Charles Elias, who prefers his middle name, Chris, said he is running for City Council to be a voice for the working people of Durango, where the cost of living is high and housing is difficult to afford.
He said he wants to be approachable to residents with problems that need fixing, particularly those in the retail and service industries. He’s fond of Durango’s outdoor lifestyle; river rafters, skiers, snowboarders and cyclists are his community.
About this series:
This is the first of a five-part series profiling the five candidates running for Durango City Council. Ballots will be mailed to eligible electors March 10 through March 17, and the city’s municipal election will be held April 1. Candidate profiles in this series include:
- Today: Chris Elias
- Wednesday: Shirley Gonzales
- Friday: Kip Koso
- March 9: Jessica Buell
- March 12: Olivier Bosmans
Durango is on the right track toward addressing housing needs, but it still has work to do, he said. He supports the projects the city has pursued and wants to keep pushing forward.
“Since the pandemic, everyone wanted to move out of the city and move to a nice mountain town or more rural town, and just that influx, you know, Durango wasn’t able to handle that,” he said.
While the city continues to increase its housing inventory, it is also constantly dealing with the unhoused. Residents with safety concerns cry out for more enforcement, while advocates for the unhoused say not enough is being done to help them.
Elias said he saw Los Angeles’ homeless crisis firsthand when he was living in the city.
He said that despite efforts to build housing for people experiencing homelessness, many do not want subsidized housing or city dwellings that come with lifestyle restrictions.
“Some of them do have drug issues, and if our taxpayers are paying for them for a place to live, do we want them creating a drug deal?” he said. “There are going to be restrictions. What do we do about the people that just want to stay on the streets?”
He said he doesn’t have the best answer, but if someone experiencing homelessness wants help, help should be available. However, taxpayers don’t want to give away “handouts” at their expense, he said.
“We need to help the people that want to be helped,” he said.
When it comes to downtown Durango and Main Avenue, Elias said he appreciates the city’s bump-outs program, although he understands people’s concerns about them being potential traffic hazards and taking up parking spaces.
He said he likes the idea of a more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly downtown, as proposed in the Downtown’s Next Step project, although he needs to do more research on the project’s details.
Regarding raising the minimum wage in Durango to $17.03 – a recent request to City Council by community members of Durango Forward – he said he approves of such an action but sympathizes with mom-and-pop shops that might not have the budget to pay their workers more.
Who is Chris Elias?
Charles “Chris” Elias moved to Durango in 2006 to attend Fort Lewis College. He dropped out during his senior year, deciding he had received all the formal education he needed.
He worked as a butcher at Sunnyside Market for a time before moving to California to start a cannabis cultivation business. That didn’t pan out well for him, he said. But he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to try another cannabis business with a friend, and that proved profitable.
At age 41, he’s living the retired life, he said, although he’s still involved with Tulsa-based Heartland Farms. He’s an outdoor enthusiast. He enjoys bike rides, river boating and other outdoor recreational activities.
Elias has worked in the cannabis cultivation business, including owning his own companies. He remains involved with Heartland Farms, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
City Council is scheduled to hold a study session in May to examine the impacts of raising the minimum wage after the new council is seated in April.
“A couple of years ago, McDonald’s was trying to hire a dishwasher for $17 an hour. So I’m hoping most businesses are trying to take care of their employees,” he said. “I do my best to take care of my employees – anything that they ever need. I’m like, you know, one call away.”
Elias said he supports the proposed reauthorization of a 2005 half-cent sales tax to build a new city hall and police station.
The former high school building holds historical significance for the community, and he’s unsure how else it would be used if it weren’t renovated for a new city hall.
He said he’s a strong supporter of Durango’s parks and uses them daily, so he favors reauthorizing the sales tax.
City Council’s and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s relationship appears to be on the mend after a major disagreement unfolded over the city’s intentions for development of La Posta Road (County Road 213), which extends into tribal territory. But now the city and La Plata County are experiencing the fallout of a dispute over the jailing of municipally sentenced inmates.
“Anyone that’s running for this is doing what they think is best for the town and best for the future,” Elias said.
He said he wants to work well with fellow councilors and neighboring governments, including the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the county.
“There should be some kind of way through this,” he said of the conflict with the county. “There should be a discussion. Because we do want to make this town safe, and people need to be held accountable for their actions.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story erred in saying ballots will be mailed to registered voters on March 17. Ballots will be mailed to voters March 10, according to the La Plata County clerk and recorder.
