Hundreds already sign petition to ‘recall’ Pueblo mayor

PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) - Some people in Pueblo are petitioning to remove Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham from office.

This past week, the city approved the petition and if it gets enough signatures, this recall could be on Puebloans ballots this fall.

11 News spoke with Mayor Graham about the recall, and she says she’s aware a lot of people have not agreed with her decisions, but she says her decisions are all campaign promises she made to the community.

The petition names 11 issues as reasons members of the Recall Mayor Graham Committee believe she should be removed from office.

The petition states:

• Failure to show fiscal responsibility with the City’s budget, $2M acquisition/remodel of a 650 Dittmer Ave, proposing $1,000/sq. ft + facility projects, giving extravagant raises to and/or hiring unnecessary staff.
• Stripping funding away from nonprofits while simultaneously squandering taxpayer money.
• Failure to reduce crime down to comparable statewide levels.
• Using police and fire department staff to retaliate against small business owners and others who oppose her.
• Disregard for historic preservation.
• Allowing illegal ordinances and practices to be proposed, leading to costly legal expenses.
• Failure to address Pueblo’s critically unhoused population crisis, dispersing people from encampments into downtown and residential areas without a plan or adequate shelter in place.
• Ordering demolition in a contaminated EPA Superfund site without regard to public health or applicable laws.
• Spending extensive time on social media (Facebook, etc.) during City Council meetings.
• Failure to address fuel pricing and the monopoly that’s causing Puebloans to pay approximately 40-50 cents/gallon more than surrounding cities.
• Refusal to listen to her constituents’ complaints and suggestions.
• Proposing a grocery tax on Pueblo residents who are already struggling with record level food costs.

Graham addresses some of these issues saying, “My office administration does everything that we can to make sure small businesses continue to operate.”

Graham continues, “There is something when it comes to permitting and a phone call makes it all the way up to my office, you know, I sit down with whoever the individual is and try to make sure they’re compliant or see what my department can do to help them get to compliance.

“You know, we just want to make sure everybody’s doing what they’re doing in the safest way.

“You know, I see on the recall, it specifically talks about police and fire, and there have been occasions where I’ve shut down businesses in the city who don’t have a license to operate, who don’t have liquor licenses and they’re selling liquor, who don’t have the license to even assemble in their building and they’re having you know raging parties with 200 people.

“So I think specifically when it comes to police and fire those are probably the instances that they speak about.”

Mentioning what some of the members of the committee say about her not putting the people first, Graham tells 11 News, “In my short term here as the mayor, you know, one of the big conversations has been about homeless shelters.

“So about six months ago, you know I was called on Wednesday saying they were going to close the shelter doors on Saturday... and people were going to go unhouse if somebody didn’t step up and do something and I can tell you that my administration, my city staff were the only people that have stepped up to do anything to help the unhoused community to make sure they have a place to stay.

“We have completely remodeled the warming shelter. We house 40 people there every single night we have about 40 people in the residential program at the shelter the 728 building and things are going good.

“And so when we talk about not putting people first, especially the unhoused, because I know a lot relates to that, we are trying to put people first.

“We’re trying to make sure people have a place to rest their head at night and make sure that they’re providing resources but we’re also trying to make sure that they’re held accountable.”

However, member of the Recall Mayor Graham Committee, Jason Ford tells 11 News, “(Mayor Graham) has shown time and again that she’s not listening to her constituency in its entirety.”

Ford continues saying, “She prioritizes certain you know elements of our city and we’re just tired of it.

“Well, the number one thing is the proposed food tax that is even just proposing such a tax in today’s climate is not something that should have even been in question and a lot of people are mad about that one.”

Regarding the food tax, Graham says nothing has been drafted for this.

Also, Ford tells 11 News, “She’s not listening, and it’s some matters that are very serious to the community.

“It would be nice to get in a much better candidate who puts the people first, but even if we lose, we are still taking much of this as a win because we are bringing light to issues that were being suppressed before and they were not being talked about as much as they are now.

“We are showing the people of this city that they can have a voice that normal people can make a difference.

“We’re trying to not like make this about us. This is about the people of Pueblo, like by the people, for the people.

“She doesn’t speak for the majority of Pueblo and her actions are not what the people want.”

Furthermore, Ford talks about an issue weighing on the minds of a lot of people in Pueblo, the budget deficit.

“They’re saying that we’re going to be running in a deficit, we need to stop spending, we need to tax everybody extra, yet they’re making shady real estate deals and spending tens of million dollars in what a lot of the citizens think are unnecessary purchases to replace aging buildings,” Ford said.

In response to this issue on the petition, Graham tells 11 News, “Well I’ll tell you this that the city’s budget has had a deficit over the last several years.

“If you go back and look at what the city council and the previous administration, we transferred every year to balance the budget.

“There’s a lot of money to make it through my term, there’s enough money you know to make it next year, but I want to make sure projects are done, infrastructure is kept up-to-date and our city employees are being paid well.”

Regardless of the outcome, Ford says, “This is bringing together people in a way that I really haven’t seen in Pueblo since I’ve lived here.”

The committee needs over 6,200 verified signatures by May 1st for the recall to be on the ballot this fall.

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