Struggles made leader of Eastburn/ Mayoral candidate says he knows

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Mar 13, 2003 | by PAM ZUBECK

A sense of compassion and self-reliance haven't come easy for Ted Eastburn, a cardiologist and one-term Colorado Springs councilman running for mayor.

His early years were laced with hardship as his father abandoned him after polio put his mother in an iron lung.

Eighteen years later, she died of heart disease at age 42 on a hot day in August, setting her only son on a "faith journey" he's still navigating.

Now the twice-married father of five, cyclist, Episcopalian and former Army doctor hopes the journey leads him to the city's highest office, where his sense of self-determination and duty will be put to use.

"I have used the four years on council not unlike medical school, learning everything I can," he said. "The same way I was equipped after going through medical school, I am equipped to be mayor. I have the mental acumen, character and stomach for it."

Born in Mississippi, Eastburn moved to Fort Worth as an infant. Months later, his father left. After spending a year in the hospital, his mom worked at a credit union before bringing her only child to live with her.

They moved in with Eastburn's grandfather, wheelchair-bound because of a World War II injury, and a grandmother who had brain cancer.

"I was raised by this woman who was single, disabled and worked every day of her life," said Eastburn, 49.

In August 1973, Eastburn camped in a Memphis hospital's waiting room for days to visit his mom for 10 minutes every two hours, as was the hospital rule.

He wasn't with her at 2 a.m. when she died. He wasn't allowed. The loss still brings tears to his eyes.

That experience led him to allow his patients' families complete access unless a procedure is under way, he said.

That fall, Eastburn returned to Rhodes College and in 1976 earned a degree in chemistry, working campus jobs to make ends meet.

After graduating from Vanderbilt Medical School in 1980, he joined the Army, spending three years in Hawaii before transferring to Fort Carson. He returned to Vanderbilt for cardiology training and to serve as medical director of the university's heart transplant program.

In 1991, Eastburn moved his wife, Kathryn, and four kids to Colorado Springs and joined a cardiology group practice.

Since then, he's been divorced, remarried, has a 2-yearold son and shares custody of his other four children.

Eastburn might be considered an unlikely politician. He once had a ponytail and was rarely seen without his Birkenstocks. He often pedals from his north-end home to City Hall, weather permitting.

His priorities were clear when he didn't show up for his swearing- in ceremony as a councilman in 1999. He made an annual trip with his family to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, instead.

The trip gave rise to ribbing and the label "Tahiti Ted," a name he laughs at.

That won't happen again. He's postponed this year's trip in case he takes the mayor's oath and jokes, "I've never been to Tahiti, for the record."

After being elected to an at-large council seat in 1999, Eastburn scaled back his practice. But not enough, some detractors say. Eastburn often leaves meetings or arrives late while tending to his practice.

Some observers wonder if he'd have time to fulfill a demanding mayoral schedule, including frequent ceremonial appearances.

Councilwoman Margaret Radford, who supports Sallie Clark for mayor, called Eastburn's ideas "creative" but not always practical.

At times, his ideas are tangential or not germaine, she said, although she didn't cite an example.

Eastburn, who's a regular reader of The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic magazine and Scientific American, has "extraordinary intellectual firepower," Dan Njegomir said.

Njegomir, former editorial writer for The Gazette who's now a Denver think tank senior fellow, said Eastburn examines issues thoroughly and isn't afraid of being the odd man out.

Still, some say the only achievement he can claim in his council term is a program to install defibrillation equipment in high- traffic areas, such as shopping malls, to improve residents' chances of surviving heart attacks.

Eastburn says the mayor's agenda is set: water acquisition, transport and storage, transportation improvements and helping the economy.

He dismisses a dispute between Colorado Springs and Pueblo over Pueblo Reservoir as short-term, saying the muchneeded pipeline to the Springs will get built.

But the issue could have been handled better, he said.

"The number one problem is the mayor . . . should have been knocking on the door and having lunch with the president of the (Pueblo) City Council or whoever the lead agent is," he said.

Eastburn said he favors water restrictions as a shortterm strategy.

The long-term answer is pricing water so consumers cut usage.

To deal with growth, he supports the city's comprehensive plan, which calls for pedestrian-friendly, mixed uses that reduce the need for people to drive across town. He wants developers to be forced to pay their share for roads.

The economy is boosted, he said, if the city makes sure the infrastructure - roads mostly - is adequate to support business.