Longinos Gonzalez, Jr.

Current role or occupation: El Paso County Commissioner, District 4 Formal education: B.S. Political Science, U.S. Air Force Academy; M.S. Ed, Science Education, Florida International University

Military service: U.S. Air Force, 20 years, Lt. Colonel (retired), Intelligence

Public service: 6 years, County Commissioner

Resident of Colorado Springs: 14 years

Skills to be effective: leadership and administration, government budgeting and management of multi-million-dollar projects, collaboration and community involvement, experience as a veteran, school teacher, businessman and county commissioner

In my first term as mayor, I will prioritize public safety and improving our roads and infrastructure, cutting regulatory “red tape,” and addressing our growth concerns and its associated housing affordability issues.

City Growth

With concerns over water, housing affordability & public safety, I will ensure that smart and efficient growth in the city is maximized. As a County Commissioner, it is why I advocated for the updating of our Master Plan with byin from local experts and community stakeholders that identified smart growth areas. Proper growth in areas that take best advantage of existing essential services and resources is a priority of mine. This will keep costs down for infrastructure and housing, improve first responder/ emergency response times, and make more efficient use of our water resources.

Leadership tenets: competency, collaboration and community input, transparency, data-driven decision making, accountability, fiscal responsibility

Crisis tenets: Experience, thoughtful leadership, prioritization, coordination, situational awareness, training

Website: LonginosForMayor.com

Phone number: 719-247-2934

Email: longinosjr@gmail.com

Donations: LonginosForMayor.com

Facebook: Longinos for mayor

Key endorsements: Steve Durham (Colorado Board of Education), Glant Havenar (Palmer Lake Mayor), Gabe Ortega (Former Fountain Mayor), Mary Bradfield, Andy Pico and Shane Sandridge (current and former State Representatives), Jim Romanello (Monument Trustee), Andy McElhany (former State Senator), Jerry Forte (former CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities), Ron MacLachlan (President, Pro Police Rally Colorado), Richard Randall and Tron Simpson (talk radio hosts)

Community Impact

I believe that public safety is the number one role of government. I will target rising crime concerns by first improving the retention and recruiting of our police force. This means addressing police salaries as well as improving training and if needed, upgrading outdated systems. I will ensure the department is properly funded. Similarly, I will target for improvement the reported issues over the city’s emergency call response times and dropped calls.

Also, we can better address our housing affordability concerns by taking advantage of smart growth practices, reducing permitting “red tape,” partnering with private and nonprofit organizations and utilizing grants and private activity bonds. It will be a priority, and it is why I advocate annually through our counties association against bills that add costs to constructing homes and promote bills that cut regulation that benefits our businesses and consumers. I will also ensure we merge efforts with government and private/ nonprofit organizations to help in all areas and for those that are homeless, matching services with those in need. We have done this effectively at the county level.

Water Issues

Water is critical for our community and our predicted growth. It is why I successfully advocated for the update to our County Water Master Plan. I will work with the utilities board (City Council) to improve water use efficiency, ensure water rights are smartly utilized (and acquired), and include the completion of planned reservoirs, while keeping costs down for our customers. Former Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Jerry Forte is one of my advisors and endorsers.

Budget

One of the mayor’s principal duties each year is developing the budget. As a county commissioner, I have a record of efficient budget management. I have also worked on multi-million-dollar projects while in the Air Force. I have advocated for proper funding of essential services such as public safety, roads, and infrastructure, while also increasing our reserves to ensure we can meet the needs of residents in case of a recession. I have been a good steward of taxpayer funds and promoted an environment that benefits both our local businesses and our residents, all without raising taxes. I believe the city can take better advantage of available matching grant programs and get more “bang for the buck.” I am proud that decisions I advocated and voted for resulted in our Colorado Springs metro region being the first in the state to fully recover economically post-COVID. I will bring this proven leadership experience to the city.

Energy

I will work with our utilities board to ensure our local power grid is protected against disruption and will continue my advocacy for CSU to prioritize stable and reliable low-