Rivera optimistic strong-mayor movement will advance
Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said a proposal that would give his successor more power could still face a November vote.
The measure, which would strengthen the mayor’s role, was recently found to have fallen short of the number of signatures required to be placed on the ballot. That leaves supporters with seven days to gather 1,444 more signatures.
“It’s not insurmountable,” Rivera said.
Rivera also said he’s “more than willing” to call a special session so the City Council can accept certification of the required number of signatures if the group, Citizens for Accountable Leadership, meets the goal.
The group wants to change the city’s form of government to one that would give the mayor broad executive powers.
The group, which spent tens of thousands of dollars just on signature collectors trolling for registered city voters downtown and elsewhere, was required to submit 25,091 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.
Despite big smiles and big hugs Aug. 3 when the group confidently hauled 10 boxes of petitions with more than 36,000 signatures into the City Clerk’s Office, it missed the mark by 1,444 signatures.
When they turned them in, “I thought to myself, ‘This is going to be close,’” Rivera said.
For a signature to count, it has to be from a city resident who is registered to vote.
Rivera said the group is allowed a “cure period” to collect the necessary signatures.
The developer-led group has left the mayor and council entirely out of the effort.
The mayor went so far as to draft his own proposal for consideration, believing that after his time in office, he could offer first-hand insight on what needs to be changed with the city’s existing council-manager form of government.
He also suggested council could refer the initiative to the ballot, saving the expense – and risk – of gathering signatures.
“They never took me up on the offer,” he said.
The group, which has spent about $236,000 on the proposal, plans to raise and spend several hundred thousand dollars more if the proposal makes the ballot.
