2024 State of the City Address

Mayor Yemi Mobolade
2024 State of the City Address
September 9, 2024

Our city is rich in many identities, and we welcome and celebrate that diversity. We are a beautiful city at the base of America’s Mountain. We are the proud home of five military installations, over forty-thousand (40,000) uniformed military members, and more than ninety-thousand (90,000) veterans. We are the home of space. And, yes we are Olympic City USA.

Based on the number of athletes who live and train here, if Colorado Springs were a country, we would have finished 3^rd in the Paris 2024 Olympic medal count with 66 total medals. And we would have finished 9th in the Paralympic medal count with 57 total medals.

This proves that the road to the Games, the road to the podium, and the road to greatness runs through Colorado Springs.

And speaking of roads, the theme of today’s State of the City is “Our road to the future.” 

Like every successful road trip, before you plan your route and stops, you have to first know where you are going. 

Where are we going? 

The vision for Colorado Springs is to become a safe, economically prosperous, culturally rich, welcoming, and vibrant world-class American city on a hill that shines brightly.

This city was founded 153 years ago, born out of the vision and optimism of our founders, and generations of leaders before us. Our founder, General William Jackson Palmer, looked out over a barren and treeless land and saw endless possibilities. He dared to dream, explore, take risks and build.

Today, Colorado Springs is not so barren. As the 39th largest city in America and home to more than five-hundred-thousand (500,000) people and growing, we are the most desirable city to live in America and the third best place to live in our great country according to U.S. News & World Report.

We have come a long way, and we still have a lot of work to do. But, first, let us reflect on how many miles we have traveled over the last year. 

In January, we released our 2024 strategic doing action plan. Five strategic priorities and 20 action items in each of these areas.

Led by the voices and dreams of our diverse neighborhoods, our vibrant business community, and our passionate residents. This year we ...

1. Took steps to address our public safety challenges;
2. We built roads and improved parks;
3. We added hundreds of units of housing that meet area median income;
4. We collaborated with business partners to bring new jobs and opportunities. 
5. And, we activated residents to take ownership of their own flourishing. 

I’m pleased to share with you today a few wins from each strategic priority. 

First and foremost, public safety.

By early next year, we expect to be at our full authorized strength of 819 police officers. This will be the first time since 2019 that we are at full strength! We expect to have hired 130 officers this year alone.

What does this mean for you? It means we are inching closer to better service and response times. To our new recruits, and to our entire police department and their family members, thank you for your selfless sacrifice. 

We are also leveraging technology as a force multiplier to increase our public safety impact. Our Police Department has begun testing a new drone as a first responder program to enhance its ability to protect and serve the community.  This provides a first set of eyes on what is happening on scene and helps determine the needed level of response and support. 

As our city grows, so too must our public safety presence. 

We broke ground on Fire Station 24 off Interquest Parkway on the north side, and we opened Fire Station 25 near Marksheffel Road in the southeast.

Nine months into the year, our Fire Department has responded to 24 wildland fires. Their quick and effective response prevented the next Waldo Canyon or Black Forest Fire. Because of their excellence, no lives and no structures have been lost. Our firefighters have also responded to a significant number of fires in homeless encampments. 339 fires since the start of the year.

Our preparedness efforts continue to be a critical part of our city’s success. This includes fourteen-hundred (1,400) acres of mitigation work and thirty-six-hundred (3,600) personal residences that participated in our chipping program.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that your Fire Chief, Randy Royal, was recently named the International Fire Chief of the Year! Out of more than twenty-two-thousand(22,000) fire chiefs, Chief Royal was recognized for his leadership and excellence.

And, still, the safety of our community is not limited to our public safety professionals. Every day, residents are stepping up to help keep our community safe.   

Residents like Kevin Hughes, Nathaniel Peña, Jermaine Jackson and Chris Beyer. Their stories came together when an individual facing a mental health crisis walked onto a local golf course carrying multiple weapons and firing in the air. 

Kevin warned people to seek safety. Nathaniel confronted the suspect. Jermaine quickly moved golfers inside to seek shelter. And Chris placed himself between the weapon and the suspect while he waited for the swift arrival of police. All four of them showed great courage, empathy, and humility putting the safety of their fellow residents ahead of their own. 

Next, infrastructure. I have several wins to share.

First everyone’s favorite, POTHOLES. What is a State of the City address without the mayor talking about potholes. 

Thank you to everyone who reported a pothole through our GoCOS app. We received more than six-thousand (6,000) requests to fill potholes, and our crews answered the call. We have filled over seventy-three-thousand (73,000) potholes across our city so far this year, which is eight-thousand (8,000) more than we filled at this time last year.

I even had the chance to get out there and fill some potholes alongside our crew in front of Martinez Elementary. I can tell you that work is a lot harder than it looks! To the women and men out there working to make our roads better – I SEE you, and I thank you.

Good roads are a staple of a great city. Our roads are what firefighters drive on their way to put out a house fire. They are what parents use when they pick up their kids from school. They are what you drive to get to work.

This year alone we have repaved 162 miles of roads, replaced one-hundred-fifty-two-thousand(152,000) feet of concrete curb and gutter and installed 600 pedestrian ramps. Concrete lines most of our roads. Without solid concrete, you can’t have solid asphalt. 2C has made significant progress. And it would not be possible without 2C funding that can only be spent on work to repave roads and fix the concrete next to them. 

Several capital improvement projects are also underway. One of them is the Circle Drive Bridge project. We are replacing four of the ten longest bridges in Colorado Springs. These bridges were built in 1963, and they needed major safety upgrades. In addition to safer, more accessible, pedestrian friendly bridges, we expect this investment to last for another 100 years. 

We are also focused on cleanup efforts citywide. Already in 2024, our Keep It Clean COS program has cleaned up more than two-thousand-nine-hundred (2,900) tons of debris, filling more than 89 dump trucks full of trash, including one-thousand-three-hundred (1,300) discarded tires and one-thousand-one-hundred (1,100) shopping carts. 

Our neighborhood services team has also removed ten-thousand (10,000) graffiti tags and cleared more than three-thousand (3,000) abandoned vehicles.

And still, the city is not alone in this effort. This is an all-hands-on deck approach to include community partners like the Fountain Creek Watershed, Friends Groups, Richard’s Rubbish Roundup, COSILoveYou, and Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful. To everyone who has picked up a piece of litter this year – thank you!

Colorado’s favorite airport is also undergoing major advancements. The Colorado Springs Airport is expanding its air service and nonstop flight options, achieving record-breaking traffic. It also added a new nonstop route to Baltimore Washington International. To better serve these passengers, major upgrades are underway. 

This $40 million dollar investment of federal infrastructure grants and airport revenue is poised to improve the terminal and accommodate future air service growth that could include international travel.

Parks. Our team tirelessly works to protect, preserve, and enhance Colorado Springs’ most beautiful assets. This includes access to 128 playgrounds, 156 parks, 150 miles of urban trails, and nineteen-thousand (19,000) acres of open space and growing. This work extends to making our parks accessible for people of all ages and abilities. 

This also includes our furry friends. Our city’s first fully accessible dog park opened this summer in historic Antlers Park in the heart of downtown. Thank you to the many partners who helped bring this project to life, including the Downtown Partnership.

Residents like Terrell Brown are stepping up to do their part too. Terrell is a son of Southeast Colorado Springs, a Division 1 basketball player and an El Pomar Fellow. He also founded Hillside Connection, a nonprofit that uses basketball to create pathways to opportunity. Without basketball, Terrell’s story would be remarkably different.

He knows the power of public parks. These are third places where neighbors join together to experience community. Places where young people can problem solve with adults, and places where people can imagine and activate their dreams. 

That is why, earlier this year, Terrell took a jump shot at restoring life to the courts at Memorial Park. Terrell's submission to the “Every Court Has a Story contest” won Colorado Springs a fully funded court renovation! It will bring art, positivity and pride to Memorial Park. 

This incredible win follows the positive momentum of significant safety improvements made in Memorial Park that added 181 new lights, 19 security gates and 10 wireless security cameras. 

The road to our future is paved with progress.

Next, Housing.

To better understand the challenges and opportunities around our current housing market, I reached out to the Common Sense Institute for help. This is an independent, nonpartisan, Colorado-based research organization. They studied the issue and released their own report on housing. It revealed Colorado Springs has a shortage of up to twenty-seven-thousand (27,000) housing units. 

I’ve also heard about this need from you and our military partners. There was a time when residents would express frustration because we were losing all our young people to cities that were “cooler.” A few weeks ago, at a small group meeting, I heard from several parents who said, “we need housing so we can kick them out of our basement.”

We need diverse housing of all types. We need it for new college grads, senior citizens looking to downsize, and for our workforce pillars – teachers, clerks, nurses, military members, police officers, and firefighters. The bottom line, we must increase the amount and variety of housing options so residents can find and choose housing that is right for them.

As we seek innovative housing solutions, I, along with a few local leaders and builders, toured the Fading West modular home factory in Buena Vista and On2 Homes by Oakwood Homes in Denver. These homes are built in a factory. They are faster and more cost-effective to build, yet they retain excellent building quality, just like traditionally built homes. The potential here is very exciting. 

Beyond innovative housing solutions, we continue to leverage our HUD funds to invest in local housing projects. This year, we allocated roughly $1.6 million dollars to a total of one-thousand-one-hundred-ninety-four (1,194) units that are either under construction or ready to lease. This is housing for seniors, youth, veterans, and residents on fixed incomes. Projects such as: the Silver Key Senior Apartments, Launchpad and Bentley Commons.

And because our City government is not a housing provider, we depend on a village of partners and the work of many who are actively contributing to the community’s housing needs. Partners like El Paso County, the Urban Renewal Authority, local school districts, the Colorado Springs Housing Authority, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, the State of Colorado and so many more. 

It takes a village to build a village. 

This includes builders like Classic Homes, Goodwin Knight, Lincoln Avenue Communities, and others, who are building homes for residents who are at or below the area median income.

Several local pastors and churches including Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church, Woodmen Valley Chapel, and New Life Church are also contributing by using excess church land to build housing. A special shout out to Pastor Ben Anderson with Solid Rock CDC. This Thursday, he will open the Villages at Solid Rock, with nearly 80 units to meet our growing need for housing in the Southeast.

Shelley Jensen, the founder of We Fortify, is also a key partner in this work. 

This summer, Shelley won the Chamber and EDC’s prestigious Community Investment of the Year Award for her work providing tiny homes and services for homeless youth.

There is arguably no one who has a bigger heart for this work than Shelley. What most people don’t know is, that Shelley got started by literally opening up her home and her yard to youth experiencing homelessness. 

Our road to the future must lead home.

Next, economic vitality. 

Last year, Colorado Springs saw our economy grow by 8.5 percent. That is almost $4 billion dollars! And over the last five years, our economy has grown by 30 percent. 

Our community continues to be a hub for the high-tech industry, and, this year, we became one of the first cities in the country to benefit from federal CHIPS Act grant funding.

The State of Colorado is one of only six states in the country that have received CHIPS Act funding. And Colorado Springs is the only city that has received two of these awards. The promise of these investments is significant. Groundbreaking innovation. Good-paying jobs. American-made manufacturing. And, a secure, prosperous future. 

Since 2023, El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs have led Colorado in the number of state-incentivized projects. We approved a record 12 economic development agreements, resulting in an estimated one-thousand-seven-hundred (1,700) jobs retained, three-thousand (3,000) new jobs, $1.6 billion dollars in private investment and $125 million dollars in projected new City revenue. Revenue from these investments goes directly to providing excellent city services like police, fire, and other public infrastructure that improve your quality of life.

Peak Innovation Park, a business park at the Colorado Springs Airport, is contributing greatly to this success. It is home to Amazon and a growing number of defense companies. Peak is estimated to add $1.9 billion to our local economy next year alone.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Thanks to a partnership between the City and Exponential Impact called Survive and Thrive, we are helping small businesses access capital. I helped create this program with Vance Brown in 2020. This year alone, Survive and Thrive awarded nearly $1.2 million in low-interest, high-impact loans to 54 small businesses along with mentorship and learning opportunities.

While we have seen economic success on one hand, on the other, our community has felt the impact of inflation and supply chain issues. Small businesses have felt it the most.

This is why, we hired a small business development administrator and established local business walks to hear directly from business owners. We also launched COS Business Navigator to support them. This resource complements the business tools we already have, including Permit Partner, an easy way for business owners to navigate the permit process, and COS Open for Biz, a step-by-step roadmap for those just getting started.

Addressing workforce challenges is another key component of maintaining a strong local economy. Businesses are creating jobs, yet a significant number of positions remain unfilled.

This is why we have a new workforce administrator who is collaborating with school districts and workforce partners to identify gaps and catalyze change. 

K through 12 education in the Pikes Peak region supplies the talent our local economy needs. I love seeing the development of innovative Career and Technical Education programs that prepare students for successful technical careers.

The Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance and the HBA Careers in Construction program are great examples of successful CTE programs. Recent surveys of Careers in Construction students reveal promising trends – 78 percent of participants now feel prepared to enter the workforce.

My sincere thanks to our local school districts, including my own kids’ district, D-11, and our higher education institutions for their efforts. Our city is the proud home of more than 50 vocational and trade schools, colleges, and universities, including Pikes Peak State College, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado College, and the United States Air Force Academy.

On another high note, our city is attracting game-changing new entertainment options. From Lulu’s Downtown to Louie Louie’s Piano Bar, the Jonas Brothers and Jason Aldean playing at Weidner Field, and the worldclass lineup of talent at the new Ford Amphitheater. You know who we still need though? Taylor Swift. Any Swifties in the house? 

One of the things I love most about concerts is the power they have to unite people. Unity is becoming a scarce commodity these days, especially in this presidential election year. Much like sports and our Colorado Springs Switchbacks, music has a unique way of bridging the divide and bringing people of diverse backgrounds and interests together to enjoy a shared passion and foster community pride. 

For this journey, our road trip has an incredible soundtrack. The perfect mixed tape.

Last but not the least, Community Activation

I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made to mobilize our community members to take ownership of their own flourishing and drive positive change. 

Addressing our community's mental well-being is one of our primary objectives. Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, geography, social status, race, or religion. Struggling with mental health has been part of my own journey.

It has been an honor this year to team up with City Councilmember David Leinweber to address our region’s growing mental health crisis. This includes our ongoing effort to encourage 1,000 Neighborhood Gatherings across our city this summer. 

From events in the park with bouncy houses to tea parties, landscaping events, entire apartment complexes joining together, Flamingo Fridays and even Donuts in the Driveway, we are helping residents move from isolation to community. Over 700 gatherings have been held across our city in 100 percent of our neighborhoods. Who here has hosted or attended a gathering? I want to see all those hands up!

These gatherings are changing the social fabric of our neighborhoods. And we have received incredible feedback from the community. Diana Bird-it said this about her gathering:

 “Everyone wants to do it again and add other gatherings over the course of the year! One older neighbor expressed a need for someone to mow his yard, which resulted in another neighbor mowing AND edging as soon as our party broke up. There was LOTS of wonderful, heart-warming, informative conversation, and everyone left shaking hands and hugging! God has started something beautiful as a result! We can’t wait to see this new beginning grow and blossom in the months and years ahead!”

My heartfelt thanks to neighbors like Diana and everyone who has participated. A special shoutout to the Neighborhood Watch Program, CONO, NAMI, COSILoveYou and all the churches and places of worship who are answering this call to help build a city of great neighbors. 

This movement is inspiring action in other cities as well. After hearing about our work, the City of Springfield, Missouri, decided to hold 100 Block Parties. As they say, “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”

Friends, there is still time to host a gathering. YOU can help us hit 1,000. Register it at ColoradoSprings.gov.

I’d also like to thank my wife, Abbey, for activating her platform as First Lady to launch Pikes Peak Rising. This is a regional and collaborative effort that takes mental health head-on. It is already making a difference. 

To Susan Wheelan – director of El Paso County Public Health – thank YOU to you and your team for launching the state’s first public web portal for mental health resources. If you or someone you know needs help, Pikes Peak Rising 360 is a great place to start. 

Friends, mental health is all of us.

So, what’s next?

The city’s roadmap is our new Strategic Plan. It is informed by YOU through our citywide listening tours, solutions teams and strategic plan development work groups.

To the many leaders who participated, thank you! A big shout out to the City’s Courtney Brown who led this effort and to all my City leaders – Chief of Staff Jamie Fabos, Deputy Chiefs of Staff Travis Easton and Ryan Trujillo – all the City directors, MOCA, BAM squad, and the nearly 3,000 City team members working tirelessly for YOU.

Our Strategic Plan helps guide our mission to serve you, enhance your quality of life, prepare for future challenges and opportunities, and prioritize our limited resources. 

We have five strategic priority areas. (1) Public Safety, (2) Infrastructure, (3) Housing Solutions, (4) Economic Vitality and (5) Community Activation. 

Each year, we will execute an annual action plan to achieve our objectives. These yearly plans are called “Strategic Doing.” I hope you caught that; the emphasis is on getting ‘schtuff’ done. 

I want to focus on three areas that are top of mind for me because they are top of mind for you. (1) Good governance. (2) Responding to homelessness. And (3) Addressing crime.

Good governance is about prioritizing evidence-based decision-making, rearranging operations and resources to create efficiencies, and leaning toward upstream solutions to address the root causes of the problem. It is a commitment to innovation throughout our City organization. It is ensuring we are good stewards of our resources, your tax dollars. 

We are self-auditing our budget processes and operations to maximize what we have and how we deliver effectively and efficiently.

For example, the 2C road improvement program. Thanks to you the voters, in nine years 2C has:

1. Doubled the number of roads in good condition. 
2. Reduced the number of damage claims against the City by almost 80 percent
3. Lowered the number of pothole complaints by 34 percent
4. Saved the city money – a projected $648 million dollars over 30 years or $21 million dollars a year in savings. Just like changing the oil in your car, regular maintenance pays off. 

Friends, 2C IS our road to the future. 

We have repaved nearly one-thousand-seven-hundred (1,700) miles so far, which is one third of our total roads. And, we still have about five-thousand (5,000) miles to go. 

I want to thank City Council for unanimously referring the renewal of 2C to this November’s ballot. I also want to thank the 2C campaign team, including former mayor John Suthers. It is not often you get two mayors united in cause and purpose. John Suthers’ leadership was instrumental in getting this solution off the ground.

So, without raising taxes, I ask you to join John and me in voting YES to renew the 2C road improvement program for 10 more years.

Next, homelessness.

The good news is that our annual Point in Time Count showed a 12 percent reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness. It reported one-thousand-one-hundred-forty-six (1,146) unhoused residents, which is 156 less people than in 2023. These are the lowest numbers we have seen in Colorado Springs since 2015.

While we are encouraged by this report, we know our work is not done. The Point in Time Count provides a snapshot on one winter night each year. And I recognize unsheltered homelessness remains a growing concern from the community and our local businesses. I've witnessed these challenges firsthand.

Our City’s new Homelessness Response Plan, to be released this fall, will:

1. Enforce our laws and protect public spaces while connecting the unhoused to resources. 
2. Provide funding to support housing solutions and our local nonprofits.
3. Clean campsites to prevent fire hazards and water pollution.
4. Prioritize street outreach to high-needs individuals.
5. Offer employment opportunities through the City’s WorkCOS program; and
6. Keep you engaged and informed on the issues.

Thank you to the 300-plus leaders who provided feedback and helpful strategies to help make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.

I am pleased to announce today that Aimee Cox is our City’s new Chief Housing and Homelessness Response Officer. We are so fortunate to have Aimee return to the City in this role. She was one of the first architects of our region’s homeless response, and she has a 20-year track record of maximizing existing resources and collaborating with faith leaders, nonprofits, businesses and builders to create safe places for people to go. Aimee inherits a great team and great work already underway in this space.

And, finally, addressing crime.

The City’s strategic plan outlines our audacious goal to make Colorado Springs one of the safest cities in America. To do that, we’re focused on ways to improve response times, reduce crime and address public safety concerns.

Our 2025 budget proposal will include the addition of 20 officers to grow our authorized strength. To keep pace with our city’s growth, we will continue to add more officers so that in your time of need, we have the team and resources to quickly respond.

While we’re seeing a reduction in most property crimes, robbery, and traffic accidents, we are also seeing an increase in motor vehicle theft, homicides and traffic fatalities.

As we look at motor vehicle theft, an alarming number of these cars are stolen by juveniles who are repeat offenders. A 15-year-old recently stole 27 cars in 11 months, and he was arrested 10 times. Upon each release back to his parents, he would shrug his shoulders at officers and admit he would be stealing more cars tomorrow.  

Current legislation makes it difficult to stop repeat juvenile offenders from returning to the street and repeating the same bad behavior and committing increasingly dangerous crimes. This system is failing them, and it is failing our community.

What are we doing about it? 

We will hold a legislative public safety summit this November with state lawmakers, nonprofit partners, and the business community to explore legislative strategies that will keep repeat offenders off the street.

We are also prioritizing upstream solutions. This includes the Police Chief’s Youth Advisory Council, a voluntary group of highschoolers who meet regularly to share their thoughts and concerns directly with Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. And we are grateful for our partnerships with youth intervention services such as Forge Evolution, One Body E.N.T., and Joint Initiatives, to name a few. 

To our next generation of leaders, community members, and organizations making a difference – thank you.

Several targeted enforcement efforts are set to address issues like expired license plates, abandoned vehicles, alcohol compliance and dangerous driving, like speeding and driving through red lights. We are leveraging technology as a force multiplier to address these issues. Programs such as speed safety cameras, photo red and drone as a first responder. 

Friends, accountability to the rule of law is something we have heard repeatedly from you. As such, I have directed greater enforcement of illegal camping, trespassing and littering.

Further, I am adding new Homeless Outreach Team members to expand our efforts with our Neighborhood Services team as we coordinate our work to keep our city clean and enforce our sit and lie ordinance. This complements the work of our Homeless Outreach Program and Fire Department’s alternative response teams that focus on behavioral health and transitional support. 

So why does all this matter? 

Our road to the future, our destination, is a thriving city. When all is said and done, we are advancing human flourishing. 

This is the American Dream. The idea that anyone, regardless of their background, culture, or circumstances, with the right opportunity can flourish. The American Dream embodies the aspiration for a better life, the pursuit of happiness, and the belief that with hard work, anyone can achieve their goals. 

The American Dream has always been more than just a concept to me; it is the very foundation of my journey, one that has taken me from the bustling streets of Lagos, Nigeria, to the vibrant community of Colorado Springs.

It is the story of a 17-year-old misfit international student who arrived timid and hopeless. Who had a heavy accent that people made fun of, leaving him voiceless. I will never forget the first time I heard the words, “there is something special about you, you are destined for greatness.” Thanks to my voice teacher Vicky Garrett and other mentors who SAW me and helped champion my leadership and influence.

My American Dream is a dream of mentors, friends, and friend-tors who SAW greatness in me before I did. 

It is the dream of access to high-quality education. A great equalizer, that gave me the tools I needed to succeed and achieve my full potential. 

It is the dream of access to meaningful and fulfilling work opportunities that allowed me to provide for myself, and my family, and contribute to my community.

It is the dream of housing opportunities and having a place to call home. Beginning with an apartment after college, then saving enough money for a down payment to purchase a starter home. And selling and upgrading to a forever home.

It is the dream of feeling safe and secure in my own home, neighborhood park, place of work, and at my favorite store or restaurant.

It is the dream of becoming a citizen of the United States. The culmination of a long journey and a powerful affirmation of belonging and responsibility.

Friends, the American Dream is about more than individual achievement; it is about creating a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. And that is why this annual speech to reflect on our past accomplishments and look toward our future, matters. 

As your mayor, I carry this sense of duty with me every day. I am committed to ensuring that our city is a place where everyone, regardless of their story or background, has the tools and opportunities to pursue their own version of the American Dream.

Friends, it has been quite the journey, and we have come a long way on our road trip, but we still have a way to go. We have a lot of good work ahead of us. And we WILL get it done. 

It is not just what we WILL accomplish but HOW we will accomplish it. We will be transparent and fair, we will be approachable and helpful, and we will be proactive and innovative.

The 16th President of the United States, President Lincoln, a leader who I deeply admire, model my leadership after, and whom I share a birthday with, once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” It is not just what we do, it is how we do it.

The story of Colorado Springs will be a better story. We will show the world what democracy looks like. We will be firm in our convictions while also treating each other with respect. We will put our city over party. People above politics. Country over ideology. 

We will welcome the competition of ideas, disagreements and differences of opinion. We will not make it personal. We will attack the problem, not the person. 

In the words of President Lincoln at his second inaugural address as he previewed his plans for healing a once-divided nation, he said, “With malice toward none and charity for all, let us strive to finish the work we are in.” 

With malice toward none, and with charity for all, I ask you to join me in building a safe, economically prosperous, culturally rich, welcoming, and vibrant world-class American city on a hill that we call Colorado Springs. 

Friends, I still believe greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city. And, please, vote yes for 2C. 

We are Colorado Springs!

Onward & Upward.