Whenever one applies for a job, the employer generally reviews the applicant’s credentials and compares the results with an identified list of required qualifications. When one runs for public office, he/she works for the voting public. The obligation for review falls to us, the voters, to identify the requirements for office and the applicant’s suitability for the job.
The nature and complexity of Aspen within our valley and on the state and national levels require that the one holding that position meets a challenging list of qualifications.
Commitment; knowledge of issues; skill in leading a discussion and interacting in a positive way with divergent viewpoints; willingness to investigate new concepts and alternatives; ability to make difficult decisions and to support decisions with follow up and review; love of community and understanding that public service is a position of trust to be undertaken with care and responsibility; interaction with and respect for local, state, and national agencies with whom the city must work and accessibility. These requirements are at the top of my list. All require a score of 10 on a 1-to-10 scale. Beyond that, one can review other characteristics.
Rachel Richards is knowledgeable, demanding, direct, skilled, willing to move beyond the minimum requirements of the task at hand, and committed to our county, our town, our love of and commitment to Aspen — the town to which we all feel a sense of belonging. She cares, and she is willing to commit to doing the hard work of leading the direction of decisions that affect us all.
I do not make these statements carelessly. Having worked with Rachel in her roles as city and county official, as state and national representative for Aspen and Pitkin County, I know she is committed to participation, experience, appropriate and thoroughly documented decisions and follow-through.
Rachel Richards is a necessary and wise choice for Aspen City Council.
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