{"id":11830,"date":"2026-03-13T18:51:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T00:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/first-city-council-candidate-forum-showcases-conflicting-visions-of-cortez\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:32:41","slug":"first-city-council-candidate-forum-showcases-conflicting-visions-of-cortez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/first-city-council-candidate-forum-showcases-conflicting-visions-of-cortez\/","title":{"rendered":"First City Council candidate forum showcases conflicting visions of Cortez"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ten
Ten City Council candidates attended the League of Women Voters forum to introduce themselves to the community and explain their visions for the city. 11 candidates are vying for five seats in the April 7 election. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Cortez voters packed City Council Chambers Wednesday night as 10 candidates offered sharply different visions for the city\u2019s future during the first of two City Council candidate forums.<\/p>\n

Some candidates defended the current council\u2019s handling of city finances and governance, while others warned Cortez is struggling with deeper economic and social problems.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the League of Women Voters, the forum featured both predetermined and audience questions, prompting candidates to outline their priorities and critiques ahead of the upcoming election.<\/p>\n

City finances were a central focus of the evening, with several candidates highlighting budgeting experience and debating how the city should manage its resources.<\/p>\n

Critics of the current council<\/div>\n

Charles P. Borchini Jr. and James McGinley positioned themselves as critics of the current council, arguing the city faces mismanagement and growing social challenges.<\/p>\n

Borchini, who has faced criticism over the historical associations of his business name \u201cWork Brings Freedom LLC\u201d to Nazi concentration camp slogans, said he decided to run after Mayor Rachel Medina announced she would resign before completing her term.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to run, but I saw the mayor resigned. Seems like everybody\u2019s bailing out on the city,\u201d Borchini said.<\/p>\n

He criticized the city\u2019s planned sales tax holiday, prompted by an accidental overcollection of city tax and scheduled for the final quarter of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to take responsibility if I make a mistake. I\u2019m not going to just brush it over and pass some tax holiday,\u201d Borchini said.<\/p>\n

City Manager Drew Sanders previously said the overcollection resulted from a failure to pass an ordinance and that the timing of the tax holiday is intended to benefit local residents.<\/p>\n

Borchini also pointed to the South Softball Complex as an example of what he sees as poor budget management.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t have maintenance of our facilities, we might as well not even build them,\u201d Borchini said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of ways that we can save. I don\u2019t know if we have to cut people from the payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGinley focused on the city\u2019s unhoused population and broader economic struggles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see us vibrant as a community, and we\u2019re not heading in that direction right now,\u201d McGinley said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to see us living off the impoverished anymore. We have a poverty industry here in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also called for City Council, which currently meets every two weeks, to operate as a full-time governing body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need a council that is working 40 hours a week,\u201d McGinley said.<\/p>\n

Candidates defending city leadership<\/div>\n

Other candidates defended the current council\u2019s record, particularly on finances.<\/p>\n

Dennis Spruell, who is seeking re-election after four years on the council, said the city is in strong financial condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy to say that currently Cortez is totally out of debt and in very good financial condition,\u201d Spruell said. \u201cI hate to hear all the doom and gloom because it\u2019s not that way. We work very, very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis Shepherd said the council inherited significant financial challenges, including embezzlement by a former financial director and a backlog of unfinished financial audits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have more here than we have budget for and they\u2019ve done a really good job of keeping the lights on and that\u2019s what they need to do,\u201d Shepherd said. \u201cGoing forward, we need to find ways to continue what they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathleen Swope, a retired teacher who said she frequently watches City Council meetings, said she was impressed by the council\u2019s professionalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was greatly impressed with their professionalism and the good work that has happened here and I want to really be part of that,\u201d Swope said. \u201cI want to know more about Cortez from that angle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budget experience highlighted<\/div>\n

Several candidates pointed to their professional experience managing budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI manage a council of 15 participating local governments for the opioid settlement funds,\u201d Claire West said. \u201cI\u2019ve managed budgets anywhere between $500,000 and $10 million. I see money as a tool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carly Wolf, owner of Doobie Sisters dispensaries in Cortez and Mancos, said her experience running a business prepared her to manage city finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been running our business for 10 years now, so I\u2019m very familiar with how to keep a budget, how to keep it running and sustainable,\u201d Wolf said.<\/p>\n

Wolf also said she manages finances for Rise Southwest, a suicide awareness nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very familiar with how to get funds, inviting other revenues to maintain and be able to give back into our community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Values and social issues<\/div>\n

While many candidates emphasized experience or community involvement, others described a personal or spiritual calling to serve.<\/p>\n

Bruce Burkett, pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church, said his candidacy is rooted in his faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that God has called us to protect the citizenry,\u201d Burkett said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the primary purposes of government is to ensure the welfare of our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that he wants Cortez to remain a \u201cwholesome\u201d community grounded in rural, conservative values.<\/p>\n

Candidates were also divided when asked whether they would support the council recognizing Pride Month.<\/p>\n

Shepherd, Burkett, Borchini and Spruell said they would oppose the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love all people but they can go to Durango for that,\u201d Borchini said.<\/p>\n

Spruell said he would not support singling out any specific group for recognition. Burkett said his personal belief is that \u201chomosexuality is a sin,\u201d and Shepherd said he would vote against the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be the first to take a hard stance here. I would vote against it,\u201d Shepherd said. \u201cI\u2019m very conservative. I believe in a man and a wife, a man and a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others said they were unsure or expressed support.<\/p>\n

Experience vs. newcomers<\/div>\n

Most candidates said they would be new to city government if elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly how or why I\u2019m up here doing this. But I\u2019m supposed to be here,\u201d said Michael Earl Bischoff. \u201cI know less than I knew yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spruell said his experience could help guide newer members of the council if he is re-elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done it for four years. I know what it\u2019s all about. We have two council members remaining \u2013 very, very good council members. And they need help,\u201d Spruell said.<\/p>\n

Karen Sheek, chair of the League of Women Voters, praised the turnout, noting nearly every seat was filled and nearly every candidate attended. Randy Vialpando did not attend.<\/p>\n

The next and final forum, hosted by the Republican Women of Montezuma County, will be held at 6 p.m. Friday in the Breakfast Room at the Baymont Inn, 2276 Hawkins St.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Candidates divided between optimism and criticism over city\u2019s direction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-11830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11830","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=11830"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18552,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11830\/revisions\/18552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11830"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=11830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}