Ireland, Skadron win in runoff

ASPEN — Former Pitkin County Commissioner Mick Ireland will be Aspen’s new mayor, while candidate Steve Skadron was elected Tuesday to a seat on the City Council.

Ireland bested former council member Tim Semrau in Tuesday’s runoff election by a 57 percent-to-43 percent margin, while Skadron, a Planning and Zoning Commission member, outpolled opponent Toni Kronberg at the polls with 75 percent of the vote.

Ireland and Skadron will take their seats during the Monday, June 11 council meeting, which will convene with outgoing Mayor Helen Klanderud calling the meeting to order and Ireland running the show by its conclusion.

Klanderud won three terms in office before term limits prevented her from seeking re-election.

Two new council members — Skadron and Dwayne Romero — will take office, assuming seats held by council members Torre and Jasmine Tygre. Torre made an unsuccessful bid for the mayor’s seat and was ousted from the running in the first go-round of voting, on May 8. Tygre, former chairwoman of the P&Z, was appointed to a vacant council seat early this year, but did not seek election, leaving her post up for grabs. Council members and the mayor are elected at large.

Romero won a seat with sufficient votes on May 8, avoiding a runoff on Tuesday. Skadron and Kronberg were the next two top vote-getters in the May election, but neither collected enough votes to win in the first round of voting.

For more on the results, and reaction from the candidates, see Wednesday’s Aspen Times.

The final (unofficial) results:

<b>Mayoral race</b>
Mick Ireland — 1,209
Tim Semrau — 913

<b>City Council runoff</b>
Steve Skadron — 1,545
Toni Kronberg — 516