Submitted Biography
My wife Holly and I came to Colorado Springs in 1991 as our first assignment in the Army. We raised our daughter and son here. After retiring from the Army in 2010 I worked as a Physician Assistant in several settings. I am a former US Army Green Beret, Iraq War Veteran, Paramedic, USFS Wilderness Guard, and the current Colorado Springs District 1 City Councilman. I am running for reelection to my second, and final, term. I am also the current Chair of the Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) Board of Directors, and President of the El Paso County Board of Health. During my first four years on council I have also served as the vice-chair of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA), secretary of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG), and a member of many other committees to include Lodging and Rental Tax (LART), Stormwater, Audit, and Independent Ethics Committee. I have earned the reputation as “the honorable Dave Donelson, councilman for the people”.
City Council must stay focused on the big three - public safety, infrastructure (roads, stormwater etc.), and parks. I will increase my focus on improving the homeless situation, and also on campaign finance reform. Campaign finance reform will require consensus from other council members.
I bring four years of experience on city council and a proven track record of voting on behalf of citizens. A recent letter to the editor of the Gazette referred to me as "the honorable Dave Donelson, Councilman for the people". I wear that as a badge of honor.
In addition to serving as the representative of District 1 on council, I am also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Colorado Springs Utilities and was recently unanimously elected to be the President of the El Paso County Board of Health.
My vision for city council is that it reflects the will of the people. During the first year we should work on making our city cleaner and safer!
In general, city council should ensure that all its actions contribute to a “clean and safe” city that creates a very attractive environment for economic development. That is the big picture. If city council focuses on public safety, infrastructure, and parks we can create an environment that is a magnet for businesses and families.
In city council’s role as the Board of Directors for CSU we need to be thoughtful about the effect on our competitiveness of our actions as a board. Our decisions can make us a more or less attractive location for businesses based on rates and reliability for our electric, gas, water and wastewater services. The length of time a business may have to wait for property, greenfield or brownfield, can also impact our economic development.
City council has a direct role in economic development as the approval authority for economic incentive packages for businesses considering moving to or expanding operations in Colorado Springs.
Housing affordability is not only a problem in Colorado Springs but is actually a national problem. It is strongly driven by national forces - such as interest rates, construction material costs, labor costs, etc.
City, County, State, and Federal government should often evaluate their ordinances and laws to make sure they are not contributing to the problem. Unintentional restrictions through zoning is one example of this. Our construction defect laws in Colorado are another. They have caused a halt in the construction of townhomes due to the extreme liability that builders face. This should be changed.
The City of Colorado Springs has various programs and partnerships to help those who are close to losing their housing or who have lost it. Many of those who are on the street have mental health and/or addiction problems as the root cause of their "homelessness. Not all are in this group - but most are. We need to address these underlying causes.
I have now been through the annual budget process four times. I voted in favor of the first two city budgets (22 and 23) and against the second two (24 and 25). I voted against the second two because they enacted across the board, equal percentage, cuts in all departments. That approach fails to recognize that some department's services are more critical than others. It required our Police Department to have their Operations and Maintenance Budget cut at a time when crime is increasing in our state and city.
We also have had long wait times when citizens call 911 and this has impacted Police response times. I recommended increasing pay for call takers and dispatchers at our 911 call center. This needs to be prioritized. We are still significantly short handed in the 911 call center. This increases stress on those who do work there and can result in a downward spiral.
Rather than a "cut everything equally, across the board" approach, I believe Council must prioritize.
I have served on City Council for four years. I have been the Chair of the Utilities Board of Directors for the last two years, and was recently elected to be the President of the El Paso County Board of Health. I have also served as the Vice-Chair of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) and have served on the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) and many other boards and committees.
I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience over the last four years and can do an even better job of representing the interest of our citizens during the next four years.
I am known for replying to citizen's emails and phone calls and taking their concerns seriously and working with them to get them addressed. Examples of this include my advocacy for the neighborhoods negatively impacted by the noise from the Ford Amphitheater, the citizens opposed to the Rockrimmon Library closure, and the neighborhoods endangered by a potential Constitution Avenue extension.
Colorado Springs is actually run pretty efficiently. Oftentimes when I arrange meetings between a concerned citizen, myself, and the department head of an area of citizen concern, the citizen is impressed with the responsiveness of the city (and me).
One area I believe we should consider changes in is our campaign finance rules. Currently there are no limits to individual contributions to candidates for city council. This is not the case for candidates for County Commissioner, State or Federal elected offices. There are campaign donation limits even on the Presidential election.
Our situation in the city leads to council members receiving $10,000 or even more from a developer and then voting on that developers' land use request when it comes to council.
I believe we should consider campaign donation limits, and mandatory recusal for council members who have received donations over a certain amount from applicants in land use decisions.
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