No, it's not an April Fools joke, Colorado Springs has a local election on Tuesday, April 1.
Voters should know that ballots will only be accepted by mail or in an official dropbox. You can find the nearest dropbox here.
So what's on the ballot? This year, the six district seats are up for grabs and ballots will only contain the city council race for their area based on current district boundary lines. Check out a sample ballot here.
If you think your council district looks different, that's because the city recently went through a redistricting process that was finalized last fall. It happens every four years to adjust for population change. We wrote about it here. You can find a map of the council districts here.
No, there aren't any measures on the ballot this time. Voters almost would've had to decide on recreational marijuana sales again (see 2024 election results) but the state Supreme Court refused to hear the city's appeal after a district court judge blocked the question from appearing on the April ballot. You can find our coverage on that saga here.
KRCC once again sent out questionnaires to every candidate, crafting some of our questions with input from community members. While a few candidates did not respond to the survey, a majority did. You can read their responses at the links below.
Happy voting!
District 1 city council race
There are two candidates running for the 1st Council District. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
- Dave Donelson (incumbent)
- Lee Lehmkuhl (did not return questionnaire)
District 2 city council race
There are two candidates running for the 2nd Council District. Incumbent Randy Helms will not be running again. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
- Frank Chrisinger (did not return questionnaire)
- Tom Bailey
District 3 city council race
There are five candidates running for the 3rd Council District. Incumbent Michelle Talarico will not be running again. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
- Brandy Williams
- Maryah Lauer
- Richard Gillit
- Greg Thornton
- Christopher Metzgar (did not return questionnaire)
District 4 city council race
There are three candidates running for the 4th Council District. Incumbent Yolanda Avila is term-limited and cannot run again. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
Jeannie Orozco Lira, whose name appears on the ballot, has withdrawn from the race. This is her statement, in part: "I threw my name in the city council hat in hopes of continuing to be a voice for my community and improving our daily quality of life. However, my family and I are unable to survive on what city council is stipend per year."
District 5 city council race
There are four candidates running for the 5th Council District. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
- Nancy Henjum (incumbent)
- Cass R. Melin
- Christopher Burns (did not return questionnaire)
- Jim Miller
District 6 city council race
There are three candidates running for the 6th Council District. Incumbent Mike O'Malley is not running again. Get to know their positions on key issues by reading their questionnaire responses linked below.
- Aaron D. Schick (did not return questionnaire)
- Roland Rianey, Jr.
- Parth Melpakam
