The Economy
Building a More Affordable El Paso
Christian Seale believes that a strong economy starts with strong communities. His economic vision prioritizes affordability for working families, smart public investments in infrastructure, and a public safety strategy rooted in prevention, resilience, and care.
Fully Funded Child Care for Working Families
Christian will fight to fully restore access to child care assistance across El Paso County by creating a locally sustained fund to cover gaps left by state-level Colorado Child Care Assistance Program rollbacks, paid for through the reallocation of millions of routinely and wastefully unspent funds. This will ensure that working parents — especially in lower-income households — can afford reliable care and return to the workforce with confidence. Child care is not just a family issue; it’s an economic one.
Raising the Minimum Wage to Support Struggling Workers
No one working full-time should be forced to live in poverty or struggle to meet their basic needs. Christian Seale will champion a countywide minimum wage increase to $17.65 per hour—a fair, living wage that reflects the real cost of housing, childcare, food, and transportation in El Paso County.
Christian’s Proposal: Introduce and advocate for a local ordinance to raise the county minimum wage, in coordination with local cities and municipalities, to $17.65 for all non-exempt workers in El Paso County, with scheduled annual adjustments based on inflation.
The Justification: Raising the wage empowers working-class residents to better care for their families, meet essential needs, and contribute more fully to the local economy. It helps reduce reliance on public assistance programs and puts dignity back into everyday work—especially in service, care, and retail industries where wages have long lagged behind the cost of living.
Reimagining Public Safety Through Smart Investment
Christian will advocate for the Board to reform how El Paso County uses our Public Safety Sales Tax (PSST) revenue to support programs that actually prevent crime and build safer communities. His plan includes:
Homelessness Prevention & Outreach
Homelessness is both a humanitarian crisis and a public safety concern. When people are forced to live on the streets, it increases their vulnerability to violence, illness, and trauma, while placing strain on emergency services and public spaces.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $3 million annually in PSST funds to support:
24/7 emergency shelters and housing navigation services
Behavioral health and case management outreach teams
Safe public sanitation and hygiene infrastructure
Housing-First homelessness reduction programs
A government run Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The Justification: These programs directly reduce street homelessness, improve outcomes for vulnerable populations, prevent avoidable calls to law enforcement, and help to keep all of our residents safer.
Youth Violence Prevention & Intervention
Preventing crime before it happens starts with investing in young people. Early intervention and positive youth development reduce the likelihood of future criminal activity, school-based violence, and gang involvement.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $3 million annually in PSST funds to fund:
After-school and weekend programs, as well as extended learning centers
Peer conflict mediation and community-based mentorship
Job training, summer youth employment, and leadership pipelines
The Justification: Every dollar spent on youth prevention saves far more in future policing, incarceration, and emergency costs—while creating stronger, safer communities.
Mental Health & Crisis Response
Too often, people in crisis are met with police instead of care. A modern public safety system must center mental health responses that are trauma-informed, unarmed, and community-based.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $4 million annually in PSST funds to:
Launch a county-level mobile crisis response team modeled after the successfully run STAR program
Expand access to mental health clinicians who co-respond with deputies
Fund civilian-led crisis hotlines and post-crisis stabilization programs
Provide mental health first aid training for first responders
The Justification: These services de-escalate emergencies, save lives, and reduce jail and hospital costs. They also free up law enforcement to focus on truly high-risk situations.
Microgrid & Climate Resilience Infrastructure
Disasters are increasing—and public safety must evolve to meet them. Power loss during storms, fires, or heatwaves puts residents at direct risk, especially in low-income and high-need areas.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $2 million annually in PSST funds to develop:
Resilience hubs equipped with backup power and renewable-energy powered microgrids
Emergency shelters and first responder sites with independent energy sources
Climate adaptation improvements to county-owned public safety infrastructure
The Justification: Public safety requires climate readiness. Microgrids protect continuity of emergency services and offer long-term cost savings to the county.
Smarter Investments. Safer Communities.
Christian will advocate for the Board to modernize and expand how El Paso County invests in transportation—making it more affordable, accessible, and aligned with the needs of working families, students, and underserved neighborhoods. His plan includes:
Fare-Free Transit for Students & Union Workers
Reliable transportation should never be a barrier to education or a paycheck. Many young people and working families rely on public transit, and fares—though small—can become an ongoing financial strain.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $1 million annually from underspent discretionary funds to support:
Fare-free rides for all K–12 and college students across El Paso County
Free bus access for all unionized workers commuting to and from their jobs
A simplified fare structure that increases ridership and access
The Justification: This initiative lowers transportation costs for thousands of households, improves school and work attendance, and builds a more just, accessible transit system that serves those who need it most.
Bike and Sidewalk Infrastructure
Safe, walkable, and bike-friendly streets reduce traffic, support local business, and create healthier neighborhoods. For too long, pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure has been underfunded in El Paso County.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $1.3 million annually to:
Build and maintain protected bike lanes and multi-use paths
Install curb ramps and fix broken sidewalks in priority neighborhoods
Improve pedestrian crossings near schools, parks, and bus stops
The Justification: Enhancing bike and pedestrian infrastructure increases safety, promotes physical activity, and makes our streets more welcoming for all residents—especially children, seniors, and those without vehicles.
Expanded Bus Service in Underserved Communities
Many parts of El Paso County remain transit deserts, where residents without cars struggle to access jobs, schools, or medical appointments.
Christian’s Proposal: Allocate $300,000 annually to:
Launch and operate one new fixed-route bus line through an underserved area (such as Southeast Colorado Springs or Eastern County)
Coordinate with existing Mountain Metro Transit services for seamless integration
Prioritize high-need corridors and feedback from community transit users
The Justification: Every new route opens doors for thousands of residents and makes our transit system more equitable. This low-cost, high-impact investment improves mobility and opportunity countywide.
More Affordable Housing for Everyone
Christian will pursue countywide zoning reforms and progressive developer incentives to encourage the construction of affordable housing — including low-income apartments, duplexes, and multifamily units. He supports both public-private partnerships and a county-led development option that uses state, federal, local, and philanthropic funds to build where the market has failed.
Fairness for Consumers
Christian supports a county ordinance requiring stores to display final, tax-inclusive prices, protecting consumers from surprise costs and making day-to-day life a little more transparent and affordable.
Fairness for Workers
Christian supports the creation of a county-level task force to identify, investigate, and assist local authorities and DA offices in prosecuting labor law violations, workplace discrimination, and corporate misconduct, ensuring workers’ rights are upheld.
