Editor\u2019s note: The Sky-Hi News reached out to each candidate running for office in Grand Lake. Some returned the form provided by the newspaper. Others submitted responses in different formats. All responses have been edited to be as close to 200 words as possible. For more about the candidates, check out the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce\u2019s election information at GoGrandLake.com\/resources\/.<\/p>\n
Mayoral candidates<\/p>\n
\nSteve Kudron<\/p>\n
Background: I am a community leader, serving as mayor pro-tem and planning commissioner in Grand Lake. I\u2019ve held elected and volunteer leadership positions here since 2012. I\u2019ve served on other volunteer boards in several capacities since 1990. My wife and I are owners of Quacker Gift Shop, Mountain Gal and Where Art Thou Gallery. You\u2019ll find me often at the duck shop making our famous fudge. I am the proud husband to Jennifer Brown. Our blended family includes four wonderful grown children and Avery, our precocious granddaughter. We\u2019ve lived in Grand Lake since 2014 with our kitties Delilah, Daffodil and Diesel.<\/p>\n
Community Involvement: In addition to mayor pro-tem, I am committed to our town\u2019s greatest resource, Grand Lake, serving on many water quality committees. I am on the Grand Lake Creative District Board; I\u2019ve served as Rotary Club President and volunteer in many community efforts with my time and talent.<\/p>\n
Focus: I\u2019ve served this community through times of trying change. I understand the town\u2019s operations, culture, business and economics because I\u2019m involved personally and professionally. I\u2019m a local, business owner and property owner. I am well qualified and would be honored as your next mayor of Grand Lake.<\/p>\n
Robert Canon<\/p>\n
Background: I\u2019ve lived in Grand Lake since September 2002. My formal education includes an Associate of Arts degree and an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement. Favorite activities include road trips, bird\/animal\/nature watching, motorcycling and camping. A huge history buff, and collect antler sheds \u2014 as well as other space compromising stuff. Love dogs.<\/p>\n
Focus: I\u2019m running for Mayor in hope of providing a fresh and objective perspective within our town administration. My priorities are to (1) ensure town stability and growth (2) enhance and support both law and code enforcement (3) see that the needs and focus of community goals are addressed and hopefully met. Our Comprehensive Plan is currently being addressed and those results will certainly be used as a primary reference in decisions affecting the community. Challenges in our community are fluid \u2014 not unlike a tumbling mountain stream \u2014 which, for us, requires close monitoring. We are a small community that supports thousands, including our own residents, outlying communities, and certainly our visitors, who contribute a major portion to our economy and welfare.<\/p>\n
Board of Trustees<\/p>\n
\nTom Weydert<\/p>\n
Background: My wife Kathy and I have lived in Grand Lake for 33 years and raised our family here. We built and operated Grand Lake Lanes for 14 years. I have been employed with the County since 2001.<\/p>\n
Community Involvement: Having previously served on the Town Board for many years, I made the decision to go back onto the board last year. I was concerned with the direction town management was taking, but believe we have turned the corner and are headed in the right direction. I feel there still needs to be more oversight and supervision along with community involvement. <\/p>\n
Focus: I served for many years on the Grand Lake Town Board, as well as on the Fire Department Board for 20-plus years, and fully understand the needs and responsibilities for serving our community. The current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic is constantly changing. We need to be prepared to help\/facilitate economic relief once we understand and can prioritize what the real needs will be. Streetscape, Space-to-create need to take second priority.<\/p>\n
Jonah Landy<\/p>\n
Background: I attended Colorado State University, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management\/Business. In my free time, I like to be with my family, and also love to spend time outside with my yellow Lab, Ollie. I am so fortunate to be able to enjoy all of my favorite activities year-round in Grand Lake. In the winter I like to ski\/snowboard and am learning to snowmobile. In the summertime, I love dirt biking, kayaking, wake surfing and camping.<\/p>\n
Community Involvement: For the last two years I have helped represent the business community by serving on the Chamber of Commerce. I genuinely care about our community and would be honored to serve as a member of the Town Board. I believe I have the energy to do what it takes to restore the charm and quality of life we all love about Grand Lake.<\/p>\n
Focus: As a homeowner and a taxpayer, I take an interest in how our community is managed and how our leaders are stewards of our tax dollars. Being a restaurant owner, I have the opportunity to talk to a lot of people and believe that I can listen to my fellow local residents and best represent their concerns.<\/p>\n
Melissa Ratzmann <\/p>\n
Background: Melissa has resided in Grand Lake for the last 12 months after being brought here with her husband for employment as your fire chief. She works for Grand Lake Fire as the public relations specialist and is looking forward to serving the Town of Grand Lake in any capacity she can. Melissa is originally from Florida, where she graduated with a AS Degree in Human Services moving on to a Bachelor\u2019s in Psychology. Her education has taught her that listening, understanding and researching are huge factors that must happen in order to make a great decision that benefits all involved.<\/p>\n
Focus: Notable challenges are happening in Grand Lake each day, issues like the need for a town planner, better pay as you go efficiency, Streetscape, things like placement of trash cans, Fees in lieu of parking, quiet hours and noise control, understanding tourism and how it affects our town, good or bad. Understanding Fire and Safety in our VRBO\u2019s, just to name a handful.<\/p>\n
Ernie Bjorkman <\/p>\n
Background: Ernie has lived in Grand Lake full-time for over a year but has been a part-time resident since 1985. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Florida and an Associate degree in veterinary technology. He enjoys fishing of any kind, especially ice-fishing and fly-fishing. He also loves playing golf, cross-country skiing, hiking, boating \u2014 all the things the Grand Lake area offers.<\/p>\n
Community Involvement: After enjoying Grand Lake so much over the years, I finally have time to give back to this great community by serving on the council and being part of the solutions. In the one year I\u2019ve been here full time, I have volunteered for several events and been involved in many more.<\/p>\n
Focus: First, affordable housing so we can maintain a viable workforce year-round. Second, water use and quality. Since three beautiful lakes are in our backyard and provide so many recreational opportunities, the town needs to take a stronger stance on protecting this valuable resource. We need to fight for more compensation for the mining of our water to be used along the Front Range. Third, preserving the rustic-and-real charm of this town that the locals love, and tourists love to visit. <\/p>\n
Michael Arntson<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Editor\u2019s note: The Sky-Hi News reached out to each candidate running for office in Grand Lake. Some returned the form provided by the newspaper. Others submitted responses in different formats. All responses have been edited to be as close to 200 words as possible. For more about the candidates, check out the Grand Lake Chamber […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-11 08:44:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KIFT - The LIFT FM","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45060\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kift\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}