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Elections, cronyism and civility in Aspen

Dear Editor:

It amazes me that the politicians in power keep writing letters supporting their own in the paper each and every darn day. And will you notice that you don’t really see the public supporting their buddies who they are propping up. Why? Because we don’t trust politics in Aspen any longer. Cronyism is alive and well in Aspen. “Let’s keep our buddies in power and not really do our jobs, while profiting from it” should be the motto of politics in this town.

So for the new, inevitably elected county commissioners, I have some suggestions for when you take office:



1. Reverse the resolution of the past commissioners about saying no to that $2 lotto scratch game to benefit disabled veterans in Colorado that they sent to the statehouse. We would not have a county, state or the freedoms we all enjoy everyday without veterans – not to mention the insult that was paid to veteran voters in the county by that resolution.

2. Pass a resolution that anybody hiring illegal aliens will be arrested and charged in the county. We have Americans all over this county who want good jobs. But all the caretaking, groundskeeping, construction jobs, etc., are taken by illegals. I think the .08 percent who have those big homes and construction companies have enough money to hire Americans without putting too much of a dent in their wallet.




I wish best of luck to you, Aspen Institute. Why? Because Aspen isn’t for everyone anymore. It’s only for the .08 percent who are extremely wealthy for some time now. All because of Aspen’s behind-the-scenes selective social-engineering policies.

How can anyone expect the local workers to be civil 100 percent of the time when we get pushed out of town? Work for low pay, live in a closet for a grand a month, get food from the food bank, and then there is no locals discount on a season pass. If you are wealthy, you can buy a house and have a dog. If you are just a worker, you must win the lotto to buy one of the new employee housing spots, with no dogs allowed.

Aspen Skiing Co., which is owned by the Crown family, which in turn has made billions from its General Dynamics military arms manufacturer over the past 10 years of war, won’t even give veterans in the valley a discount on a season pass. Instead, you get told by Skico officials that “Veterans aren’t part of our marketing structure” and “We market to skiers and snowboarders. If veterans happen to be skiers or snowboarders, we market to them via proxy.”

One of the biggest draws of Aspen in the ’70s and ’80s was the fact that people came to Aspen to hang out with the locals. It was a huge part of and is what helped make the ski-vacation culture of this town. We got kicked out, and now you wonder what has happened and why we all don’t have happy faces.

Russ Williamson

Woody Creek