Dave Donelson
2021 - Present
2029
4
Dave Donelson is a member of the Colorado Springs City Council, representing District 1. He assumed office on April 20, 2021. His current term ends on April 17, 2029.
Donelson ran for re-election to the Colorado Springs City Council to represent District 1. He won in the general election on April 1, 2025.
Biography
Donelson was born on Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia. He served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 2010. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1986 and a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2000.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Colorado Springs, Colorado (2025)
General election
General election for Colorado Springs City Council District 1
Incumbent Dave Donelson defeated Lee Lehmkuhl in the general election for Colorado Springs City Council District 1 on April 1, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dave Donelson (Nonpartisan) | 58.0 | 11,805 |
 | Lee Lehmkuhl (Nonpartisan)  | 42.0 | 8,547 | |
| Total votes: 20,352 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Donelson in this election.
2022
See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 16
Stephanie Vigil defeated Dave Donelson and John Hjersman in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stephanie Vigil (D) | 49.8 | 16,243 |
| Dave Donelson (R) | 47.6 | 15,533 | |
 | John Hjersman (L) | 2.7 | 870 | |
| Total votes: 32,646 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 16
Stephanie Vigil advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 16 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephanie Vigil | 100.0 | 6,785 |
| Total votes: 6,785 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 16
Dave Donelson advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 16 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Donelson | 100.0 | 8,538 |
| Total votes: 8,538 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2021
See also: City elections in Colorado Springs, Colorado (2021)
General election
General election for Colorado Springs City Council District 1
Dave Donelson defeated Glenn Carlson, Jim Mason, and Michael Seeger in the general election for Colorado Springs City Council District 1 on April 6, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dave Donelson (Nonpartisan) | 48.0 | 9,183 |
 | Glenn Carlson (Nonpartisan) | 29.0 | 5,544 | |
 | Jim Mason (Nonpartisan) | 15.6 | 2,989 | |
| Michael Seeger (Nonpartisan) | 7.4 | 1,408 | ||
| Total votes: 19,124 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Donelson's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dave Donelson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Dave Donelson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Dave Donelson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Donelson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Dave had a 21 year career in the US Army, enlisting as a Private First Class, and was promoted to Major before retirement. During that career he was a Russian Linguist in Military Intelligence, then a Special Forces (Green Beret) Medical Sergeant, and finally a Physician Assistant and Army Officer. He is a combat veteran who deployed on three 1-year deployments to Iraq, and was also assigned to South Korea for a year, and the US Embassy in Kazakhstan for 6 months.
Before the Army Dave worked in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana as a trail crew member, and then as a Wilderness Guard. He still loves the outdoors, and is a trail runner who will be competing in the Pikes Peak Ascent again this year.
After the Army Dave worked as a Physician Assistant, first in Flight Medicine at Peterson AFB, then at a small urgent care, and finally as the Center Director of a Men's Health Center. While Dave was the Center Director the patient (customer) population tripled. Dave understands the challenges of small business ownership.
Dave has been strongly endorsed by District 1 Councilman Don Knight. He is also endorsed by State Senators Paul Lundeen and Larry Liston. See the full list at davedonelson.org Dave will bring the leadership of an Army Officer, the problem solving of a Green Beret, and the business experience of a Center Director to City Council.
- Dave's first priority is public safety. He is a strong supporter of Law Enforcement and his brother is a 27 year veteran Police Officer.
- Dave is strongly endorsed by Don Knight - the current District 1 Councilman; and many other highly respected elected officials. See the full list at davedonelson.org
1. Public Safety (Police and Fire) - This is the most important service that city government provides. It is hard to enjoy our trails and open if you come back to your car the the window has been broken out and property stolen from your car. This happened to friends of ours. A few weeks ago when I went to our local pet supply store one of the panes of glass in the door was replaced with plywood. I asked one of the employees what had happened and she informed me that it had been shot out the day before during a fight and shooting in the parking lot. This happened during business hours. Public safety is an issue that can't be second.
2. Infrastructure (roads and bridges) - After public safety this is the next critical service that city government provides. Roads, bridges, and other elements of infrastructure are services which constituents rightly expect city government to provide and manintain. They are a fundamental responsibility of city government and are a high priority for families and businesses in our district. Constituents are significantly impacted, pun intended, by the potholes in the roads.3. Support for small business - Small businesses create the jobs and pay the taxes which fund the first two responsibilities of city government. They have been severely impacted by the COVID shutdown and we need to get them open again as soon as possible.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate Colorado Springs City Council District 1 |
Officeholder Colorado Springs City Council District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 18, 2021.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Don Knight |
Colorado Springs City Council District 1 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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