A $32 parking ticket and the anticipated use of motorized boats on Lake Nighthorse motivated Tom Eskew to run for Durango City Council.
“Durango, it’s like a casino almost, they just always want to bring in more money,” he said of the city.
Eskew, an arborist, is running a cash-free campaign and sees himself as a political outsider that could bring a regular person’s perspective to the council.
He is one of five candidates competing for three seats in the April 4 city election.
When it comes to affordable housing, he doesn’t think that city government has a large role to play in trying to change the housing market.
“It has a weird feeling of social engineering about it,” he said.
But he would like to see more regional public transportation options for those who live outside Durango, where more reasonably priced housing is available. For example, he would like to explore using the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks to provide public transit to the Animas Valley.
Preserving Durango Transit is a priority for Eskew, but the increase in parking tickets adopted in January hurts downtown businesses, he said.
A payroll tax on businesses that employ more than 50 people, or a permit parking program for high school students, could be alternative ways to raise money for transit, he said. The city should also ask marijuana businesses if they would support transit, he said.
To encourage economic development, he would like the city to give small businesses breaks on development impact fees and the land-use development code. He described small business as those that expect to make less that $500,000 a year.
For example, to convert a house to a restaurant in the Central Business District would require between $20,000 and $50,000 in city impact fees, he said.
“It makes it really difficult for someone on a shoestring budget to try to create a business,” he said.
He understands the land-use and development code is necessary, but he would like to see it applied in way that makes sense.
“It could be applied with a more flexible intent,” he said.
The dysfunctional Natural Grocers parking lot is an example of how the code was applied too rigidly without producing a quality result, he said.
When it comes to infrastructure, he would like to see the Animas River Trail surface smoothed, especially on the northern section of the trail, and more projects to make the city more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
He believes the Durango-La Plata County Airport must be upgraded to preserve service as the airlines upgrade to larger jets. He would like to explore private management of the airport to see if that would benefit the city.
Eskew does not believe motorized boats should be allowed on Lake Nighthorse because it is a small body of water and motorized craft would take away from everyone’s enjoyment of the lake, he said during a forum.
The Bureau of Reclamation paid for the boat ramp with a $3 million grant that came from an excise tax on motorboat fuel, and that’s the reason motorized boating was allowed on the lake, Parks and Rec Director Cathy Metz recently told the City Council.
Eskew said his research showed the city wanted to give motorized boats access so it could make money on boat slip fees. Boat slips are spaces to moor a boat.
The city’s master plan for Lake Nighthorse in 2011 would allow for 40 permitted boat slips.
Eskew admits that he doesn’t fully understand the city’s funding structure, but he said his experience as a small business owner would provide a different perspective to the council.
“I am used to starting with a budget of zero and building it up from there,” he said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
Tom Eskew
Age: 52
Profession: Certified arborist.
Family: Wife, Jennifer; son, Angus, 2.
Education: General Education Development (GED), Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Political or board experience: Parks and Forestry Board.
Election coverage
Sunday: Pros and cons of fluoride
Monday: Council candidate Chris Bettin
Tuesday: Council candidate Dean Brookie
Wednesday: Council candidate Tom Eskew
Thursday: Council candidate Dave McHenry
Friday: Council candidate Melissa Youssef
To see all election coverage, go to
durangoherald.com/tags/election
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