Pueblo Councilor Evades Censure Amid Transphobic Comment Controversy

Community Protests and Council Vote on Censure of City Councilor

A significant effort to censure Pueblo City Councilor Roger Gomez did not gain enough support from council members, even though approximately 100 individuals gathered outside Pueblo City Hall on July 28 to protest. The censure would have involved removing Gomez from his leadership role as work session chair. This initiative was led by Councilor Sarah Martinez and backed by Pueblo Mayor Graham. It followed a statement made by Gomez on July 14, in which he mentioned that his constituents had expressed concerns about a library employee's gender identity and suggested that the library should be "a family center."

According to a city of Pueblo background paper, the Pueblo City-County Library District informed city staff that Gomez visited the library on July 17 to inquire about "LGBTQIA+ collections, programs, and transgender library staff." Protesters filled City Hall at 5 p.m., waving rainbow folding fans in the 98-degree heat, demanding that Gomez be censured. By 7 p.m., the city council chambers were fully occupied. Many protestors remained until the end of the meeting, around 11:45 p.m., to hear the results of the Pueblo City Council’s vote on the censure and a citizen-filed ethics complaint against Gomez. Both the censure and the ethics complaint failed to pass.

Local Librarian Condemns Gomez's Comments

Lev Frank, a local librarian, addressed the council before the censure vote, stating that he and a co-worker had received transphobic comments from Gomez. According to Frank, the incident report is public record, and he and his coworker were repeatedly misgendered and subjected to dehumanizing language, including being called "it."

"His conduct has made me materially unsafe," Frank said. "It's not just because his comments were cruel, transphobic, and dehumanizing, but because anyone who wants to cause me or my co-worker harm now knows exactly where to find us."

Frank was one of five individuals who spoke publicly in favor of censuring Gomez shortly before the July 28 vote.

Mayor Criticizes Gomez's Conduct

Mayor Graham also delivered a statement, referring to Gomez's July comments as "discrimination" and mentioning March 17 email comments made by Gomez about Graham as "sexual harassment."

"His conduct, both in the public and behind closed doors, has brought embarrassment to the city council and dysfunction to our city government," Graham stated. "He should not have a leadership role in this council. This resolution before you is to remove him as work session chair, which is a privilege as a stepped-up position to represent this City Council."

Gomez Defends His Actions

City Council President Mark Aliff, Councilors Joe Latino, and Regina Maestri voted against censuring Gomez. Martinez and Councilors Brett Boston and Dennis Flores supported the censure. A majority was required for the censure to pass.

While Gomez recused himself from voting, he read a statement prior to the vote, claiming there was "no truth" in allegations of prejudice toward the LGBTQ+ community and denying any instance of insulting or berating library staff.

"Furthermore, absolutely no proof of these false and fabricated allegations has been produced nor substantiated by anyone, including the city officials who are making these spurious claims," Gomez stated. "The behavior that has been attributed to me in the media is nothing more than rumors and innuendo and unsubstantiated hearsay."

In addition to reviewing transcripts from Gomez's July 14 statement questioning a library employee's gender identity and an incident report detailing events on July 17, the council examined audio clips from an interview Gomez gave with KOYC Radio. In the interview, Gomez described visiting the library and seeing someone he wasn't sure "what he was looking at," suggesting that children might get "confused" by the person's gender identity.

Additional Developments

Colorado State House: Pueblo GOP Chair announces 2026 run for fellow Republican's seat. Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news by subscribing to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.