Six Contenders for Office Get Bombarded with Questions
Rick Langenberg
The gloves didn’t exactly come off in Woodland Park’s signature candidates’ forum last week, as six contenders for mayor and council seats exchanged views on a slew of issues in what amounted to a lively but extremely civil discussion.
For the most part, the participating candidates – George Jones (for mayor), Don Dezellem, Catherine Nakai, Seth Bryant, Mary Sekowski and Jeffrey Geer (the later five all vying for council) – agreed on the city’s current direction. No verbal knock-out punches were delivered, especially on such hotbed topics as short-term rental property restrictions and reviving the WP RE-2 District school-related sales tax revenue.
The candidates found themselves sticking to similar views on the city’s push for open space pursuits, especially the purchase of the Shining Mountain Golf Course, water security, public safety, the future sunset of the Downtown Development Authority and growth challenges.
Instead, most candidates cited their main priorities, experience levels, and individual backgrounds as their strengths
The forum, sponsored by the Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Carrol Harvey and Steve Woolf, and featuring questions from the local media, attracted a large crowd. The forum represented the main candidate event prior to the April 7 election.
Jones is the only candidate not being challenged. As for the race for council, one of the five contenders will get eliminated.
Sekowski started off the council introductions by citing her involvement with the Merit Academy and serving as a graduate of the Woodland Park Citizens Academy and her role as a local realtor. As a main priority, Sekowski cited “trying to pull things together.” She noted the town encountered “a lot of division and drama” in the past, and she wanted to get people to work together. The candidate believes she could help fill this need.
Bryant, meanwhile, who was previously appointed to a seat on the council, touted the three Ps, “police, parks and potholes,” as his priority focus. Bryant also noted he would strive to have “quiet and efficient” council meetings.
Nakai, one of the more veteran leaders, maintained she has a strong desire to finish what the council started in its previous term, and especially highlighted “protecting our open space.”
Dezellem cited water and smart growth as his pet peeves, along with better trail connections. And Geer made a huge pitch for water, water and water. “Water security will be the number one issue in Colorado for the next 50 years,” said Geer. He especially emphasized the city’s successful push for landing a new reservoir as vital. Geer also noted that the Shining Mountain purchase was part of this water pursuit equation.
Battleground Issues
As far as battleground issues, much of the possible forum drama was defused when the SRT issue didn’t quite materialize into a big conflict as some insiders predicted. When asked what changes should occur with the city’s current STR ban, Nakai replied, “I would not change anything. The voters have spoken.”
She was referring to a citizen-driven ordinance, approved by the voters, which banned STR properties in residential areas, unless they are owner-occupied. To the surprise of some forum attendees, Nakai’s comments weren’t challenged or even questioned by other forum participants.
The same non-committal stance occurred, when it came to the other controversial subject getting played on a daily basis on social media: Should the council take action to bring back a slight a 1 percent sales tax for the RE-2 Woodland Park School District. The council acted to get rid of this levy in 2025, following much tension between the council and school board on how the tax money revenue was being used.
Bryant, who actually once ran for a school board seat, was asked this question and he made it clear that any attempt to revive this tax should not come from the WP Council. “Do not put the council in the middle of it,” said Bryant, regarding this contentious subject. “I would not like to see it come from this dais.”
Again, none of the council contenders disagreed with this position. “It was an extremely difficult process to go through,” said Geer.
Media Questions
When it came to media questions, virtually all of the candidates took the Fifth, when asked about their view of opening the doors slightly for the possibility of legalizing recreational, retail marijuana in Woodland Park, similar to what has occurred in Cripple Creek, Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Palmer Lake in the Pikes Peak region.
Nakai noted she gets asked this question at every candidates’ forum and her answer is still the same: This type of effort needs to be citizen-driven and not to come from the council.
Jones got the most laughs on this topic, when in a slight play on words, he noted, “It needs to be a grass-roots effort.”
The council didn’t really object to such a potential citizen-driven ballot effort but remained somewhat skeptical about a potential jackpot of revenue, citing the problems Manitou Springs is currently facing.
In responding to another inquiry from TMJ News regarding a potential recreational over-reach with their purchase of Shining Mountain, with at least three public links golf courses in Colorado Springs failing in the last five or so years, all the candidates stood behind the city’s decision.
“It was a steal,” said Geer, in outlining the city’s purchase of this property and associated amenities for a little more than $3 million. While admitting that golf course operations are “tricky, “the council candidate touted Shining Mountain as an absolute links’ gem.
As a possible Plan B, Jones said the city would end up with 200 acres of open space if the golf operations went south.
The candidates also agreed on letting the DDA expire in 2032 or at least ending its tax increment financing (TIF) incentives. This topic generated mixed views, with Geer adamantly opposing any use of TIF monies. Sekowski appeared more supportive of these funds for specific projects.
The candidates also expressed various concerns about certain public safety matters. “Traffic (in the downtown area) is the number one public safety concern,” said Sekowski.
Geer, meanwhile, cited potential wildfires as a significant issue of concern. “It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when,” said Geer. “How do we address that. This is going to be a stressful summer.”
“Citizens (in Woodland Park) don’t want to cut trees down,” countered Nakai, in explaining the complexity of combating the town’s wildfire concerns.
April 7 is the deadline for returning ballots. For more information about election procedures and when you can expect a ballot, visit the city’s website.
