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Archive for the 'Tony Carpenter' Tag

Council candidate reports free massage in campaign finance report

April 3rd, 2011, 7:19 pm by

Campaigning must be really stressful.

Just ask Val Snider, who is running for one of five at-large City Council seats in Tuesday’s election.

In his latest report of campaign contributions and expenditures, Snider reported receiving a free massage from “Rita Ann Atencio Leasure” on March 28.

The massage, valued at $60, was reported as an in-kind contribution.

But hey, give Snider credit, at least he filed his report on time.

According to the City Clerk’s Office, council candidates Tony Carpenter and Tim Leigh failed to file their reports by Friday’s deadline.

Leigh, who was named in a campaign finance complaint initially filed with the state and then with the city last week, has struggled to meet campaign finance reporting requirements.

Records show that Leigh has filed late or incomplete reports in the months leading up to the election.

Brandy Williams, who also is running as an at-large candidate, filed her report two days late, according to the city clerk’s website.

Posted in: Elections • • • • | 4 Comments »

Mayoral, council candidates take on medical marijuana tonight

March 21st, 2011, 9:23 am by

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.

Posted in: Elections • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 6 Comments »

Utilities says cost of interpreter service higher than originally reported

March 7th, 2011, 2:08 pm by

Colorado Springs Utilities says the cost of providing interpreters for non-English speaking customers last year is higher than originally reported.

The city-owned utility made the mistake because it was in a hurry to provide the information, a spokesman said today.

“As we hurried to provide the information to Mr. (Tony) Carpenter, we did not double check the original number.  Seeing the error, we let Mr. Carpenter know at around noon on Friday that the correct amount is $65,156,” Dave Grossman said in an e-mail.

“The interpreter provided 42,902 minutes of service in 2010,” he said.

Initially, Grossman said the average cost was $1.52 per call. But the cost is actually $1.52 per minute.

“We are sorry for all the confusion,” he said in a follow-up e-mail.

Grossman said Utilities believes that the interpreter service is a much cheaper way to provide service to customers who do not speak English than hiring full-time employees who speak multiple languages.

“As a municipally-owned utility, we have an obligation to serve all customers in our service area,” he said.

“Without the ability to communicate to customers, we would not be able set up service and billing, and we would not have a way to provide safety information such as carbon monoxide dangers. The interpreter service avoids us having to hire multiple full time customer service personnel with the ability to speak multiple languages,” he said.

Posted in: Elections • Utilities • • • | 7 Comments »

Utilities pays by the minute for interpreters for non-English speaking customers

March 6th, 2011, 1:00 pm by

Colorado Springs Utilities spent about $27,500 last year to provide interpreter service to non-English speaking customers, according to an e-mail from a manager at Utilities.

“Like any other business striving for success, and as a community-owned utility, we must address the individual differences of our customers,” Monica Whiting, general manager of the utility’s Customer Revenue & Services Department, wrote Friday in an e-mail to City Council candidate Tony Carpenter.

“We recognize the growing diversity in our community and are proud to serve our customers and their unique needs cost-effectively. Further, as a community-owned utility, we have an obligation to serve all customers within our service territory,” she wrote.

The interpreter service is used for setting up an account, answering billing, payment and other utility questions, addressing safety concerns and work in the field  when customer interactions are necessary, among other needs, Whiting wrote.

“The service is typically used by our customer service center, lobby and field employees, as needed, when serving customers,” she wrote.

Utilities apparently pays for the interpreter service by the minute.

For Spanish, the cost per minute is .64 cents. For other languages, it’s .67 cents.

Last year, Utilities was billed for 42,902 minutes.

Nearly all the minutes were for Spanish-speaking customers, but interpreter services were provided for 20 other languages. They include Korean, Mandarin, French, Kirundi, Vietnamese, Farsi, Hmong, Russian, Arabic, Romanian, Polish, Bosnian, Nepali, Cantonese, Serbian, Laotian, Swahili, Japanese, Croatian and Thai.

Utilities conducted a competitive process to select its vendor, according to Whiting.

“The interpreter service is more cost-effective when used on an as-needed bases, as opposed to staffing multiple employees for multiple languages to cover our call center and lobby hours,” Whiting wrote.

Posted in: City employees • Elections • Utilities • • • | Post a Comment »

Mayor calls no-tax pledge ‘vague,’ says he wouldn’t sign it

January 28th, 2011, 1:23 pm by

He didn’t call it silly.

But Mayor Lionel Rivera said a pledge to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes” wouldn’t bear his signature if he was seeking public office.

“If that pledge means that I cannot refer a measure to the ballot and let citizens decide for themselves like the TABOR charter amendment allows, then no, I would not sign it. Of course not,” he said.

“Why would I deny the citizens even a choice of voting by not referring something?”

The no-tax pledge is the brainchild of conservative radio host Jeff Crank and Americans for Prosperity Colorado, a group that Crank oversees.

It has been signed by at least 10 mayoral and City Council candidates.

The mayoral candidates are Steve Bach, Brian Bahr, Mitch Christiansen, Tom Gallagher, Buddy Gilmore and Phil McDonald. The council candidates are Tony Carpenter, Angela Dougan, Sean Paige, and Daniel Reifschneider.

The pledge asks candidates to promise “to the taxpayers of Colorado Springs that I will oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

Rivera called the pledge “vague.”

“I can’t raise taxes. Only the citizens can,” he said. “That’s what TABOR allows. That’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s what TABOR tells you to do.”

Rivera stressed that voters should have a choice and pointed to the public safety sales tax and the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority as examples of tax increases that voters have been willing to support.

“The citizens always should have a choice, and they tell us what they want,” he said.

Posted in: Elections • • • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Candidates pledge not to raise taxes even though they can’t

January 11th, 2011, 12:05 pm by

Jeff Crank

Never mind that TABOR requires voters to approve all tax increases, but eight of 22 mayoral and City Council candidates have signed a pledge not to raise taxes if elected.

“This pledge represents a new era in Colorado Springs,” Jeff Crank, a local radio talk show host and state director of the Republican advocacy group Americans for Prosperity Colorado, which put out the pledge, said today in a statement.

“For too long candidates have claimed to be fiscal conservatives only to get elected and support tax increases,” Crank said in the statement.  “While candidates may claim that they are fiscal conservatives, this pledge gives them the opportunity to show the citizens of Colorado Springs that they will act like fiscal conservatives when they get elected.”

Five of nine mayoral candidates have signed the pledge. They are Stephen Bach, Brian Bahr, Mitch Christiansen, Buddy Gilmore and Phil McDonald.

Three of 13 council candidates have signed the pledge. They are Tony Carpenter, Angela Dougan and Sean Paige.

According to Crank’s statement, the pledge has been sent “to all candidates” over the last several weeks.

“As additional candidates for mayor and city council of Colorado Springs file their candidacy papers, they will be asked to sign the AFP Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” according to the statement. “AFP will work diligently to get an updated list of pledge signers to the media and to our 6,000 AFP activists in the city of Colorado Springs.”

Granted, elected officials can raise money by repealing tax credits and tax exemptions, which Republicans characterize as a tax increase.

But they can’t vote to raise taxes.

Posted in: Elections • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »