Aspen City Council: Skippy Mesirow, Rachel Richards win seats

Rachel Richards and Skippy Mesirow were voted onto the Aspen city council on Tuesday night, beating out incumbent Bert Myrin and current City Clerk Linda Manning.

Richards received 1,729 votes and Mesirow garnered 1,433 votes.

A former Aspen mayor and two-term Pitkin County commissioner, Richards, 58, campaigned on a platform that she would continue to pursue political objectives she has in the past —housing local workers, preserving open space and working on the state level on matters ranging from health care to the environment.

Mesirow, meanwhile, positioned himself as a voice of the younger generation and a proponent of bridging gaps rather than widening them. It was Mesirow who pushed to have Aspen’s odd-year elections moved to March from May, after voters in November favored the date change.

Myrin, who received 1,215 votes, was the sole City Council candidate who campaigned against the Lift One proposal, which voters passed by a 26-vote margin on Tuesday.

During his first 4-year term on the City Council, Myrin has fancied himself as a lone wolf, oftentimes at odds with other council members while maintaining a no-growth position.

Manning, who is the Aspen city clerk, stood to leave her job if she were elected because officeholders also can’t hold a job with the city. She received 1,076 votes.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

via:: The Aspen Times