ASPEN - Bill Mast, assistant chief deputy clerk and recorder in Montrose County, will be the new Pitkin County elections manager, according to Clerk and Recorder Janice Vos Caudill.

Mast takes the local post effective April 1, succeeding Dwight Shellman III. Shellman's last day on the job had been extended to March 31, but he will stay an additional week to help train Mast.

This is the first time since Pitkin County created the elections manager post that the job will be filed by someone with previous election experience, according to Vos Caudill. Mast has been working in elections for Montrose County for the past five years, she said.

"I'm thrilled that I have someone who has past experience," she said.

There were 27 applicants for the post; after a round of telephone interviews, three came to the county for in-person interviews. The trio of finalists included two from Colorado and one from out of state but no one from the Roaring Fork Valley, according to Vos Caudill.

In addition to a new elections manager, Vos Caudill has reorganized her staff to create an applications specialist post that will be focused on the technical, computerized aspects of conducting elections and tabulating and reporting results.

There might be an election in November, depending on whether the county, a special district or other entity chooses to put a ballot question before voters. If there is an election, it will be conducted by mail only, as it will be an off-year election.