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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Gary Flakes announced he's running for Colorado Springs City Council Wednesday at the Sand Creek Library.

Around 30 people plus media filed into the room to hear his message, and not all were Flakes' biggest fan.

That's because for many community members, his name is synonymous with a terrible memory.

32-year-old Gary Flakes was convicted for being an accessory to the 1997 slayings of 13-year-old Andy Westbay and 15-year-old Scott Hawrysiak in Cheyenne Meadows.

Westbay and Hawrysiak were gunned down on Valentine's Day while walking home after playing video games at a friend's house.

Flakes was 16 at the time, and according to his confession, he and Jeron Grant, who was 17, drove up behind the boys on Canoe Creek Drive when Grant got out and shot them with a 12-guage shotgun.

Flakes told police he was driving Grant to their homes on Fort Carson when they saw the boys.

"As a young person my actions devastated the community and brought grief to two families," Flakes explained to the crowd, "the teenager who committed those acts needed the young leader I am today."

Flakes made it clear in his short announcement that he wasn't interested in answering questions about his personal life.

While he hasn't officially filed for candidacy just yet, he seems confident he has the qualifications to run.

"I will use my life experiences, my knowledge, to make the lives of young people better and to help all of District 4 live up to it's greatest potential," he said.

A dozen gathered outside the library, remembering Valentines Day of 1997. They were friends and schoolmates of Andy and Scott, who wanted people to remember Flakes' past.

Flakes was paroled after serving 12 years, and while in terms of the justice system Flake has served his debt to society.... what's still up for debate is whether Colorado Springs can forgive him enough to give him a chance.

"Mothers of Murdered Youth" founder Jennifer Romero said she doesn't think the community will accept his running.

"It wasn't just two families as he said that he hurt," she explained, "The whole community suffered because of his actions."

She and many of her organization's supporters said they're shocked that Flakes had "the audacity" to try to make decisions for the same community which his life decisions impacted so negatively. She said running in this town is disrespecful to the families he hurt.

"I'm all for forgiveness and that's not the issue. The issue is that he came back to the community that he offended in. That's where he did wrong," she said.

One question a lot of people had today is if Flakes can even run.

The answer is yes. But City Council is looking into past legislation to see if there's anything against it.

We'll have to wait and see if the community's reactions to this announcement are as strong as the initial reponses we've heard so far.