City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko, an outspoken council member who has butted heads with Mayor Steve Bach, won’t seek another term in the April municipal election.

That’s according to Keith King, a former state senator and state representative who is running for council District 3.

On his website, King said the District 3 seat is open because Czelatdko is “not running.”

“Lisa told Keith that she wasn’t running,” said Daniel Cole, who is King’s campaign manager.

Czelatdko was coy last week when asked whether she would seek re-election.

“I’m going to have an announcement out by Feb. 6,” she said, referring to the last day to turn in nominating petitions.

When told that the word on the street was that she wasn’t going to run again, Czelatdko said: “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”

Here’s what observers believed was another sign that Czelatdko won’t run again: County Commissioner Sallie Clark, a Czelatdko ally, is on King’s advisory council, according to his website.

However, Clark clarified Tuesday night that she had served on King’s advisory council when he was in the Legislature and that she was unlikely to endorse any of the candidates. Clark asked the King campaign to immediately remove her name from King’s website.

“While I served as a small-business owner on Keith’s sounding board when he was in the Legislature, I am not currently serving on his advisory council for the District 3 city race,” she said on Facebook.

“I’ve appreciated the opportunity to meet with each of the District 3 candidates to talk about Westside issues and informed each of them that I do not expect to endorse any specific candidate,” Clark added.

In a private email to supporters, City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko criticizes Mayor Steve Bach for what she calls the “promotion, support, and abuse of authoritarian leadership.”

“As an elected official, I have seen how this has hurt the performance of the current sitting leadership,” Czelatdko said in the email, which was obtained by The Gazette from a source.

Czelatdko also criticizes some of her colleagues, though she doesn’t list them by name.

“Certain Council Members have shown complacency, inconsistency, stagnation, and selfishness. I apologize that we have not done a better job in serving you,” she wrote.

In an interview, Czelatdko expressed surprise that the email had been leaked. She said she sent the email to supporters who she personally identifies as leaders.

“To tell you the truth, with who I sent it to, I did not think for a second it would get to the press,” she said.

However, Czelatdko said she stood by what she wrote and knows that anything she sends on email can get out.

Czelatdko requested that the email be published in its entirety if it was published at all.

Request granted.

Here is the full, unedited text of the email:

With the upcoming City Council elections, please use your influence and money choosing leaders that are willing to work with others, teach others, and be committed to the common goal of improving the City and the region. Do not allow favoritism or familiarity to overshadow fairness and those wanting to serve with political integrity.

Steve bach did not attend events our State’s Governor came down for. He did Not attend the Southern Economic forum. He did Not attend the UCCS Lane academic center groundbreaking. He did Not attend the UCCS sequestration discussions. He did Not attend the State of the region discussions. He has cancelled regional mayor meetings. He does not attend Council or CSU meetings. Colorado Springs is seeing the promotion, support, and abuse of authoritarian leadership. As an elected official, I have seen how this has hurt  the performance of the current sitting leadership.

Certain Council Members have shown complacency, inconsistency, stagnation, and selfishness. I apologize that we have not done a better job in serving you.

Despite the livability and low property taxes bringing people to Colorado Springs, the challenges for local government continue to grow. Its more important than ever to build coalitions among City, County, and State leadership, private businesses, and neighboring municipalities to come up with strategies to solve problems, get citizens involved, stopping the overlapping or duplication of services, and provide the best services to all citizens.  Thats our job as your elected representatives.

Lastly, please remember that City Council is meant to be a deliberative Republic body.  The people voted a Council Mayor form of government to have a separation and a limit of powers.  What is being achieved is short term aims like benchmarking, outsourcing, and reducing waste. Long term, we are seeing the spoiling of collective partnerships, a division of leadership, groups and PACs exchanging support to dissuade, and citizens losing confidence in their elected officials.

Your support for Council is critical for change. Real, lasting, satisfying change. For the last 21 months, its been a privilege being your elected official, thank you very much.

Respectfully,

Lisa L. Czelatdko (sa-lot-ko)

“So many of the complaints of solicitation in the main downtown area really were and are covered under the current and recently updated City Code on aggressive solicitation. I’ve said all year that increased police presence and enforcement, and especially a commitment to report from business owners and citizens, is what has been needed all along to improve this downtown commerce area without affecting the vitality that comes from people being on the streets or (exposing the city to) a lawsuit.”

– City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko, reacting to news that a judge had granted the ACLU’s request for an injunction of the recently approved no-panhandling zone downtown.

City Council members inserted themselves into the statewide marijuana debate when they took up a resolution to oppose Amendment 64, which seeks to regulate pot like alcohol.

That got some people wondering: Have council members smoked pot? And if so, do they still smoke pot?

A few coughed up to trying weed.

Others said they’ve never touched it and never would.

A couple of councilmen were vague in their answers.

Here are their answers, all via email:

“In high school, I tried it with my four best friends in my home — yes mom was out of town,” Councilwoman Angela Dougan said.

“We had one joint. We all took a couple of puffs, and it was awful tasting. My thoughts were, ‘What a dumb thing and why would anyone do this?’  Never did it again,” she said.

“I have never used marijuana,” Councilman Merv Bennett said.

Bennett said the question posed to council was “very inappropriate.”

“The inappropriateness relates to asking a question that could lead to a criminal conviction.  It isn’t  a problem for me. I haven’t even smoked a cigarette,” Bennett said.

“As it relates to the debate, it is an Amendment to our State  Constitution that could have significant and serious implications to our City, the quality of life of our citizens, federal funding for roads and bridges, public safety, etc.  Something of that significance demands our attention,” Bennett added.

Like Bennett, Councilwoman Brandy Williams said she’s never smoked pot — or even a cigarette.

“I took D.A.R.E rather seriously,” she said, referring to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

Councilman Val Snider took a page out of the Bill Clinton playbook.

“Does it count if you didn’t inhale?” Snider asked.

Councilman Tim Leigh was evasive in his answer.

“I saw your inquiry about council’s pot-smoking-propensity,” Leigh said in his first response.

“While I cannot state with absolute equivocation, it seems we’re all dipping in the medicine on about every other Tuesday afternoon, just after the lunch hour.  That will likely come to an abrupt and unfettered halt when the Mayor (with my full endorsement) creates a no-smoking zone in Acacia Park,” he said.

When pressed for an answer, Leigh continued to be evasive.

“Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea, Frolicked in the autumn mist in a a land called Hana Leigh,” he wrote.

When asked if he was smoking pot when he came up with that response, Leigh, a fitness buff, offered this tidbit and hinted that he may be cover-boy material.

“I’m smoking, alright. I’m on the stair master at the club with Men’s Journal. Photo shoot. Something about my lung power and fitness!” he said.

Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko is out of town and did not respond.

The three council members who served on council before answered the question a few years ago.

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.

Council President 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.

Council President Pro Tem 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.”

By the way, Martin cast the lone dissenting vote on the resolution opposing Amendment 64.

“I wasn’t afraid of medical marijuana dispensaries, and I’m not afraid of this bill for marijuana in our community,” Martin said Tuesday.

The vote to pass the resolution was 5-1. Leigh refused to vote, saying the council isn’t in the business of making pronouncements.

Czelatdko and Williams were absent, though Williams said she would have voted with the majority.

The Gazette published an op-ed piece today by City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko regarding the governance of Colorado Springs Utilities and the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown.

At 9:50 a.m., Colorado Springs resident Andrew Dwyer sent Czelatdko an email in which he called her “arrogant” and “boorish,” among other not-so-nice names.

It all has to do with the flying F-bombs.

Here is the full text of Dwyer’s email, which he also sent to The Gazette:

Councilwoman Czelatdko,

I read your Op-Ed in today’s Gazette, and I congratulate you on keeping it so clean. I know you’re partial to dropping F-bombs, so I think you showed great restraint. Then again, the Op-Ed is a public forum, so maybe that’s why you cleaned it up. Were it a private correspondence, as you’ve demonstrated recently, I’m guessing you would have let the F-bombs fly.

Based on my writing, perhaps you’ll judge me to be a smart-aleck. Fine…color me guilty of “smart-alecktry.”

Based on your writing, I’ll judge you to be intolerant, arrogant, boorish and destructive. Frankly, I can’t imagine a worse description of an elected official. So rather than offering your opinion in Op-Ed pieces, I suggest you focus efforts on resurrecting your reputation. It’s difficult for constituents to grasp a message when they have so little respect for the messenger.

Or maybe I’m one of those people…what do you call them?…oh that’s right…a “(expletive) idiot.”

At 12:52 p.m., Czelatdko responded to Dwyer, who forwarded the response to — you guessed it — The Gazette.

“I’m laughing at the hypocrisy in your response and name calling,” Czelatdko responded.

Less than 15 minutes later, Dwyer fired off another email and — you guessed it — copied The Gazette.

Here is the full text of that email:

There’s no hypocrisy, because I didn’t fault you for being critical. I fault you for being crass and boorish. In my e-mail, I am neither crass nor boorish, but yes, I am highly critical of your behavior, which was crass and boorish. Do you understand why that’s not hypocrisy, or should I explain further?

Calm, reasoned criticism of an elected official’s actions is hardly inappropriate, wouldn’t you agree?

Clearly, using the language you used to communicate with a co-worker is wildly inappropriate and embarrassing. So exactly where is this hypocricy you speak of?

By the way, your first e-mail, where you thanked me for my input…was that an automatic reply? Which reply should I take seriously…the one in which you thank me or the one in which you laugh at me?

I’m concerned that you may not possess the demeanor and decorum to adequately represent your constituents.

Andrew Dwyer

Apparently Czelatdko has let it go because Dwyer hasn’t forwarded any more of her emails.

But he did send an email to — you guessed it — The Gazette.

Mr. Chacon,

I copied you on my reply because I’m shocked by how Ms. Czelatdko chooses to behave, and I wish there were some way to appropriately convey this behavior in the media or to her constituents. I respect your work, so I share this information with you. At the least, perhaps it provides you with some worthwhile background information.

Andrew Dwyer

An editorial that resurrected the $1.15 million separation agreement with former Memorial Health System CEO Larry McEvoy led City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko to divulge new details about what happened behind closed doors.

On a Facebook post of Gazette editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen, Czelatdko revealed discussions in closed executive session.

Here is what Czelatdko wrote, with edits:

I was actually in the closed executive session Wayne Laugesen and so know exactly what was said and not said. What was not said was a 1.2 million dollar severance package was being given to (former Memorial Health System CEO Larry) McEvoy.

What was said was:

1) Why is McEvoy here in chambers announcing a resignation with no announcement of it on the agenda or notification to Council from the City Attorney’s Office?

2) What was said from the Memorial Hospital Board Chair Jim Moore, was that they (board and Chris) were working on a severance package for McEvoy up to 18 months and that they had been working on possible packages for two weeks under the direction of Chris Melcher

3) What was said was that no Memorial contract would be valid without the signature of Jim Moore and Chris Melcher

4) And lastly, what was said was the reminder that Council, the City Attorney’s Office and Memorial board could not enter into any contracts over 1 million dollars without all three parties acknowledging it. This understanding was put in place a month prior to protect the lease negotiations and keep the current admin entering into big money contracts that UCHealth might not want.

When I left that room I know myself and many of my colleagues who did not support retention packages thought, ‘Good luck getting us to agree to anything more than his agreed contract package,’ and we went home after a 7-hour meeting day.

Wayne, please, please stop perpetuating incorrect information and writing articles based on non factual assumptions. Did (council President Scott Hente) and (council President Pro Tem Jan Martin) know more specifics? I don’t know. Do you know for a fact? Did (Councilman Merv Bennett) and (Councilwoman Brandy Williams) know? I’m not sure. Do you? All I know is Council was told by Jim Moore that Chris Melcher, City Attorney was assisting in package negotiations. Chris did not refute that as he stood there listening to Jim speak. Chris confirmed to Council what I mentioned above regarding signatures needed for agreed contract limits and Council was told a package would come back for confirmation. No confusion for me when I walked out of the room that the city attorney who is suppose to serve both Council and the Mayor, who dare Council question or challenge his legal opinion, had it under control and was working on it with the board. Assumingly looking out for the best interest of council and the city.

I also know after the nightmare began, Chris Melcher, city attorney informed council that he paid for an outside legal consult who confirmed the board could do what they did, that if we challenged them through litigation which (Councilwoman) Angela Dougan, (Councilman Tim Leigh) and myself all said we’d support, the City would be responsible for paying all their attorneys, fees, etc and they probably would win costing the taxpayers millions more of wasted dollars. Chris told Council it was a weak case to challenge, a done deal, basically Council would have to take the lumps, and the lame press release was put out by my colleagues (I was flying with space command) that we would not pursue the matter further. So as I see it everyone won but Council and the health payers.

Memorial and UCHealth got rid of McEvoy who was tainting the campaign and poisoning the morale of hospital employees, the Board showed defiance and wielded their authority one last time, McEvoy lost a job but got a heck of a lot of money, and Council gets the blame for not overseeing the Board more thoroughly. A board who legally was given full authority and fiduciary responsibility years prior. I can only assume that decision was because the prior council thought it made sense to appoint a full time board of knowledgeable people who could dedicate their time to the health system and report back monthly to council. Council, who back then, was a part time, poorly compensated body in charge of the city, the health system and the utility company. Council, who now is even more limited and minionized by certain vocal, agenda driven, influential people, who so obviously serve one master. All I can say is I hope someone is keeping track of some of these personnel issues and making permanent notes in personnel files.

City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko says it “seems ridiculous” that Colorado Springs doesn’t have many transportation options for visitors even though it’s the second largest city in the state.

“No public transportation even from our own airport into town,” Czelatdko said Monday in an email to Mayor Steve Bach.

“We may be open for business, but good luck getting yourself here,” she wrote.

“If there really is an interest in economic development, local transportation will at least need to be improved upon. I hope (the Bach administration) is considering with upcoming budget,” she added.

Czelatdko’s email — which also went to Chief of Staff Laura Neuman, Doug Price, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, and her council colleagues — was triggered by an email that a man sent to City Council.

“My wife and me are going to go to Colorado Springs, the flight arrives to Denver’s airport and we’d  like to know how we can go to Colorado Springs, by bus, trains, and so on,” Tomás Ruiz wrote.

“We’d be very grateful if you can help us  with this information.”

City Councilman Bernie Herpin responded to Ruiz’s email.

Here’s Herpin’s email response:

Thank you for visiting our community.  While we do have an airport, some folks do choose to fly into Denver.  There are no trains or direct buses that connect to Colorado Springs from the Denver airport; however, there are private shuttles that do serve our community:

http://flydenver.com/gtdetail?TYPE=COMMUTERSHUTTLES&URI=tcm:8-1398

http://www.coloradoshuttle.com/

You can also rent a car.

With over 55 attractions in and around Colorado Springs, you are sure to have a great time.  Because this is the “wide open West”, you may want to consider renting a car to get around.  Here is a website that will provide information and a free guide to our attractions:  www.visitcos.com

I hope you enjoy your visit and please let us know if you need additional info.

Sincerely,

Bernie Herpin

Czelatdko replied to Herpin and cc’d the mayor, Neumann, Price and her colleagues.

Here’s the full text of her email:

Doesn’t this seem ridiculous us being the second largest city in the state and really no transportation options for visitors to come visit our City. No public transportation even from our own airport into town. We may be open for business, but good luck getting yourself here. If there really is an interest in economic development, local transportation will at least need to be improved upon. I hope admin is considering with upcoming budget.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Councilwoman Brandy Williams is an engineer.

During City Council and other meetings, Williams frequently reminds the public that she’s an engineer.

In fact, it’s turned into a joke.

During a recent Utilities Board meeting, Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko, trying hard not to laugh out loud, motioned to Councilman Tim Leigh to keep quiet when Williams mentioned once again that she is an engineer.

Yours truly also sends out a tweet on Twitter every time Williams says she’s an engineer instructing his tweeps — jokingly, of course — to take a shot.

Councilman Bernie Herpin couldn’t resist playing along during an interview Thursday.

“While I’m not a professional engineer, I am an engineer by degree so it helps me understand what I need to do,” he said, jokingly.

City Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko thanked Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper for coming Colorado Springs to assess the Waldo Canyon fire.

She left the following message on his Facebook page.

Governor,

Colorado Springs is thankful for you taking the opportunity to come assess our disaster area. This community has always been the leader in innovative firefighting techniques which have saved countless lives and property. Our police personnel have kept order, protected homes, also while still servicing the entire City. Our County and other surrounding partners including Forestry, have stepped up to share services, work together, and offer support. Lastly, our citizens have rallied together in hope, and grief. So many have been generous in their giving. Please let the rest of the state know how tremendous Community is here in Colorado Springs and how thankful we are for the support in state and out.

Lisa Czelatdko

Colorado Springs City Council Member

Extortion.

That’s the word Councilwoman Lisa Czelatdko used on Facebook to describe her reaction to a story stating that Mayor Steve Bach will “actively oppose” leasing Memorial Health System to University of Colorado Health unless he is given authority to appoint the board of a foundation that will disburse the proceeds of the lease.

On a Facebook post, Czelatdko left the following comment:

“ex·tor·tion/ikˈstôrSHən/
Noun:
The practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.”

On her own Facebook wall, Czelatdko wrote a similar comment:

“Can we say ex·tor·tion/ikˈstôrSHən/
Noun:
The practice of obtaining something, esp. money, through force or threats.
Synonyms:
blackmail – exaction

No wonder why people dont trust in elected officials.”

Czelatdko did not immediately return a call for comment.

Since the initial story was first posted online, Bach has clarified that his sticking point is that there needs to be a fixed plan to oversee the money from the 40-year lease before the proposed lease goes to voters.

“My support of this lease is subject to my concurrence with City Council on how to segregate and manage the lease proceeds,” Bach said.

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