Siegel: A little tough love for Aspen

The clock is ticking to turn in your ballot and for the Aspen City Council. As a keen observer of city governance for over 25 years, I can attest that the last four have been among the worst. The notion that the complex issues facing the city can be solved by relying on a few high-minded principles — “i.e., environment and housing” — has led to hand wringing, gridlock, and flip-flopping. Witness Squirm Night, where one incumbent spent time apologizing for past bad behavior and confessing that the experiences have been teaching moments.

That is exactly what we do not need.

The city has boxed itself in with a series of intractable problems that invariably affect each other. Consider the Lumberyard: adding hundreds of affordable housing units, but at the same time materially impacting traffic congestion along Colorado Highway 82 with a new traffic light and more cars. Serial thinking cannot cope with that fact set.

We cannot let the clock run out and trudge on. New people, well-grounded in facts, having the capacity to think in complex terms and articulate the issues are the means to break away from old simplistic solutions. Sorry, but this is a tough love moment for the city, and Mr. Nice Guy just doesn’t cut it. We can and need to do far better.

That is why I am all in for Emily Kolbe and Christine Benedetti to fill the two seats and hope you will vote that way, as well.

Neil B. Siegel

Aspen