Jim Pfaff, a Woodland Park city council member with a long history of political involvement, defended himself, his residency and his demeanor against a recall threat on Tuesday.

“For those of you who have all these negative opinions about this issue, I did not move to Woodland Park to run for office,” Pfaff said in a 15-minute video posted to his Facebook page. “We moved to Woodland Park to start a business.”

Colorado Politics reported Monday about an effort made public last week to recall Pfaff, who was elected in April in the conservative Teller County community of approximately 8,000 residents. Pfaff, who lives in a cabin and mobile home lodge with his wife, was required to be a resident for 12 months prior to the election. 

Under questioning from city officials and the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Pfaff maintained he provided a deposit for the site on April 1, 2019 establishing residency, even though the lodge did not have available space until later. Prosecutors terminated the investigation after determining there was not sufficient evidence to prove the residency claims beyond a reasonable doubt.

Much of Pfaff’s defense was devoted to going after retired city manager David Buttery, whom Pfaff blamed for the city’s current debt and for the hostility against him.

“Is there some concern he has? Is he trying to protect something? Is he trying to protect his reputation?” Pfaff asked on the video. “I see a man who is vindictive and is attempting at every stage to maintain his control and influence over what happens in this city.”

Pfaff then insinuated there was subterfuge regarding Buttery’s retirement.

“My understanding is he retired but that was something he needed to do or else something much worse would happen for him,” Pfaff said. “David, if you want to have a fight, we’ll have a fight. Because I know a lot more, too. So I’m very glad to have that discussion about you and what’s going on.”

Buttery, who worked for the city for two decades as public works director and then city manager, indicated he had no idea what Pfaff’s reference to his retirement meant.

“To blame me for debt, in my opinion, shows his total lack of understanding of how municipal government works,” said Buttery. He indicated that as the top employee at city hall, he operated on the desires of the council and, in the case of the $14 million aquatic center, voter approval.

“I believe he has yet to prove the residency requirement,” Buttery said, declining to state whether he was involved with the announced recall but admitting he was part of a larger group with concerns about the council. “I don’t believe he is willing to learn about the community other than when he pontificates about the proper way for municipal government to work.”

Darrin Tangeman, the current city manager, also found Pfaff’s characterization of Buttery’s influence on the city to be inaccurate.

“David just wants what’s best for this community. Many people approach him with their concerns because he’s been here for so long,” Tangeman said. “David didn’t make policy decisions. David implemented policy decisions by former city councils, so I don’t think David has ever been concerned about his legacy.”

To his point, last week the council favored a cut to the mill levy, with revenue reduction at odds with reining the city’s debt. Pfaff argued for a permanent reduction instead of a temporary one that would provide roughly $20 per year.

“I believe taxation is theft and I want to support the mill reduction wholeheartedly,” responded Mayor Pro Tem Hilary LaBarre. “However, when I was elected, I worked with previous councils and current council members on putting aside a certain amount of money to pay a certain amount of debt in a certain amount of time.”

“To cut that all out now is cutting off our nose to spite our face,” she added.

In providing the narrative of his residency, Pfaff explained he came to Colorado in 2005 from Indiana and has “adopted Colorado as my home.” He has also lived in Washington, D.C. and was a 2016 candidate in Indiana for a congressional, then a state House seat in Monroe County.

“My wife and I own a house in Indiana on land which has been in her family for more than 80 years,” Pfaff told Colorado Politics. “I did not ‘shop’ for a place to run. We were living in the district at the time.”

Most recently, Pfaff was the chief of staff for the Republicans in the state House of Representatives.

Pfaff and his wife, Myra, were looking for a place to do business, he explained in his Facebook video, and chose Woodland Park. The Pfaffs were “literally sitting in our friend’s parking lot in Colorado waiting for something to open” after they put down a deposit for Bristlecone Lodge in the city.

Running for office, he added, was not something that he wanted to do until after residents suggested it to him and the couple’s business, Fit Nutrition Depot, opened. As to why his recreational vehicle has Indiana license plates on it, Pfaff stated the RV belongs to a relative and the Pfaffs have not yet taken ownership.

“I’ve sought legal advice on this,” Pfaff said. He indicated he spoke to “the top elections lawyer in the state, who’s a friend of mine. I wanted to make sure that I hadn’t missed something back then. And he didn’t feel that I did. And we’re willing to take that case on if we have to.”

Although Buttery and others have spoken critically of Pfaff’s demeanor to council members, staff and the public, Pfaff defended his conduct in his video statement and deflected to the behavior of others.

“I’m not quite Donald Trump, but I’m certainly not Mother Teresa in my approach,” he said. “Let me just address this: the people who are making the accusation most loudly are some of the most abrasive people I’ve met in my entire life.”