In-depth interview with City of Colorado Springs mayoral candidate Longinos Gonzalez Jr.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Play the video at the top of this article for an in-depth interview with the candidate.

CLICK HERE for the full list of candidates.

Name: Longinos Gonzalez Jr.

Committee Name: Longinos for Mayor

Mailing Address: 3067 Shikra View, Colorado Springs, CO 80916

Phone Number: 719-247-2934

E-mail address: longinosjr@gmail.com(link sends e-mail)

Website: longinosformayor.com

KKTV 11 News provided the candidate with the following questions for a bio. 11 News did not edit their response:

Hometown: Strathmore, California

How long have you lived in Colorado Springs: 14 yrs

Education: BS Political Science, USAF Academy; MS Ed Science Education, Florida International University

Profession: County Commissioner, Retired Air Force Lt Colonel & former middle school teacher

Previously held and current elected positions: El Paso County Commissioner District 4 (current)

Top priorities for Colorado Springs

My priorities for Colorado Springs are improving Public Safety, roads and infrastructure, and addressing the water and growth/housing concerns for our great city. I believe that public safety is government’s #1 job, and that every resident should feel safe in their neighborhood and their home. Our community deserves excellence in meeting critical service needs such as police and fire response. To accomplish this, I will ensure we address our police staffing shortages with better retention and recruiting, reverse the increasing crime rates locally, and improve the city’s call response times. I will also bring increased attention to improving our roads and aging infrastructure. As a county commissioner, I’ve increased funding to roads significantly and will ensure we similarly prioritize our city roads. By better funding our infrastructure needs we improve the safety and pride within our neighborhoods and business community, increase residents’ quality of life, and promote economic growth. Finally, we need to address long term concerns over water and our population growth. I’ll sponsor a review with stakeholders to develop a city and regional strategic water plan. And, by making data-driven, smart growth decisions we can take advantage of infil areas of the city and strategically plan projects near essential services (such as fire and police stations, as well as access to utilities/water) that reduces new infrastructure costs. When properly planned, smart growth decisions will take advantage of available services, promote efficiencies, and help keep housing costs down.

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