(PUEBLO, Colo.) — FOX21 is your local election headquarters and we are now less than a month away from November’s Mayoral election in Pueblo.

Dennis Flores is well known in the Pueblo community, as he serves his seventh year on City Council. Flores is a seasoned public servant and business expert, who has now set his sights on becoming the next Mayor of Pueblo.

Flores aims to grow the economy and has a new approach to supporting the city’s homeless. He believes his leadership experience sets him apart from the eight other candidates in this race.

Flores is making waves in Pueblo, as he looks to tap into the steel city’s full potential.

“I have a list of about 26 items the first year that I’m Mayor,” Flores said. “I’m doing these things that are not being done now.”

With a background in business management, Flores believes he is well-equipped to look at the issues impacting Pueblo from a different perspective. He also wants to continue to grow the city.

“I want to unleash the potential that Pueblo has, not only the potential but also unleashing our economy and just driving a new attitude, a new culture that we are destined to grow for many reasons,” Flores said.

Flores wants to grow the city by using resources already in place. Flores says there is currently enough water in Pueblo to meet the needs of three times the population.

“We also have the lowest cost of living of any city in Colorado,” Flores said.

During his time on city council, Flores developed the Pueblo economic dashboard. He plans to use a similar approach when managing the city.

“There’s a lot of resources and we just have to funnel them in and attack the problem from kind of a laser focus instead of this everybody-doing-their-own-thing, ” Flores explained. “I want to bring everybody together.”

Flores wants to take a similar approach to addressing the city’s homeless population.

“I think the community is looking in the wrong direction,” Flores said.

Pueblo is home to Colorado’s largest mental health facility, and Flores wants the community to follow the money and determine if the hospital and the several non-profits dedicated to providing mental health resources are supporting the homeless population.

“Do it like my dashboard,” Flores explained. “Tell us how many people you served in the homeless community, tell us how many people you got off of addiction, tell us how many. I guarantee you that they don’t like that scrutiny. The scrutiny right now is on city council and we don’t have any money.”

When looking to address the city’s growing crime rate, Flores says he will be a dedicated mayor who looks for unique solutions.

“I want to be one of those mayors that I’m not going to be using excuses if I have to go to other communities and try to recruit police officers,” Flores explained. “I think that’s the job of the mayor, to find creative ways of bringing and filling those positions.”

Dennis Flores believes he has proven himself as a city councilman and is now ready to step into the Mayor’s office.