Letter: Inmates running the institution

Ah, Aspen’s Referendum 1 has passed. Now many variances must go to the voters. What a political mess that’s going to be. It’s like an election. The winner on each issue will be the one with the most money, maybe.

The people have thrown the elected officials and the paid staff under the bus. Even worse, the inmates are now running the institution. I was a developer back east in two dozen municipalities. One mayor summed it all up for me. He said, “We are a community of 27 square miles with a population of 6,500, counting a few cows. We are all for progress, as long as there is no change.”

Also under the bus are good, responsible developers. Just wait to see what happens to good proposals that need variances. Chaos! This is so bad for local business that they should get out of Dodge City. There is already talk of Referendum 2 to reverse Referendum 1. More chaos.

Richard C. Goodwin

Snowmass Village