Four residents have already completed paperwork signaling their intention to run for Durango City Council in April, and others have expressed an interest.
Residents who believe they are up to the task have until Feb. 4 to become a candidate in the race for City Council, which has three seats up for grabs April 1.
Councilor Melissa Youssef is wrapping up her second and final term on council. Meanwhile, Mayor Jessika Buell and Councilor Olivier Bosmans are approaching the end of their first terms.
Buell told The Durango Herald on Friday she plans to run for reelection. Bosmans said on Tuesday he has not yet decided if he will seek a second term.
Among the issues newly sworn-in councilors are likely to face include the possible construction of a new city hall and police station; whether to pursue a pedestrian safety and walkability project, known as Downtown’s Next Steps; and the merging of Visit Durango with the city of Durango; among others.
In order to become a candidate, residents must complete an official candidate affidavit with the city clerk’s office, said City Clerk Faye Harmer. From there, prospective candidates have until 3 p.m. Feb. 4 to gather at least 25 signatures from registered electors of the city of Durango. Once the city verifies those signatures, the petitioner becomes a verified candidate.
Candidates are encouraged to collect more than 25 signatures, because signors’ names, addresses and apartment numbers must exactly match the information on the Colorado Secretary of State’s voter registry, and sometimes mistakes happen.
The petition window for gathering signatures opened Wednesday and ends at 3 p.m. Feb. 4. Harmer said a prospective candidate does not have to complete their candidate affidavit right away, but the longer they wait to do so, the less overall time they have to gather signatures and become eligible for the race.
Councilors seeking reelection must follow the same process, she said.
Four prospective candidates had completed their candidate affidavits as of Wednesday afternoon, Harmer said.
They are Charles Elias, 41, who goes by his middle name, Chris; Kip Koso, 58; Shirley Gonzales, 52; and Buell, 44, the current mayor.
Elias, who goes by his middle name, Chris, said he is running for local office to help the community of Durango.
Elias said he is living the retired life and wants to help the community. He knows people in many industries such as rafting and cycling, and he wants to represent the people who are the “lifeblood” of Durango.
He moved to Durango from Tulsa in 2006 to attend Fort Lewis College. He dropped out his senior year, having received all he needed from the college, he said.
After college, he worked as a butcher at Sunnyside Market before moving to California where he started a Cannabis business, THC Design, and then to Oklahoma to start another cannabis business, Heartland Farms, he said. He said the former business did not fare well, but the latter business is thriving.
Gonzales said she brings nearly a decade of City Council experience with her from her time in San Antonio, Texas, where she served two four-year terms from 2013 to 2021 and owned a small family business kept in the family for 62 years. She moved to Durango two years ago.
She said she loves municipal government, understands the system and is especially passionate about transportation alternatives and small business development.
She also serves on two boards: the Economic Development Alliance of La Plata County and the National Bicycle Dealers Association.
Gonzales owns Pedal the Peaks in Durango, is married and has three children who go to Park Elementary School. She said she is looking forward to contributing to Durango.
Koso said he grew up in Durango, although he left town after graduating high school to spread his wings. But he always “boomerangs” back, he said. He most recently moved back to Durango in 2016.
Koso retired in September from a consulting job for a large hospital on the East Coast after working in the health and wellness field for about 32 years. Through his career, he has folded towels for a health club, managed a wellness program for a Fortune 500 company and served as a consultant.
He said he spent nine years working with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and opened the Sun Ute Community Center in Ignacio.
He enjoys volunteering and driving community connections, or “taking different pieces together and making the whole better than the sum of the parts,” he said.
Buell began her first term on City Council in April 2021 after moving to Durango two decades prior to attend Fort Lewis College. In addition to serving as councilor and mayor, Buell owns two businesses, Marketing Concepts Squared and Lucky Services, and is a mother of two teenage boys. Her partner has two sons of his own.
She said she supports small businesses and limiting red tape, knowing the challenges businesses face as a business owner herself. She said the city has made great strides in economic development and the city’s housing division, but there is still a lot of work to be done. She is invested because she wants her boys to be able to afford a home in Durango someday.
Ensuring the city has a sound budget and acts in a fiscally responsible way is an important task for city councilors, she said, adding that is the reason Downtown’s Next Step was put on hold. And the city sorely needs a new city hall and police station, which the 2005 sales tax extension could contribute to if voters approve.
The first year on City Council is like drinking water from a fire hose, she said, and she is just hitting her stride. She said she loves the Durango community, finding the middle ground on issues and hearing from her constituents. Even if she and residents disagree on something, she enjoys working together toward a common interest.
cburney@durangoherald.com