Aspen council candidates to face off Thursday night in virtual Squirm Nights

In partnership with Grassroots TV, The Aspen Times and the Aspen Daily News on Thursday will moderate a virtual Squirm Night, first among the eight candidates vying for the two open seats on Aspen City Council and then between the two mayoral hopefuls.

The events, happening between 5 and 8 p.m. on Zoom and streaming on Facebook and YouTube, will each feature a series of questions to better inform voters ahead of the March 2 election. Because of the number of City Council candidates, 90 minutes has been slated for that forum, until 6:30 p.m. Mayoral incumbent Torre and challenger Lee Mulcahy will then begin at 6:45 p.m.

During the Aspen City Council candidate Squirm Night, contenders will have the opportunity to give a two-minute opening statement and answer a few rapid-fire questions before diving into more tailored questions ranging in topics from housing and development to environmental issues to the COVID-19 response and government processes. In the interest of fairness, each candidate will be asked the same number of questions — but not the same questions. Rather, everyone will be given time to make a closing statement, at which time a candidate may address an issue or point made earlier in the evening.

City council candidates include: Kimbo Brown-Schirato, John Doyle, Casey Endsley, Ward Hauenstein, Mark Reece, Samuel Rose, Erin Smiddy and Jim Stockton.

The livesteam will be carried live at aspentimes.com and on the Election home page, as well as The Aspen Times Facebook page. To read more on the candidates, go to aspentimes.com/election.

The event will also be on GrassRootsTV’s YouTube page.