Nine candidates want on council [The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.]

Oct. 20--Four City Council seats are up for election this Nov. 5 and nine candidates want them.

In this edition of The Pueblo Chieftain, voters can read how those nine answered a questionnaire on a range of local issues from the city's budget problems to allowing marijuana stores in the city.

There are two at-large seats open and two incumbents, Council President Steve Nawrocki and Councilman Chris Kaufman, are trying to hold onto them.

Nawrocki is the executive director of the Senior Resources Development Agency and Kaufman is the branch manager of Land Title Guarantee Co.

They are being challenged by former Councilman Larry

Atencio, Brian Mater and Timothy Lopez.

Atencio owns his own candy-making company and previously served one term as the District 2, East Side council member.

Mater owns All-Star Roofing and several other companies while Lopez is an unemployed political activist. All city voters cast ballots in the at-large races and the top two vote-getters will win.

On the city's North Side, the District 1 seat is open. Councilwoman Ami Nawrocki was appointed to the seat in 2012 and is running to keep it. She is being challenged by former Councilman Bob Schilling.

Nawrocki -- no relation to Steve Nawrocki -- is a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service and literally walks portions of her district on a daily basis.

Schilling is a local Realtor and served two terms on council, from 1997 to 2005. He may be best known for casting the deciding vote to ban smoking in public places in 2003.

On the South Side, the District 3 seat held by Councilman Ed Brown is also up for grabs. Brown was appointed to the seat earlier this year and is running for election.

He is being challenged by businessman Mark Aliff.

Brown is a retired firefighter and currently is chairman of the Pueblo Human Relations Commission.

Aliff is general manager at Vidmar Motors and first stepped into city politics last year by opposing council's decision to extend insurance benefits to the partners of gay city employees.

In the District 1 and 3 races, only voters in those areas will see those candidates on their ballots.

proper@chieftain.com

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