Mayor Karen Sheek, 69, and mayor pro-tem Ty Keel, 45, face competition from four challengers: attorney Jill Carlson, 34; journalist Sonja Horoshko, 71; retired electrician Tim Miller, 67; and full-time mother Monica Plewe, 42.<\/p>\n
Four of the candidates will join the council after the April 5 municipal election, along with council members Bob Archibeque, Shawna McLaughlin and Orly Lucero. Council members Jim Price and Tom Butler are not seeking new terms on the council.<\/p>\n
The three candidates who receive the highest numbers of votes will serve four-year terms on the council, and the fourth candidate elected will serve a two-year term.<\/p>\n
About 20 people attended the forum, and they were invited to submit questions for the candidates to answer. Candidates discussed topics such as the future of Cortez, economic development in the city and affordable housing.<\/p>\n
All the candidates said Cortez is on the brink of greatness, but could benefit from some improvements. None supported a council-mandated minimum wage that is higher than the state\u2019s requirement, saying it would pass on costs to employers and could result in layoffs and firings. The candidates also said the council should make an effort to sell or lease the current city hall once city offices move to the former Journal building on N. Roger Smith Avenue. Candidates also said the most important strengths of Cortez are its neighborly people, hardworking city staff and beautiful location.<\/p>\n
Following are key points candidates made on other hot-button issues the city is facing:<\/p>\n
The economy<\/p>\n
How can the council promote economic development?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cWe need to do more outreach for businesses. I\u2019m in support of development on Main Street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cI have to compliment the council for putting in fiber optics. We should play that up and our beautiful area in marketing the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cWe need to advertise our fiber optics network and continue with tourism to draw mountain bikers and other tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cI\u2019m excited to see our businesses succeed and I want to attract more businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cWe need to improve infrastructure downtown to attract businesses. We can use what we already have here to promote the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cI feel we are on the precipice of great things economically. More people are opening small businesses out of their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cortez\u2019s future<\/p>\n
What should the city look like in five years?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cWe should make our law enforcement more sophisticated. Mental health treatment should be developed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cI hope we are prepared for the drug epidemic that is spreading across Colorado. We need to address a detox center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cI want Cortez to be progressive and forward-thinking. We need to reach goals that pay off dividends in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cPeople should see Cortez, not just drive through it. Business owners need to work together with the council.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cI want Cortez to be a thriving place for our youth. I want to see better relationships between many entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cI want it to continue to move forward to beautify itself. I\u2019m excited about Osprey Packs and our new courthouse \u2013 all that adds to the city\u2019s vibrancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Housing<\/p>\n
How can council address the need for affordable housing in Cortez?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cWe need to do more research to address the shortage of affordable housing and figure out how we get from point A to point B.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cWe should look in to environmentally friendly homes made of recycled materials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cWe don\u2019t set the market, but we should work closely with Housing and Urban Development. We can offer classes and broaden the spectrum for potential buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cWe should partner with organizations that already know how to address this issue. We don\u2019t need to reinvent the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cLa Plata Home Fund is a great opportunity for buyers and renters in our area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cThe city needs to research what it needs. We need affordable housing not only for low-income families, but also for seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Personal income<\/p>\n
What can be done to raise income levels in the area?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cThere are lots of resources, but people aren\u2019t aware of them. We need to raise that awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cWe should reach out to tribal governments to help tribal members in our area who are caught in low-income situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cThe city donates to service organizations, such as the Pi\u00f1on Project, that help people and create viable job opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cCortez can build on more than one type of industry. The council should support new types of businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cWe have so many great things here already. We need to build on them. We have seen some opportunities missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cThe city has supported family services. We need to work with other entities. Education is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Improving Cortez<\/p>\n
What improvements could be made to Cortez?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cWe should aim to raise the city\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cThe city might market its image better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cOur infrastructure is aging and could be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cWe should encourage people to be proud of our town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cWe can improve on accountability issues and helping our neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cWe can improve the city\u2019s infrastructure and continue to move forward with more beautification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why you?<\/p>\n
Why should citizens vote for you?<\/p>\n
Carlson: \u201cI have the desire to learn and I have a vision for the community. I would be a good asset to get our younger generation more involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Horoshko: \u201cThe skills I bring from journalism allow me to be in the center of issues and to question everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keel: \u201cI\u2019m vested in the community and I want to leave a legacy for the city\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller: \u201cI am retired and I can devote more time to the council.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plewe: \u201cI bring perspective on many topics due to my involvement in many things in the community. I ask good questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheek: \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot and loved every minute I\u2019ve had on the council. I would like to continue helping Cortez move forward by working with its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karen Sheek, 69, and mayor pro-tem Ty Keel, 45, face competition from four challengers: attorney Jill Carlson, 34; journalist Sonja Horoshko, 71; retired electrician Tim Miller, 67; and full-time mother Monica Plewe, 42. Four of the candidates will join the council after the April 5 municipal election, along with council members Bob Archibeque, Shawna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[21,318,266,13],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-106163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-cortez","tag-cortez-municipal-government","tag-election","tag-frontpage-lead"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106163"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=106163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}