Rose, Guth win Aspen City Council seats   

Aspen’s ready for a change, if the City Council election is any indication.

On Tuesday, city voters elected the council’s possibly youngest member in history, Sam Rose, 29, and William “Bill” Guth. Rose had a big lead over the other two candidates — first-time challenger Guth and incumbent Skippy Mesirow.

Guth defeated Mesirow by roughly 210 votes. 

---

---

The breakdown: 

• Sam Rose, 2,323 votes
• William (Bill) Guth, 1,499
• Skippy Mesirow, 1,286

“I’m just honored beyond belief to be able to represent Aspen, the best place on Earth to call home. I love this community, my firefighter network, my hockey friends, my colleagues. Aspen has this small town charm and wonderful people,” said Rose.

---

---

There were inklings that the second City Council seat might require a run-off as election results neared two hours after the polls closed at 7 p.m. If two candidates for the City Council failed to reach the 45% threshold, it would trigger a runoff. It didn’t come to that.

At 9 p.m., Rose said he was exhausted. He left a friend’s home, where he was awaiting news with a group of friends. “I can’t stand the no updates,” he said. “It’s taking forever.” 

Patience won out, along with him winning a dominant lead over the others. n his second bid for the position, he said: “I was myself. I knew that there was not much overlap between Bill and Skippy. I am who I am, I spoke for everything that was asked. As much as I am delighted, this was the result I was expecting and hoping for.”

Guth, whose pro-real-estate-development campaign seemed controversial at times, eked out a win for the second City Council seat.

“I’m so humbled and just so appreciative of my supporters, my wife, and kids,” he said. “I’m very excited to bring a different representation to the table.”

Incumbent’s Mesirow’s bold ideas and City Council experience didn’t pay off this time.

“This election, I was 100% in integrity. I shied away from no challenge. Triangulated nothing. I embraced our history and honored those who built our town. I was supported by an amazing group of humans of all ages, incomes, and durations in town,” he said. “We ran a campaign about something — honestly and without fear. It felt amazing and challenging at times.”

He added, “The two campaigns that influenced Aspen most were Joe Edwards in 1969 and Hunter Thompson in 1972, and they both lost. It’s up to us. We can dig deep. I’ll be right here with you.”

Guth and Rose will be sworn into the City Council in April.