negotiator for the state attorneys general in the National Mortgage Settlement in which the nations five largest mortgage services agreed to pay $25 billion in compensation for loan servicing misconduct. Suthers was the second longest-serving attorney general in Colorado history. Only Duke Dunbar, who served 22 years from 1951-1973, had a longer tenure as Colorado Attorney General. Mayor of Colorado Springs On May 19, 2015, Suthers was elected Mayor of Colorado Springs, defeating former Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace in a runoff election by a 68% to 32%. Colorado Springs is the 39th largest city in the United States, with a population of 500,000. The population of the metropolitan area is 770,000. Suthers stated his priorities as restoring a collaborative relationship with City Council and other governmental entities in the Pikes Peak region, addressing the city's infrastructure issues, particularly roads and stormwater, and aggressively promoting new job creation. In November 2015, his plan to increase sales taxes for five years in order to raise $250 million to repair roads in Colorado Springs was approved by the City Council 8 - 1 and by voters by a 65% to 35% margin. The tax was extended by the voters in November 2019, again with 65% of the vote. In April 2016, Colorado Springs entered into an intergovernmental agreement with Pueblo County under which the city of Colorado Springs committed to spend at least $460 million over the next 20 years on its stormwater program. The agreement paved the way for a new water delivery project, The Southern Delivery System (SDS), to go online as scheduled. The system is expected to meet the water needs of Colorado Springs for the next 50 years. In November 2017, Colorado Springs voters approved by a 54% to 46% margin a stormwater fee to fund its stormwater program. In April 2018, Colorado Springs approved an amended annexation agreement for Banning Lewis Ranch, paving the way for development of 24,000 acres that will accommodate the growth of the city for decades to come. In December 2015, Suthers was awarded the Colorado Governor's Citizenship Medal, the highest award given to a citizen of Colorado, in recognition of his service as attorney general and for his work as Mayor, to put Colorado Springs on a "very positive trajectory." In November 2016, Suthers was named Colorado Technology Advocate of the Year for his efforts in establishing a National Cybersecurity Center in Colorado