Durango City Council candidates will have the chance to distinguish themselves from their competition during three upcoming events.
Two incumbents, Mayor Sweetie Marbury and Councilor Dick White, are running against two political unknowns, Sean Waddell and Dave McHenry. The public will pick two councilors during the April 7 election.
Local business issues will come to the forefront first during a Tuesday forum hosted by the Durango Chamber of Commerce and La Plata Forums.
The potential airport expansion, water and sewer infrastructure needs and the effort to reauthorize the 1999 half-cent sales tax are all likely topics, said Jack Llewellyn, executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.
Plans for a Science, Theatre, Education, Art and Music Park in the downtown area as well as a lodgers tax increase also could arise during the discussion, he said.
Llewellyn and Kermitt Barrett with the La Plata Forum will moderate, and tough yes-or-no questions are planned.
About 70 members of the public are likely to attend, but registration for residents is now closed.
The candidates will present their positions on neighborhood issues next over pie and coffee March 16.
The Citizens for Health Established Neighborhoods and the Boulevard Neighborhood Association are sponsoring the casual event to allow concerned residents to question candidates one-on-one over dessert.
An informal forum is also planned, and candidates will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions.
Preserving the neighborhood culture, retail marijuana shops near neighborhoods, accessory dwelling unit regulations and parking laws may be hot topics at the event, said Karen Anesi, a board member with the Boulevard Neighborhood Association.
“There is far more that unites our neighborhoods than divides (them),” Anesi said.
In addition to a war of words, the event is also a friendly contest between neighbors for best pie.
The next formal forum will be hosted by The League of Women Voters on March 19 at City Hall.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
If you go
Pie and Coffee with City Council Candidates will be held at 6 p.m. March 16 in the Westminster Hall of the First Presbyterian Church, 1159 East Third Ave.
To compete for best pie in town, deliver entries to the church by 5:30 p.m.
The League of Women Voters Forum will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 19 at City Hall, 949 East Second Ave.
