Pueblo voters did a turnaround and were putting the city on a new course Tuesday night � backing a strong-mayor form of city government.

Question 2A was narrowly ahead Wednesday with 12,185 votes for the change and 11,385 against it. Back in 2009, city voters rejected the strong-mayor plan by a 2-1 margin.

�The difference this time is City Council didn�t fight the idea and I think the public understands the city needs to have a face, a leader representing it,� said Nick Gradisar, the lawyer who led the pro-mayor campaign again.

Only two other cities in the state use the strong-mayor government � Denver and Colorado Springs.

Unlike 2009, virtually all of City Council embraced the idea � as well as nearly all council candidates � of changing to a mayor system in 2018.

Tuesday�s decision means Pueblo voters will face their first slate of mayor candidates next November. The winner of that race will hold the office for five years, with all subsequent terms being just four years.

The new mayor will be paid $150,000 a year and will be in charge of running the city, the job currently done by City Manager Sam Azad. Council�s role will be to make decisions on ordinances proposed by the mayor � or their own � but the mayor would have veto power over council decisions, unless they are affirmed by a super-majority of council.

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