Aspen
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen,_Colorado
The most recent regular municipal election was March 5th, 2019, with a runoff only for Mayor that was held on April 2nd, 2019.
The next general municipal election will be March 2nd, 2021, with a runoff (if applicable) taking place April 6th, 2021. Mayor and 2 At=Large seats will be up for vote.
2019 was the first election with March/April in odd years, as previously with was May/June in odd years. The voters of Aspen voted in favor of the move during the coordinated November 2018 election.
Even with the changed election months, councilors and the mayor are still sworn in during June.
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Contents
[hide]Overview
- City Council: 3 Unaffiliated, 1 Democrat
- Mayor: Democrat
- County: Pitkin County
- School Districts: Aspen 1
- State House: HD 61 (D)
- State Senator: SD 5 (D)
- Congressional: CD 3 (R)
Demographics
| Demographic | Number | Percentage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 7,359 (July 2017) | x | (US Census Bureau |
| Registered Voters | ~5,800 (Nov 2018) | ~78% | Deputy City Clerk to Aspen Times |
| Race and Ethnicity | |||
| White, alone | 90% | (US Census Bureau | |
| White, alone (Not Hispanic or Latino) | 85.5% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 8.3% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Asian, alone | 3.3% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Black or African American, alone | 2.7% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Two or More Races | 0.7% | (US Census Bureau | |
| American Indian or Native Alaskan, alone | 0.3% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, alone | 0.0% | (US Census Bureau | |
| Economy | |||
| Median home value (owner-occupied) (2013-2017) |
$563,900 | (US Census Bureau | |
| Median monthly costs, with mortgage (2013-2017) |
$1,794 | (US Census Bureau | |
| Median gross rent (2013-2017) |
$1,247 | (US Census Bureau | |
| Median household income (2017 dollars (2013-2017) |
$64,594 | (US Census Bureau | |
| Persons in Poverty | 9.5% | (US Census Bureau | |
For expanded information:
- US Census Bureau
- Statistical Atlas (Use right-hand menu. Some figures also include interactive maps.)
City Council
Mayor
- 2 year terms; no more than 3 consecutive terms. Therefore 6 consecutive years. (This includes filling vacancies and resignations in the City of Aspen.)
- Must be elected with at least 50% plus one vote, otherwise goes to runoff.
Councilors
- 4 year terms; no more than 2 consecutive terms. Therefore 8 consecutive years. (This includes filling vacancies and resignations in the City of Aspen.)
- Elected At-Large
- Must be elected with at least 45% plus one vote, otherwise goes to runoff.
Mayor Pro-Tem
- Elected by majority council at first organizational meeting after the municipal election.
- Performs all the duties and is vested all the powers of the mayor in their absence.
General
- Cannot serve more than 14 years consecutively between Mayor and Council.
- Must not serve a total of 4 years in order to not count consecutively.
| Title | Name | Party | Next Election March |
Contact | 2019 Margin | 2017 Margin | 2015 Margin | 2013 Margin | 2011 Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Steve Skadron (Torre, incoming) |
Democrat (Unaffiliated, incoming) |
2021 | 970-920-5199 |
66.44% (83.22%) Lee Mulcahy 16.78% |
|||||
| At-Large | Ward Hauenstein | Unaffiliated | 2021 | 970-920-5199 |
X | (See below to expanded table) |
||||
| At-Large | Bert Myrin (Rachel Richards, incoming) |
Unaffiliated (Incoming Democrat) |
2023 | 970-920-5199 |
1 1 (Incumbent Bert Myrin voted out) |
X | (Bert Myrin) |
|||
| At-Large | Ann Mullins | Democrat | 2021 | 970-920-5199 |
X | (See below to expanded table) |
||||
| At-Large | Adam Frisch (Skippy Mesirow, incoming) |
Unaffiliated | 2023 | 970-920-5199 |
X |
Expanded Runoff Election Results
| Seat | 2019 Runoff | 2019 General | 2017 Runoff | 2017 General | 2015 Runoff | 2015 General | 2013 Runoff | 2013 General |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor. Must be 50% plus one or more in the General, or goes to Runoff | ||||||||
| Mayor | Torre 56.32% Ann Mullins 43.67% |
Torre - 1281 votes (Runoff) Ann Mullins - 940 votes (Runoff) Adam Frisch - 838 votes Cale Mitchell - 83 votes |
(No Runoff) | Steve Skadron 83.22% (i) Lee Mulcahy 16.78% (News Coverage) |
||||
| At-Large Councilors. Pick 2. Each must be 45% plus one or more in the General, or goes to Runoff | ||||||||
| At-Large | (No Runoff) | Rachel Richards - 1729 votes Skippy Mesirow - 1433 votes Bert Myrin (i) - 1215 votes (Incumbent defeated) Linda Manning - 1076 votes |
Ward Hauenstein 50.73% Torre 49.27% (Difference of 27 votes) |
Ann Mullins (i) - 1,108 votes Torre - 972 (Runoff) Ward Hauenstein - 894 votes (Runoff) Skippy Mesirow - 792 votes Art Daily (i) - 635 votes (Incumbent defeated) Sue Tatem - 71 votes (News Coverage) |
Bert Myrin 65.6% Mike Ireland 34.4% (News Coverage) |
|||
Meetings
Source: Official City of Aspen Website
Regular Meetings
- 2nd and 4th Monday of every month at 5 p.m.
Work Sessions
- 1st and 3rd Mondays of every month at 5 p.m.
- Every Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Broadcast on CGTV Channel 11, and Webcast live and archived. (Link also includes minutes and agendas.)
Local Media
- Aspen Daily News
- Aspen Times
- Aspen Public Radio
- GrassRoots TV
- Aspen Sojourner (Primarily arts, culture, and activities, but also does some local news coverage.)
2019 Election
General Election is March 5th, 2019. Mayor and 2 At-Large council seats are up for vote.
Aspen has a runoff system, requiring the Mayor to get 50% plus one votes, and each of the two available At-Large council seats receiving 45% plus one votes to be elected outright.
The runoff is scheduled or April 2nd, 2019.
Winners will begin their terms in June.
Petitions were circulated in December.
From Aspen Clerk's Office: Election Day for the 2019 General Election will be held on March 5th. Ballots will be mailed out on February 11th and early voting will begin in the Clerk's office on February 19th from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Mail ballots may be dropped off in the Clerk's office between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
News Coverage
- Aspen Public Radio page tracking their candidate interviews
- Aspen Times Election Section
- Aspen Daily News 2019 Election
Candidates
Current Mayor Steve Skadron is termed out. Skadron is unable to run for council due to the charter rule of serving no more than 14 years consecutively. He was first elected to council in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. He was elected as mayor in 2013 and re-elected in 2015 and 2017. As council seats are 4 year terms, the next council term for this election would end in 2023, 16 consecutive years after he was first elected, in violation of charter. In accordance to charter, he must sit out the next 4 years so they do not get counted as consecutive (partial terms are considered full terms in this regard. Charter explicitly states it). He can next be on a City Council or Mayoral ballot in 2023.
Adam Frisch is termed out of his councilor seat, and will be running for Mayor.
(i) = incumbent
(i) = incumbent
Forums
Previous
- Thursday 1/10/19 5:30p-7:30p--"City Outreach"--Aspen Police Department community room
- Thursday 1/24/19 (time?)--"Local Business"--Bootsy Bellows
- Thursday 1/31/19 (time?)--"Community Health"--Bootsy Bellows
- "Squirm Night", an Aspen tradition. A collaboration between Aspen Daily News, Aspen Times, Aspen Public Radio, and GrassRoots TV.
- Thursday February 7th, 2019 at 5:30pm at City Hall.
- Will be broadcast on Grassroots TV and via Facebook through other media.
- Aspen Daily News Coverage
Campaign Finance
Filing Dates (according to Aspen City Clerk's office):
February 12, 2019February 25, 2019February 28, 2019- April 4, 2019
EDITORIAL NOTE: Figures between Total Contributions and subtraction of Total Expenditures will not always necessarily equal Cash On Hand. This is commonly due to money being left over from previous campaigns.
Official Campaign Finance Report Source
Candidates
| Seat | Name | Party | Total Contributions | Total Expenditures | Total Cash On Hand | Total IECs | Notable Individuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Ann Mullins (advanced to runoff) (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Democrat | $13,845.00 | $15,164.72 | (-$819.72) | $1,666.67 | |
| Mayor | Torre (advanced to runoff) (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) ([ Report 4]) |
Unaffiliated | $6,665 (Plus candidate loan for $1,000) |
$5,548.53 | $1,116.77 | ||
| Mayor | Adam Frisch (defeated) (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Unaffiliated | $16,396.84 | $13.616.78 | $3,045.58 | ||
| Mayor | Cale Mitchell (defeated) (No reports filed as of 4/7/19) |
Green | |||||
| At-Large | Bert Myrin (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Unaffiliated | $7,074 | $6,027.39 | $2,166.39 | ||
| At-Large | Linda Manning (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Democrat | $4,349.00 | $4,241.25 | $107.55 | $1,666.67 | |
| At-Large | Skippy Mesirow (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Unaffiliated | $15,604.98 (Plus candidate loan for $921.34) |
$15,170.43 | $285.12 | Governor Jared Polis - $250 | |
| At-Large | Rachel Richards (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
Democrat | $19,869.99 | $18,189.71 | $183.38 | $1,666.67 | Candidate Contributions - $5,750 Arapahoe County Commissioner Bill Holen - $100 State Rep. Julie McCluskie - $50 State Sen. Kerry Donovan - $50 |
Issues
| Name | Stance | Registered Agent(s) | Total Contributions | Total Expenditures | Total Cash On Hand | Total Non-Monetary Contributions | Notable Individuals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One for Aspen (Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) ([ Report 4]) |
FOR Lift One | Bryan Peterson partner at Norway Island LLC |
$150 | $0 | $150 | $67,553.81 | Norway Island LLC and Lift One Lodge Aspen Mick Ireland appears to be paid for fascilitating the mailer campaign. |
| Committee to Improve Lift One (Filed later, so no Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) (Report 4) |
AGAINST Lift One Op-Ed by Registered Agent |
Enna Kutz, of Boston | $15,000 | $14,631.38 | $368.62 | $0 | Shadow Mountain Townhome Association - $15,000 |
| No on Lift 1A (Filed later, so no Report 1) (Report 2) (Report 3) ([ Report 4]) |
AGAINST Lift One | Roxana Aslan | $0 | $0 | $0 | $500 | |
| No on Lift 1A (Filed later, so no Reports 1 or 2) (Report 3) ([ Report 4]) |
For Ann Mullins, Linda Manning, and Rachel Richards | Ashley Feddersen | $5,000 | $5,000 | $0 | Bruce Etkin - $5,000 | |
Moving Elections from May to March
On the November 8th, 2018 coordinated general election, the voters of Aspen voted to move the municipal elections from May/June to March/April. 68% voted for the change; 32% against.
The rationale for the shift came from a study that was conducted by the group in favor of a new date, Aspen Citizens for Democracy, tracking the number of toilet flushes. According to this study, the most flushes were on New Years Day, due to holiday tourism, and then plummeted in May when the first round of elections were previously conducted. March was found to be the "Goldilocks" time in between the rush and the resulting lull.
Previous Turnout Figures
Aspen Municipal Turnout Source (Aspen Times)
| Election | Turnout |
|---|---|
| March 2019 | 54% |
| April 2019 (runoff) | 45% |
| May 2017 | 37.7% |
| June 2017 (runoff) | 28.57% |
| May 2015 | 40.75% |
| June 2015 (runoff) | 32% |
| May 2013 | 51.62% |
| June 2013 (runoff) | 39.53% |
| May 2011 | 55.63% |
| May 2009 | 44.78% |
