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Give the yes men the boot

Dear Editor:The rationale in Chip Chilson’s letter endorsing Mick over Tim and Torre applies equally to my endorsement of Toni over Steve (April 26). Chip wrote, “The two former and existing council members were the ones who created the need for a moratorium because they apparently did not understand (or perhaps care about) the inappropriateness of the development that would occur through the infill legislation. … We are all counting the construction trucks inundating Aspen on a daily basis; Semrau and Torre already had their chance, and we all know what happened.”Not only have Tim and Torre had their chance, Steve has had his chance by creating an abominable voting record on P&Z. Steve voted for a number of monster projects that are the symbols of the construction nightmare Aspen is currently facing. Steve voted to covert a popular local restaurant, the Chart House, into time-share units. Steve voted to convert a popular moderate-priced hotel, the Limelite, into a colossal development of high-end free-market residences and high-end rental rooms.Steve voted for an extra floor on the Hotel Jerome to provide the short-term speculative owners millions in value upon flipping the property to new owners with a history of time-sharing. Fortunately, the extra floor Steve approved was later withdrawn under council scrutiny. Steve voted for the Lodge at Aspen Mountain, and that vote, when it came to Council for confirmation, was not supported by J.E. DeVilbiss because it was too BIG.Even when “no” is an option taken by a P&Z colleague, Steve is likely to vote for what a colleague considers unacceptable. One example is the vote for what The Aspen Times called “a well-connected rich man’s swimming pool” overlooking ACES (April 2006). The Times editorial summed this project up with the following: “Frankly, this pool and all its amenities feel frivolous, a tacky show of wealth that belongs in West Palm Beach or the Hamptons, not on the bluff overlooking an Aspen treasure.”A second example of “no” as an option taken by a P&Z colleague but a ringing “yes” from Steve is his vote for the Civic Master Plan endorsing more government offices rather than a continuous vista from Rio Grande Park to Aspen Mountain.Vote for Mick Ireland and Toni Kronberg if you are tired of counting the construction trucks inundating Aspen. These are the only two candidates with a long record demonstrating their capability of saying “no” to inappropriate development. Their opponents have records of saying “yes” to inappropriate development.Bert MyrinAspen

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