The Colorado Springs City Attorney’s Office maintains that “the city does not have a policy for keeping emails unless the emails are subject to a litigation hold.”

In other words, emails that are subject to public view can be deleted whenever government officials decide — at least according to the city’s legal department.

Tom Gallagher

A missive by City Councilman Tim Leigh questioning a scrubber technology that’s being tested at the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown is continuing to generate more fallout.

On Wednesday, the former chief energy services officer of Colorado Springs Utilities, which is investing $121 million in the emissions control technology, said there were a “number of incorrect or misleading statements” in Leigh’s letter.

“After reading Councilman Tim Leigh’s diatribe on the efforts at Drake Station, I had to weigh in with my perspective,” M. Thomas Black, said in an email to City Council, which doubles as the Utilities Board.

“This latest version is particularly concerning because it points to someone who ‘was there’.  Where were they, and more importantly, who are they?” he asked.

Leigh told The Gazette on Monday that the source of his information was former City Councilman Tom Gallagher, who regularly butted heads with Springs Utilities during his time on council.

“Why can’t I trust what he’s telling me to be the truth?” Leigh asked.

Steve Bach

Mayoral hopeful Richard Skorman really hit a nerve.

Skorman, who has been calling opponent Steve Bach a “developer” during debates and in his latest TV ad, is being criticized from various corners.

Today, former mayoral candidates Brian Bahr, Tom Gallagher and Buddy Gilmore — who weren’t planning to endorse either Bach or Skorman — broke their silence.

The three men issued a joint statement calling “Skorman’s recent attack on the real estate industry” divisive.

“Although both candidates in this runoff election have laid out their plans for the future of Colorado Springs, only one candidate remaining in this race has consistently presented a plan that upholds the conservative, limited government values we believe in,” according to the statement.

“That candidate is Steve Bach.”

In a telephone interview, Gilmore said he was “disappointed” in Skorman’s TV ad.

“He was really attacking a whole industry,” Gilmore said.

“You can sit there and demonize developers, but they’ve done a lot of good for the city, too.”

The statement from Bahr, Gallagher and Gilmore was sent via email by Sarah Jack, who works for the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs.

Here’s the full text of the statement:

During the last three weeks since the April 5th election the three of us have worked to get our lives back to some sort of sense of normalcy – re-establishing ourselves in the private sector, and more importantly, re-establishing our lives with our families. During this time, we have spoken with many of our friends and supporters. Many of them urged each of us to stay involved, and to publically endorse a candidate. We have resisted the urge to do so – until now.

Mr. Skorman’s recent attack on the real estate industry that provides tens of thousands of jobs in our community, an industry he has eagerly accepted contributions from in the past and from which he actively sought endorsements during this campaign, was divisive and caught our attention.

We believe that the best days for Colorado Springs are ahead of us.  To achieve the city’s full potential will require all of us to unite behind common values and goals.

Our concern in this election is two-fold: First, the next mayor must have a solid plan for the future success of Colorado Springs.  Second, that candidate’s plan must be one that reflects the conservative values that support a limited government focused on providing quality, essential services.

Although both candidates in this runoff election have laid out their plans for the future of Colorado Springs, only one candidate remaining in this race has consistently presented a plan that upholds the conservative, limited government values we believe in. That candidate is Steve Bach.

This election is certainly one of the most important ever for Colorado Springs. We collectively encourage our friends and supporters to join us in upholding the conservative, limited government principles that have made Colorado Springs a great place to live. These principles will be essential to the future success of this city we love.

Councilman Tom Gallagher

“You’re the only member of council to use the word ‘testicles’ in a public meeting.”

– Councilman Sean Paige, eulogizing Councilman Tom Gallagher’s time on the City Council.

Runner-up

“He’s not dead. He’s in West Virginia,” Gallagher said about Vice Mayor Larry Small.

Both Small and Gallagher, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor, are term-limited and will no longer serve on the City Council.

Councilman Randy Purvis continues to offer an interesting perspective on the mayor’s race.

A week ago, he blogged about the four candidates who are reportedly leading in polling.

Richard Skorman is the status quo candidate, Purvis says.

“He is the least likely to rock the boat or to make big changes in city government,” he wrote. “He is quietly amassing a large cash stockpile to prepare for the run-off campaign.”

Brian Bahr is the most difficult candidate to get a read on, he says.

“I still wonder whether he has a complete grasp of the issues or comprehends the nuances of them,” he wrote. “I expect him to be in the runoff with Skorman; so perhaps we will learn more in April about his depth of understanding.”

Steve Bach is the establishment candidate, he says.

“I just do not see in him the ability to establish a rapport with the voter,” he wrote. “This is a fundamental requirement for any political leader, how can one be a leader if there is nobody following?”

Tom Gallagher is the wild card, he says.

“I recall the first time I saw Gallagher in action,” he wrote.

“It was during the 2003 council campaign and all the candidates were at a forum out on Murray Blvd.  The hot issue that year was whether Constitution should be an east-west thoroughfare.  Gallagher was there, slightly overweight, smoking a cigarette, somewhat disheveled in his dress.  And yet when he spoke that day he had the audience in the palm of his hand.  He demonstrated that day and has ever since the ability to connect with the voter,” Purvis wrote.

“With a little bit of money and someone with media savvy, Gallagher would be a dangerous candidate.”

Two mayoral hopefuls and 10 City Council candidates are scheduled to speak tonight at the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council‘s monthly networking event.

“Candidates will have a chance to speak about their campaign goals, and of course, the hot topic of medical marijuana in Colorado Springs,” Jessica Hogan, the council’s spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

The event, which starts at 6:30 p.m., is at the Warehouse Restaurant and Gallery, 25 W. Cimarron.

It’s free and open to the public.

The two mayoral candidates scheduled to attend are Councilman Tom Gallagher, who spearheaded a medical marijuana task force along with Councilman Sean Paige, and businessman Richard Skorman.

The council candidates scheduled to attend are Paige, David Jensen, Michael Merrifield, Tony Carpenter, Dawn Lloyd and the so-called Reform Team: Ed Bircham, Douglas Bruce, Richard Bruce, Helen Collins and Gretchen Kasameyer.

“We invited everyone, so  hopefully more will attend tonight,” Hogan said.

Tom Gallagher

But Gallagher says he owes it to the public to explain why he missed the Utilities Board meeting yesterday.

“I was dealing with family issues,” said Gallagher, whose brother-in-law, 45-year-old Nick Stachelodt, was stabbed to death Saturday in Alaska.

“My wife is crushed because her sister is devastated,” he said.

According to news and police reports, Stachelodt was killed over a cigarette.

The victim’s father, Jon Stachelodt, told state troopers that his son had refused to give a cigarette to a young man who knocked on the door of the family home, The Associated Press reported. The father told police he later saw his son fighting with a person who had climbed into the family car, according to the AP.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

“Two people’s lives totally destroyed over a (expletive) cigarette,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher said his family doesn’t plan to attend Nick Stachelodt’s funeral.

“We’d like to, but one, there’s the finanicial because it’s very expensive to fly to Alaska with no notice, and two, this is in the middle of the campaign,” he said. “I can go to Alaska, but then I’m pretty much saying I’m dropping out of the race.”

Gallagher said the next mayor of Colorado Springs is going to have to deal with “distractions” all the time.

“So we do what we can,” he said. “We keep moving forward.”

Tom Gallagher

“We had no knowledge of the press release, so it was probably a campaign stunt, but it’s a campaign stunt by Bahr.”

— Councilman Tom Gallagher, who signed a letter to Secretary of State Scott Gessler asking Gessler to send an observer to monitor the city’s April 5 election.

Gallagher, who is running for mayor, said neither he nor fellow mayoral hopeful Buddy Gilmore knew that Brian Bahr‘s campaign was going to send a press release about the request immediately after sending the letter to Gessler.

“Buddy and I did this because we thought … it would just add voter confidence to the process. We did not think that Bahr was going to issue a press release and attack Kathy,” he said.

A poll reportedly shows Richard Skorman leading the pack of mayoral candidates

Businessman Richard Skorman and homebuilder Brian Bahr are the frontrunners in the race for mayor, according to a poll commissioned by Bahr’s campaign.

The results of the poll could not be independently verified, and the word on the street is that other polls show Councilman Tom Gallagher or commercial real estate broker Steve Bach in second place.

Bahr’s campaign said it paid for an automated telephone poll that captured nearly 3,000 active registered voters “who indicated they planned to vote” in the April 5 municipal election.

The poll was conducted over six days with equal weighting across every ZIP code in the city.

Respondents were asked who they would support for mayor.

According to Bahr’s campaign:

Skorman got 25 percent

Bahr got 21 percent

Gallagher got 14 percent

Bach got 13 percent

“No other candidate was above 5 percent,” Bahr’s campaign said in a press release.

If none of the candidates win by a majority April 5, the two top voter-getters will face off in a run-off in June.

“It appears that Brian Bahr and Richard Skorman are positioned to face each other in the run-off,” Gabe Joseph, of Virginia-based ccAdvertising, which conducted the poll, is quoted as saying.

The battle to become Colorado Springs’ first strong mayor is proving to be a costly competition.

Altogether, the nine mayoral hopefuls have spent at least $537,000 in campaign-related expenses, according to reports filed Monday with the City Clerk’s Office.

Most of the money has been spent on advertising, political consultants, yard signs and mailers.

But other expenses include liquor for fund-raisers, pizza for volunteers and gas to get around the campaign trail.

Homebuilder Brian Bahr, who gave his campaign $100,000 plus a $100,000 loan, is leading the pack with nearly $174,000 in expenditures since August.

Bahr, president of Challenger Homes, still has nearly $58,000 cash on hand.

Steve Bach, a commercial real estate broker, has burned through nearly $119,000.

Bach has about $38,000 left in the bank.

Retired businessman Dave Munger, president of the Council of Neighbors and Organizations, has racked up nearly $104,000 in expenses – including about $65,000 on a slew of advertising in recent weeks.

Munger, who lent his campaign $67,660, is running on empty.

Although fundraising efforts continue, Munger has only about $6,500 cash on hand.

Businessman Richard Skorman, a former councilman, had spent nearly $88,000 as of Feb. 23.

Skorman’s latest campaign report has not been posted on the city’s website.

Skorman’s campaign spokeswoman, Camille Blakely, said the report was turned in about 4:45 p.m. Monday and that Deputy City Clerk Cindy Conway “said it wouldn’t be scanned until this afternoon.”

When asked whether she could send the report via e-mail, Blakely hesitated but then said she would try.

Defense contractor Buddy Gilmore has spent nearly $45,000. Gilmore is almost entirely funding his own campaign.

With about $75,500 left in the bank, Gilmore could launch a massive effort to reach voters as ballots start to arrive in the mail.

The four other candidates, including Councilman Tom Gallagher, are in a different class when it comes to campaign spending.

The four, who have raised little – if any – money, have spent about $8,500 altogether.