VIDEO: District 3 Council candidates couldn't be more different

There's no confusing Jerry Heimlicher and Dave Gardner, the two candidates vying for the District 3 City Council seat in Tuesday's all-mail municipal election.

Heimlicher, the incumbent, and Gardner, his outspoken opponent, are polar opposites who have generated most of the sparks in what has otherwise been a ho-hum election.

Gardner, a professional filmmaker and activist, has long been a thorn in the side of the City Council.

Heimlicher, a retired businessman, has been endorsed by nearly all its members.

Gardner is a political novice making his first run at public office.

Heimlicher has been a councilman since 2003, the first time he ever ran.

Heimlicher, who moved to the city 12 years ago, is part of the establishment.

Gardner, a Colorado Springs native, despises it - and the feeling is mutual.

Heimlicher, 67, says he has the experience and relationships to guide the city forward.

Gardner, 54, says the city is at a crossroads and needs new ideas and a breath of fresh air to bring it into the 21st century.

"Look. Look at what a mess we have," Gardner said. "The guy has been in office for six years. He's had six years to offer up a solution to the huge imbalance and unhealthy dependence we have on sales tax. What's he waiting for?"

Sales taxes, which are volatile, generate about half of the city's general fund revenues.

Heimlicher said he knows the city needs a new approach. He said the council acted by appointing a committee to figure out the long-term financial sustainability of the city.

But the problems of today were triggered by everything from the collapse of Wall Street to the loss of consumer confidence, he said.

"The problems haven't been around for six years," he said. "These problems have manifested to their greatest degree actually this year and the year before."

In addition to the race for District 3, which encompasses the southwestern part of the city, Tuesday's ballot also includes four ballot initiatives and three other City Council races, only one of which is contested.

The contest between Heimlicher and Gardner, if Gardner wins, could shake things up on the council dais.

Technically, the race is nonpartisan, but Heimlicher, the mayor and the other council members are Republicans, and Gardner is a Democrat.

To say that Heimlicher and Gardner don't see eye-to-eye is an understatement.

Gardner says Heimlicher and his colleagues are "addicted to growth." He essentially accuses them of being in the pockets of developers.

Heimlicher bristles at the suggestion, saying he wouldn't have supported open space efforts like Red Rock Canyon if he was the developers' puppet.

"If I were truly a pawn of the developers, don't you think they would have hung me in effigy or maybe literally?" he said.

Heimlicher says Gardner is a single-issue candidate who would face a daunting task trying to gain consensus among the nine-member City Council.

"Let's just say that he gets elected and now he's up there sitting with the other eight and all eight of them are people he has accused of basically selling out their souls and community to the developers," Heimlicher said. "How in the world is he going to work with them?"

Gardner admits his criticism probably isn't "politically pragmatic," but he said he's been standing up for what's right.

"If it's a lions den, I'll survive it," he said. "I'm not nasty. We respect each other and when I bump into them in the coffee shop we say hi, and we shake hands. They're not going to let the public know because they really are afraid of my message, but they respect me - privately - every one of them."

Gardner and Heimlicher even disagree on population projections.

"Are we like this little pocket of the country, the only pocket of the country, where we're reproducing like bunnies?" Gardner asks.

"For the last few years, we've had over 9,000 births and 3,000 deaths," Heimlicher said. "He says you have to take Fort Carson out of it ... but you've got 18-, 19-year-old young people leaving town with their baby and the new ones come in and make a new baby, and Fort Carson is expanding."

Their disagreement around population stems from the $1 billion Southern Delivery System, a pipeline between the Springs and Pueblo Reservoir.

"We will be smarter if we don't invest $2 billion in the Southern Delivery System and then become desperate to get Banning Lewis Ranch filled up to pay for that," Gardner said, referring to a huge housing development east of Powers Boulevard.

Heimlicher said the development is a "favorite target" of Gardner, who he accuses of being shortsighted.

"We have a responsibility for the future of this city today," Heimlicher said.

About the only thing the two candidates agree on is their love of the city.

"I want to be part of the solution, and I've got some things that I've already started," Heimlicher said.

"The city is in a state of emergency," Gardner said. "I mean, never has it been so important for us to be on the right track."

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DETAILS

The deadline to return a ballot is 7 p.m. Tuesday. Postmarks don't count.

Voters can also drop off their ballots at five locations citywide.

All five locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Monday and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

• The City Administration Building, 30 S. Nevada Ave., where voters can drop off their ballots at the curb Tuesday.
• The Colorado Springs Senior Center, 1514 N. Hancock Ave.
• Fire Station No. 9, 622 Garden of the Gods Road
• The Cottonwood Creek Recreation Center, 3920 Dublin Blvd.
• Fire Station No. 17, 3750 Tutt Blvd.