I\u2019m voting for Torre for mayor in the runoff. That\u2019s right, Torre, who has served eight years on the Aspen City Council, but since then has never been very far away from civic involvement. His causes have included conservation and the issue of providing affordable housing. He\u2019s run for mayor and lost several times; but he never gave up on Aspen. And he\u2019s stayed involved with the community despite rejection at the polls. That\u2019s the kind of resilience I think Aspen needs in its leadership going forward.<\/p>\n
Far from giving up, he\u2019s now running once more for the most thankless job Aspen has to offer. Now that\u2019s tenacity! And he\u2019s not running blindly. Having observed how the city has been run in recent years, he\u2019s still willing to serve. Amazing!<\/p>\n
Both of our very competitive newspapers endorsed him when he threw his hat in the ring for the first round of today\u2019s contest. They cited, among other attributes, Torre\u2019s ability to make decisions and not to fear being on the losing side of an argument.<\/p>\n
What about his competition? Well, Ann Mullins is certainly a nice, caring, civic-minded lady. But in her case the good news is that if she loses, she\u2019ll be able to serve us on council. Hopefully, under Torre\u2019s leadership she may learn the governing skills that would qualify her for the top job in the future; so this story could have a doubly happy ending!<\/p>\n
Alex Biel<\/p>\n
Aspen<\/p>\n