BOCC District 1 candidates discuss key Aspen issues

The Pitkin County Board of County Commission District 1 election is set for June 30, with three Aspen candidates vying for the position.

The candidates include former Mayor Torre, current Aspen City Council Mayor Pro Tem John Doyle and former Pitkin county commissioner Rob Ittner, who all spoke to The Aspen Times about the airport modernization, the Entrance to Aspen, wildfire resilience and more.

Torre

Torre, the former mayor of Aspen, said he’s prioritizing his investment in the climate, affordable housing and limiting excessive growth in his bid for Board of County Commissioners District 1. According to him, he will approach issues with transit and housing through an environmental lens, focusing on ensuring issues are solved in an environmentally-friendly manner. 

“There are a lot of really responsible and ecologically friendly decisions that can be made if you look at things through the lens of ‘environment first’ and what’s good for our environment, both locally and when we talk about climate change. Oftentimes, those decisions are going to be the best for our community as well,” he said.

He is also focused on improving public transportation in a way that focuses on environmental sustainability, as well as aiming to “fix APCHA,” according to a campaign flyer, and improve affordable housing in the valley. 

He also emphasized his stance as a “slow growth representative.”

“Slow growth as an ethic is really trying to do growth that positively impacts our community or fulfills a need that we have going on right now,” he said.

Torre expressed his opinion that the BOCC has begun to delineate into “pro-community and against community” lines and said he is hoping to realign the board towards community goals. 

He has dedicated time to community outreach, including knocking on over 1,000 doors and working to understand community goals in order to apply them to his prospective role as county commissioner.

With regard to the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport modernization project, he said he agrees that the terminal and runway need to be improved but believes this can be done while limiting development. According to him, the renovation and continued work with the airport is warranted to “improve it for environmental and growth related aspects.”

During his tenure as mayor of Aspen, he explained he was also an advocate for a “modified split shot” entrance redesign to Aspen to deal with congestion and to improve vehicle emissions. He believed that one of the most valid design concepts was a second bridge near Marolt Open Space and, as county commissioner, he would focus on moving that project forward.

On wildfire, he recognized the danger and impacts in Aspen given the historic drought and wildfire conditions that have been impacting the region. He said that “as much as possible” should be devoted to wildfire resilience and control in Aspen, emphasizing that his passion for wildfire-related improvements aligns with his strong dedication to the natural environment.

John Doyle

Doyle is running with a strong focus on the environment and with the goal of focusing on locals. He noted that he has been able to have a strong impact on Aspen through his role on Aspen City Council but hopes to continue that impact at the county level. 

According to him, the county and the rest of the world have been moving too slowly with regard to climate change, and he believes that Pitkin County’s relatively large platform would be a good place to make a positive impact in that work. 

“Pitkin County has a large platform, and I know I can have a greater impact at the county level,” he said.

He cited his time in Aspen, his time raising a child through the Aspen School District and time serving the Ruedi Water and Power Authority and Pitkin County Housing Authority Board as markers of his “notable” differences from the other candidates.

For the airport, Doyle said he hopes that the new project can be done in a way that improves the functionality that voters have pushed for while also keeping excess growth to a minimum and maintaining the atmosphere of the current airport. He emphasized that, as county commissioner, he would be faithful to what voters have decided, no matter his personal views on an issue. 

He also emphasized that his goal as county commissioner would focus on environmental policy, pushing the airport to be “the most net-zero” airport in the state or even the world, which he views as an achievable goal.

He noted that, with regard to the Entrance to Aspen, he is passionate about a timely redesign in the face of the growing wildfire danger. He said the new entrance is needed to facilitate easier and quicker evacuations, in addition to better public transportation including a possible a light rail that could also serve the airport. 

“It’s a logical starting point to enhance ground transportation between downtown Aspen and the airport,” he said. “We should be studying some type of transportation between Aspen in the airport that doesn’t involve single occupancy cars or ideally even cars at all.”

He noted, however, that he believes the traffic up in Aspen is not as bad as it is mid-valley or in downtown Glenwood Springs. 

Doyle also explained that his passion for environmental protections extends to wildfires, hoping that as a commissioner he could focus on extensive mitigation, especially in the forests around Aspen, that would help protect the town from an urban conflagration

“We need to take this super seriously,” he said. “Anyone with eyes can look around Aspen, the surrounding mountains, and see that there’s a very high percentage of dead timber up there, and it all comes right down into town.”

Rob Ittner

Ittner, former Board of County Commissioner from 2011 to 2015, is running to serve the community again. He said his aim is to be a part of shaping the current community and said his background in customer service will be helpful to this role. 

“Collaboration and experience goes a long way with the Board of County Commissioners, (and) I want to provide service,” Ittner said.

According to him, his experience in “collaboration and communication” will provide valuable insight for the commission and the community, and already working with Aspen’s clientele will prove significant when serving a tourist town.

With the airport, he recognized the value of community input on the modernization project, especially in the face of some recent changes made to the terminal redesign. He noted the importance of balancing excess growth with having a well-functioning airport to serve Aspen’s tourist-based economy.

“We need to consider the fact that in one way or another, economically, people are dependent on our transportation in and out of our community for that tourism economy, so I’m in favor of the modernization,” he said.

He is also in support of more “direct flow” into Aspen, with an emphasis on preserving the main Castle Creek bridge in conversations about the Entrance to Aspen. He supports a redesign on the roundabout, which he attributed many of the traffic problems to, and said he hopes that traffic can be improved without significant impacts to the current layout, focusing on improving a “straight shot” into Aspen.

Ittner also emphasized that wildfires are one of the biggest issues facing Pitkin County and deserve a significant commitment of county resources to focus on mitigation. He noted that following a historically dry winter, it is even more apparent that additional work needs to be done to protect the community.

“It’s of the utmost importance, no question about that,” he said.

Ballots have been mailed to voters, with in-person voting from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 22 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 27 at the Pitkin County administration building on 530 E. Main Street in Aspen.