{"id":76852,"date":"2026-03-30T18:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/city-council-candidate-michael-earl-bischoff-answers-the-journals-questions\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:30:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:30:53","slug":"city-council-candidate-michael-earl-bischoff-answers-the-journals-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/city-council-candidate-michael-earl-bischoff-answers-the-journals-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council candidate Michael Earl Bischoff answers The Journal\u2019s questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cortez
Cortez voters must turn in their ballots before 7 p.m. on April 7 to determine the fate of five seats on City Council. (Journal file photo)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

After the city mailed out ballots on March 16, Cortez voters are choosing between 11 candidates for five seats on Cortez City Council. As the April 7 deadline approaches, voters can turn in their ballots via mail, at a drop box in the west parking lot outside City Hall at 123 E. Roger Smith Ave or in the City Hall lobby. Following nine other candidates who\u2019ve responded to The Journal\u2019s questions<\/a>, Michael Earl Bischoff makes his pitch to voters.<\/p>\n

Michael Earl Bischoff AKA \u201cGandolf\u201d<\/div>\n

\"Michael
Michael Earl Bischoff, City Council candidate (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Age: <\/strong>64<\/p>\n

Occupation: <\/strong>Retired<\/p>\n

Why are you running for Cortez City Council?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is something I am supposed to be doing. It\u2019s like my deceased mother of 44 years. It\u2019s \u201ckicking me in the butt\u201d to continue giving back in life. God is not through with me. I thought I was retired. Obviously not. I could go on for another 30-plus years. I am fortunate and blessed to still be here and to be able to be part of the solution vs. the problem.<\/p>\n

What would be your top three priorities if elected?<\/strong><\/div>\n
Maintain adherence to established policies and procedures.To lead and not micro-manage the day-to-day business of the city.Work closely with fellow council members in a professional manner to give the city manager clear direction.<\/div>\n
What experience or education do you have with city government or local politics that will inform your ability to be a good council member?<\/strong><\/div>\n

The life experiences I\u2019ve had coupled with the formal education undertook through the years exhausts me to even think about, let alone recount. Master\u2019s in governance. Two decades in legal industry. Former trustee for Dublin Unified School District.<\/p>\n

How would you respond to a disagreement with a fellow member of council?<\/strong><\/div>\n

Listen carefully. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. There\u2019s almost eight billion shades of sunglasses in which people see the world as true. People need and must be in disagreement. Build a consensus among my fellow council members.<\/p>\n

How do you feel about Colorado open meeting and open records laws? How would you adhere to them as a City Council member?<\/strong><\/div>\n

I am a proponent of the Freedom of Information Act. I will not make any formal legal decisions out of chambers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ahead of the April 7 election, Bischoff joins nine other candidates who\u2019ve responded to The Journal\u2019s questions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5737,5736,5735,5741],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-76852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","category-local-news","category-news","category-newsletter","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76852","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=76852"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79756,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76852\/revisions\/79756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76852"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=76852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}