow’s meeting (but) I’d be happy to share it with you,” he said in a voicemail message.

Thank you, councilmen. Your actions prove that transparency in government is alive at City Hall.

Click here and here to read the documents.

The Republican Party in Colorado will have to work hard and work together between now and the November general election to defeat “the radical liberal agenda,” Colorado Springs Councilman Darryl Glenn said in an e-mail to fellow Republicans last night.

“Today it’s time to come together as a party and focus on defeating the radical liberal agenda of out of control spending and the erosion of our individual freedoms and liberty,” Glenn, who is running for county commissioner, said in the e-mail.

“In order to be victorious in November, we must join forces and unite behind all of our Republican candidates,” he wrote.

“We must work hard for our candidates if we’re going to win our country back and reset it on the course that our founding fathers envisioned. My campaign and team are committed to this message. We will help, and we will work for all of our Republican nominees to ensure a victory in November. I encourage you to join me in supporting all of our Republican candidates. We cannot stand by and allow this great nation and our future generation to continue to be led by this radical liberal agenda,” he wrote.

“It’s time to take our country back!” added Glenn, who signed the e-mail “Republican Nominee (for) El Paso County Commissioner District #1.”

“That’s why we’re in the mess we’re in.”

– Councilman Darryl Glenn

“Yeah, because you won’t listen to reason.”

– Mayor Lionel Rivera

“No, because you …”

– Glenn

The comments above were recorded on SpringsTV after Mayor Lionel Rivera had adjourned Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The mayor and Glenn continued to argue over what the city should do about payments in lieu of taxes from Colorado Springs Utilities given the passage last year of ballot Issue 300, which calls for enterprise payments to the city to be phased out over eight years. Utilities is considered an “enterprise” of the city.

Rivera believes the city charter allows the city to appropriate those funds from Utilities, but Glenn believes a clarifying question should be placed on the ballot, letting voters decide whether the city should be allowed to keep the so-called PILT payments.

To listen to the recording, click here and fast-forward to about 3:02:09.

Everybody is blowing a lot of smoke about marijuana these days.

So I thought it would be fun to ask each member of the Colorado Springs City Council whether they had ever had a personal relationship with maryjane.

Here’s how they answered:

Councilwoman Jan Martin said she tried it once and only once.

“I was so paranoid and looking over my shoulder the entire time that I decided it just wasn’t worth it and never tried it again,” she said. “That’s a very honest answer from a politician.”

Councilman Tom Gallagher wouldn’t answer the question directly but hinted he had.

“I’ve got over 500,000 miles on a Harley Davidson,” he said. “What do you think?”

Vice Mayor Larry Small said he never had the opportunity to smoke weed.

“When I was growing up, drugs just weren’t a fad in those days,” said Small, who is 68. “In fact, about the only knowledge I had of drugs was what I learned in high school about the various drugs. At that time, they were talking about opium. They were talking about heroin. They were talking about the hard drugs. Marijuana wasn’t even on the radar.”

Councilman Randy Purvis, an attorney, gave a lawyerly answer.

“Not that I’m aware of. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t at a party where someone else was smoking,” Purvis said.

Councilman Darryl Glenn, a hardcore Republican, sounded like former President Bill Clinton.

“I never inhaled, never will inhale,” Glenn said. “The answer is no.”

Councilman Bernie Herpin said the only marijuana he had ever seen was on TV.

“Until I visited a dispensary, I had never actually seen marijuana in the flesh,” Herpin said.

Councilman Scott Hente said he “never” smoked marijuana.

“Look where I graduated from,” said Hente, a retired lieutenant colonel who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975.

Councilman Sean Paige said it was nobody’s business.

“What people choose to consume is a private matter in which the government and the press have no right to pry,” said Paige, a journalist and former editorial page editor of The Gazette.

Mayor Lionel Rivera said he’s never smoked marijuana. When asked if he had ever ingested it in any other way, he said he hadn’t. When asked if he had never had the opportunity or if he thought drugs were for dopes, the mayor declined to comment.

“You got my two answers. That’s all you’re getting,” he said.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado Springs will be one of two hot-button issues that will be discussed at a joint – yes, joint – city and county town hall meeting June 17.

District 2 City Councilman Darryl Glenn said he and District 1 County Commissioner Wayne Williams are holding the joint meeting to talk about dispensaries as well as the county’s decision Tuesday to buy several Intel buildings on Garden of the Gods Road.

The two-hour meeting is primarily for residents of their districts, but anyone can attend.

“I’m probably going to work the agenda so that he gets to go first because once you start talking about medical marijuana, you just don’t know when it’s going to stop,” he said.

Glenn said “a lot of people” in his district have been sending him e-mails requesting a community discussion about dispensaries.

“Every single time we have this on the (City Council) agenda, it’s at 1 o’clock (when) most people are working and they can’t get out there,” he said, adding that the audience is usually packed with people who support dispensaries.

Glenn said the three Springs residents who want to place an initiative on the November ballot asking voters whether dispensaries should be banned in the city live in his district.

“These are the people that were very upset and vocal with the Mission Inn,” he said, referring to now-defunct plans to open a dispensary in what used to be a restaurant.

“You’ve got people that have definite concerns, and I think they – along with the (Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce) and other people – want people to be able to vote,” he said.

“And the issue really isn’t whether or not we should have medical marijuana, and that’s what I get so frustrated with,” Glenn added. “The issue is the dispensaries because that’s the part that’s ambiguous under (Amendment 20, which legalized medical marijuana.) Contrary to Sean Paige’s interpretation of the constitution, that part is unclear,” he said.

The June 17 meeting is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the community room at Fire Station 19 at 2490 Research Parkway.