A finance veteran, economics graduate and author who spent two years on the Ford Amphitheater noise dispute is running for El Paso County commissioner in District 1. He filed as a write-in on July 6th.
Author Archives: Michael Christensen
Posted inGovernment
Monument Town Council, August 3, 2026: A Tax Sent Back, Water Rates Up, an Exit From the Loop
Monument’s council sent its ballot language back for rewriting, raised water rates for the first time since 2020, voted to leave the Loop water project, and approved a powersports dealership — all without a word of public comment.
Posted inGovernment
Monument Council Asks the County to Reject Buc-ee’s Zoning Claim
Monument’s council voted 7-0 to urge El Paso County to uphold its Buc-ee’s determination and reject the convenience-store label; the town’s press release asks the commissioners to go further.
Posted inSchools
Safety Does Not Set Teacher Pay in El Paso County
Lewis-Palmer D38 and Cheyenne Mountain report almost the same rate of school behavior incidents. Cheyenne Mountain pays its teachers $8,484 more. What separates them is not safety but the size of the override their voters approved.
Posted inLocal News
Colorado at 150: The State That Arrived Late and Picked a President
Colorado turns 150 on Saturday. Its constitution let the legislature, not the voters, cast the three electoral votes of 1876 – and Monument already had a post office older than the state.
Posted inGovernment
Monument Wins Its First Bidding War
Governor Jared Polis confirmed ACCO Engineered Systems will build a $36 million fabrication plant in Monument, creating up to 135 jobs. The town beat Peoria, Arizona, using the first economic incentive package in its history.
Posted inGovernment
A Colorado Springs Councilman Told a Forum on Civility That Palmer Lake Was Steamrolled. Palmer Lake Won.
A councilman told a forum on civility that Palmer Lake refused a Buc-ee’s and got it built anyway. The town forced the company out. Nothing is being built.
Posted inLocal News
Who We Are, by the Numbers: A Demographic Portrait of the Tri-Lakes
Median age 44.4, median household income of $160,525, 89 percent homeowners and a veteran share more than double the state rate. What the federal and state data say about who lives in the Tri-Lakes.
Posted inSchools
Four Million Dollars, Frozen
Lewis-Palmer D38’s voters approved a $4 million override in 1999 and have rejected every operating override since — seven of them. Inflation did the rest. In 2023 the district turned over 27.6% of its teachers, and the reason they gave most often was pay.
Posted inBusiness Spotlight
The Bet at Exit 156
White Lotus Café and Bakery brings northern Thai breakfast, a three-day croissant and an all-day menu to Northgate — a few miles south of Monument.