COLORADO SPRINGS — Tasked with a choice of repealing the Karman Line annexation or approving it again, Colorado Springs City Council chose the latter option, meaning a Special Election on the project will happen June 17.
"One of the things that we've identified for that the city needs is opportunity to build more homes," said Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade.
Posting to X Monday, Mayor Mobolade added himself to the discussion, voicing support for the annexation.
Following a misleading campaign sponsored by local special interest groups, City Council is once again facing an important decision regarding the Karman Line annexation. I offer my full support to our City Council in reaffirming its previous decision to approve the Karman Line… pic.twitter.com/U0BEfl9Ilf
— Mayor Yemi (@MayorofCOS) April 7, 2025
Tuesday, I asked the Mayor about his claims calling the petitioning a "misleading campaign sponsored by local special interest groups."
Mayor Mobolade said it's a campaign that he says misled even his other half.
"My own wife, our First Lady, was misled," he said. "She didn't know what she was signing."
This exchange begged a follow-up question: how were the Mayor's wife and roughly 30,000 other signees supposedly misled?
One item the Mayor pointed to was water concerns.
"One of the ones that came my way is that, if the city has fire today, we don't have water to end the fire," the mayor said. "There's so many videos out there that prove it. So these are not just my words."
Mayor Mobolade says he welcomes open discussion about concerns surrounding Karman Line, but says the claims about not having enough water for the project are false.
"I want to be clear, we do not have water issues today," said Mobolade.
In a conversation with one of the head petition organizers Ann Rush, she said Colorado Springs residents did know what they were signing.
"There was no intent to mislead or mischaracterize or to lie to citizens to get their votes," said Rush. "People came out eagerly to sign our petitions. Most of the people that you are in the room (with) today (Tuesday) with those yellow vests donated in some means, whether it was in kind or financially."
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A family in Colorado City says illegal dumping near their home is becoming a safety issue
One official told News5 the trash piles could be infested with rats or other dangerous factors, so they are waiting to work with the health department to remove trash from the area.
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