Members of a committee formed to advocate for a November ballot question that would transform Pueblo from a City Council -- city manager style of government into a mayoral system of government held a town hall Wednesday night to outline why they feel it's necessary for a mayor to lead the city and to answer questions from the public.

Three panel members -- a Democrat, a Republican and an independent -- who are members of the Committee to Elect a Mayor spent about an hour at Pueblo Community College's Gorsich Advanced Technology building answering about a dozen write-in questions asked via a moderator. About 20 people attended the town hall, which also was recorded and will be replayed on Public Access Television.

Nick Gradisar, a local attorney and longtime mayoral system proponent, emphasized that should voters approve ballot question 2A this November, the mayor position will be nonpartisan, meaning candidates would not run as part of a political party and would not be allowed to accept funds from any political party.

"I think a big reason for that is the kind of issues we face on a local level aren't partisan issues," Gradisar said. "These are issues that need to be resolved by us locally and not in regard to party dogma."

The position would be full time and the seven-person City Council would remain intact, but the office of city manager would no longer exist. The mayor would be paid a salary of $150,000 and would have to be elected by a majority of Pueblo voters.

"Council will be elected from districts and at-large just as they are now," Gradisar said. "The mayor won't control the Civil Service Commission or Board of Water Works."

Gradisar also said the mayoral system of government would have more checks and balances than the current system.

For example, the city manager currently appoints all department heads, but under the mayor system the mayor would appoint department heads and those appointments would have to be confirmed by City Council, Gradisar said.

Another example cited is that the mayor would be allowed to veto an ordinance of council, which then could be overridden by council with five votes instead of four.

And both the mayor and council would have to approve a budget for the city; which right now only council is responsible for doing. The mayor would develop a budget and present it to council.

Among several other questions, the panelists were asked simply why Pueblo needs a mayor.

Lexi Swearingen, who is a small business owner, said she thinks Pueblo needs a leader that can bring the city together.

The other panelist, Elizabeth Gallegos, also a small business owner, said she's a little tired of being looked down upon and wants Pueblo to be respected.

"I feel like our town has a really special way about it that not everyone that lives outside of our city understands. I want a leader that will work alongside our chambers (of commerce), PEDCO (Pueblo Economic Development Corp.) and our citizens," Gallegos said. "Our citizens would elect someone that would be concerned about setting the record straight in our city and in our state. I want someone to shout out the praises and all the wonderful things our city is. I want someone that will not be ashamed to speak up on behalf of our city and citizens that deserve a voice."

Gradisar said he thinks it's important for Pueblo to have someone who's recognized as a full-time leader in the community.

"Right now we have seven part-time city council people and if a spaceship landed here and said 'take me to your leader' they wouldn't know where to go," Gradisar said. "The advantage of having a mayor is they run on a platform with a vision for the community and whoever is elected will be put in charge of this community and will be held accountable for implementing that vision and platform they ran on."

ryans@chieftain.com