Libertarian activist Paige picked for City Council
October 07, 2009 4:04 PM | DEAN TODA | THE GAZETTE
For years, Sean Paige has fired rhetorical rockets at Colorado Springs’ city government.
Now he’s on the receiving end.
Paige, a libertarian activist and former opinion page editor of The Gazette, was picked Wednesday to fill a vacant seat on the City Council.
He will serve until the next city election in April 2011. He replaces Jerry Heimlicher, who resigned last month.
In a fourth round of voting, council members voted 5-3 for Paige over the other finalist, Phil Lane, a local businessman. In the third round, Paige and Lane were deadlocked at 4-4.
The vote was secret, but Councilmen Darryl Glenn, Tom Gallagher, Scott Hente and Randy Purvis spoke from the dais in favor of Paige. Mayor Lionel Rivera spoke up for Lane. Vice Mayor Larry Small supported Paul Johnson, executive director of Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity, then switched his vote to Lane when Johnson was eliminated in the second round.
Of the 19 candidates who sought the appointment, the only other to get a vote was Janet Suthers, a member of the city planning commission and wife of the state attorney general, John Suthers. She was eliminated in the first round.
“I think it’s a tribute to the city officials that they had the courage to bring in somebody like myself, who’s been a pretty well-known critic of Council,” Paige said after the vote. “There’ll be friction occasionally. There’s going to be differences of opinion. But I really, truly believe in that process better outcomes will result for the city.”
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