DA’s residency probe should be thorough

The case of former Aspen City Council candidate Toni Kronberg is now in the hands of the district attorney’s office – which we hope does not sweep this issue under the rug.Kronberg has maintained that she was eligible to run for City Council because she has lived inside city limits for the entire year leading up to the May election and June runoff, for which she garnered enough votes to qualify, only to lose to Steve Skadron by a 3-1 margin. But it’s widely been held that Kronberg resided at Aspen Village – a subdivision outside the city of Aspen – over periods of time during the year before the election. If that’s true, Kronberg would not have qualified for the City Council race.Last week, City Hall – which investigated Kronberg’s residency after three separate complaints with the city clerk – turned its investigation over to the district attorney’s office.Of course, Kronberg is innocent until proven guilty, but we feel that if charges are warranted in this case, that prosecutors should take the appropriate measures to do so.The district attorney’s office, however, can do whatever it pleases with Kronberg. In the past, this office has not pursued criminal charges in other cases for various reasons, such as petty crimes or infractions with mitigating circumstances of which the public is not aware.But to not continue the investigation into Kronberg – if indeed there is indeed enough evidence to file charges – would only make a mockery of the city’s electoral process, and send a message that it’s OK to run for Aspen City Council even if you don’t live in Aspen.