While we were gone, there was an important announcement here in Colorado Springs: Richard Skorman will run for mayor.

This is excellent news. The field so far, aside from Skorman, is not terribly impressive. We’re doing something new in the COS with our mayoral system. Previously, we’ve gotten by with a “weak mayor” system, in which a city manager runs the show and the mayor is merely a part-time, low-paying job. Problem with this system is that the city manager isn’t an elected position. The City Council appoints him or her, and at least since I’ve lived here, it’s not gone well.

Now, though, we’re switching to a “strong mayor” system. The mayor will be an elected position. A difficult and well-compensated full-time position with broad new authority. Here’s a decent discussion of the difference between the systems.

We believe Richard Skorman will be outstanding as Colorado Springs’ first strong mayor. He has the support of this local blog, anyway, and we’ll try to post campaign news and information as often as we can. Here’s more info about his experience and qualifications.

Oinkety’s arch-enemy and third-place rival John Hazlehurst makes some good points about the race so far.

We hope Skorman’s campaign gets his updated website up and running soon. Tick-tock, people, tick-tock!