YOUR AD HERE »

Truth-seeking and getting personal with the candidates

Editors Note: With the June 7 runoff between City Council candidates Dee Malone and Jack Johnson looming, we asked them both to answer a few final questions. Their thoughts on housing and transportation were published Thursday. Today, they discuss their candidacies and offer some personal insights.Question: What misperceptions do you think exist about your candidacy and whats the reality?Jack Johnson:The misperception that Im pro-growth. My public statements in this campaign and my Planning and Zoning record prove it isnt true.I studied with Wendell Berry and have read most every word the man has written on the environment, growth and communitarian values. Wendells books and Wes Jacksons Altars of Unhewn Stone were my introduction into environmental and growth concerns.From this study, I learned to be realistic about growth. Aspen doesnt have growth; we have change. My position is to plan and manage change so we get only the very best. Specifically, I say lets have a downtown rivaling the energy and vitality of the one in the 70s, one bustling with life. Lets plan so that if Cemetery Lane and the East End become like the West End, we are prepared for it. Lets continue to be inventive, creative and forward-thinking about growth and change.Dee Malone:My candidacy is based on a philosophy of environmental responsibility. Some say that this is a narrow viewpoint I say that this is a very global perspective. Our natural environment provides context for our lives, for our work, for our recreation, and this is no more evident than in Aspen. We depend on a healthy environment for characteristics as diverse as our economy (skiing), our health (clean air and water), culture (music on the mountain), and human spirit. Taking care of the environment is to take care of our home. Some would say that this is a narrow concern, that Aspen is larger than the environment. I say that Aspen is only as good as our environment that our lives, whether we are a musician, bartender, journalist or rancher depend on the care that we give this place we call home. Question: We want to know a little bit about you personally. Please answer the following questions. Your answers can be brief.Dee Malone:Ski or snowboard? (If you do neither, please explain.) My favorite kind of skiing is rondonee in the backcountry the ski down is always better when youve had to work for it! And besides, there are always fresh tracks. Whats in your CD player right now? Lesley Garrett, Soprano in Red.Whats your favorite time of year in Aspen? Every time of year is my favorite when it rolls around winter for the snow, quiet and skiing, summer for hiking and swimming in the river, in spring its because the songbirds bring back their music and in fall, its the colors, elk bugling and warm Indian summer days. Whats your favorite beer? Flying Dog doggie style pale ale.Whats your favorite recreational pursuit and why? Hiking to find the solitude that is given to those who seek it. Whats your favorite movie? Depending on my mood, Casa Blanca, The Making of an American Quilt, Fried Green Tomatoes, Thelma and Louise Jack Johnson:Ski or snowboard? (If you do neither, please explain.) Snowboard.Whats in your CD player right now? Bright Eyes demo, Mike Doughtys latest, Tanya Tuckers Greatest Hits, Plantlife When She Smiles She Lights the Sky, REM Reckoning, George Jones Greatest Hits.Whats your favorite time of year in Aspen? Off-season. I enjoy leaving a half-hour early to get somewhere because you see so many people to talk to on the way. Whats your favorite beer? Pabst Blue Ribbon.Whats your favorite recreational pursuit and why? I know its shameful to admit, but I dont hike or bike. Ive never been to Aspen West as I call it (Moab). In the sense of recreating myself, I get a charge out of people. Sitting around and just talking. Whats your favorite movie? Billy Jack or Smokey and the Bandit.