Brothers pull ads aiming to unseat officials

After current and former Colorado Springs officials pleaded for an end to negative campaigning, two brothers suspended their push to unseat two council members.

"We pulled our ads," said Jim Morley of Morley Family Developments LLP, which he owns with his brother, Mark.

"I think the radio ones ran today (Monday), but that would be it," he said.

The Morleys, who have sparred with the council on land deals and water projects, launched a campaign about 10 days ago to unseat Vice Mayor Larry Small and Councilman Randy Purvis in the April 3 allmail election.

Four at-large council seats are up for grabs, and nine candidates are vying for them. The top four vote-getters will get seats on the council.

The television ads depict Small speaking rudely to a citizen at a council meeting. The radio ads blame him and Purvis for enacting a storm-water fee.

Jim Morley said Monday that he talked individually with Small and Councilman Jerry Heimlicher on Friday. Both urged him to stop.

Former Councilman Richard Skorman, now an aide for U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, asked Mark Morley to do the same.

Jim Morley said he was told a counter effort would be launched if the Morley ads didn't end.

"So they asked if we would pull ours, and I said that we would," he said.

But Jim Morley said he still supports "anybody else" except Small and Purvis in the field of nine candidates.

Asked where he goes from here, Jim Morley said, "Nowhere. I'm actually a little tired of the whole thing. I've got work to do."

Heimlicher said he got involved to "keep the campaign clean" so candidates could be elected on their merits.

"Remember, I'm going to sit with whomever wins this election for at least two years, so I feel I have a responsibility to the community to keep the campaigns focused on the issues and not on personalities," he said.

Skorman said he talked with Mark Morley as a community member, not as Salazar's aide.

"I tried to say, 'Let's calm this down, and if you can, don't run those ads and maybe the other side can do the same thing,'" Skorman said. "I know how these things can get blown up, and I wanted to make sure everybody who had the best interest of the community were being treated fairly on both sides."

The Committee for Transparent Government filed paperwork last week showing Morley Family Development gave $17,500. The report showed $17,263 was spent with four radio stations, three television stations, a production company, a Denver law firm and a promotional products company.

A new group formed to counter the Morley message, Citizens for Political Truth, reportedly has collected money but hadn't filed paperwork with the City Clerk's office as of Monday.

Heimlicher said even if a truce is declared, the damage might have been done.

The Morleys' ads started last week, just as the city began mailing the 147,655 ballots.

LATEST FILINGS IN MAYOR'S RACE

Mayor Lionel Rivera: $35,103 raised. $3,000 from Housing and Building Association PAC; $1,000 each from USAA Group PAC, John C. Mikalson-Tucker, James M. Johnson, Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Association, Colorado Springs Chamber PAC, Elite Properties.

Mike Coletta: No money raised.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Colorado Springs at-large City Council candidates are listed in the order of most money raised to least, according to campaign- finance reports filed Monday. Also included are donors giving $1,000 or more:

Tom Gallagher: $69,269 raised. $57,567 from Morley Family Development LLP; $2,500, Ray O'Sullivan; $1,500, Elite Properties of America; $1,000 each from BLR Development, Keith and Sharon Swerdfeger.

Dave Martin: $60,116 raised. $8,232 from Morley Family Development; $1,500 each from Nunn Construction and Sand Creek Investments.

Bob Null: $49,237 raised. $3,492 from Morley Family Development.

Bernie Herpin: $24,659 raised. $1,500 from Elite Properties; $1,000 each from James Brodie, Colorado Springs Chamber Political Action Committee, LandCo LLC, Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition PAC, Realtor Candidate PAC.

Larry Small: $23,930 raised. $2,000 from BLR Development; $1,500, Elite Properties; $1,250, Shrine of Remembrance; $1,000, Realtor Candidate PAC.

Jan Martin: $21,835 raised. No donations of $1,000 or more.

Tom Harold: $20,264 raised. $2,000 from LP47 LLC; $1,500, Elite Properties; $1,000, Colorado Springs Chamber PAC.

Randy Purvis: $15,900 raised. $1,500 from Elite Properties; $1,000 each from Realtors Candidate PAC and LandCo LLC.

Greg Timm: $13,597 raised. $2,500 from R.E. Monks Construction; $1,500, Elite Properties; $1,000, Peter and Deanna Martz.

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