Letter: Skadron has the leadership required

I strongly support Steve Skadron for mayor.

I fear that if Torre is elected, we will end up with ineffective leadership at City Hall. Two of Torre’s most egregious errors as a council member and his poor behavior during the candidate forum earlier this month are reason enough to vote against him. First, Torre was one of four City Council members to vote in favor of the very controversial deal that resulted in the art museum. In fact, Skadron was the only member on City Council to vote against the art-museum deal. Steve clearly understood the shortcomings of the deal and was ready to stand up for the values that most Aspenites share — development that pays its own way, honors our history and connects us with our surrounding environment.

To make matters worse, during the recent election forum, Torre had the nerve to point his finger at Mick Ireland, who was sitting in the audience, while he tried to explain away how he, Torre, was only one of the four votes in favor of the museum. In that very public moment, Torre couldn’t muster up the courage to take responsibility for his record as a council member. Do we really want him to be our mayor?

Even worse, Torre’s misunderstanding of the procedures on City Council were directly responsible for the development rush that resulted in the canyon of oversized buildings along East Hyman Avenue. How, you ask?

It was Torre who proposed an emergency ordinance to roll back the old infill regulations and reduce building heights. Unfortunately for Aspen, Torre did not have the four votes needed to enact an emergency ordinance. All his motion served to do was alert developers that they had to hurry up and submit applications. We are now living with the shadow of Torre’s ill-advised move.

Vote Steve Skadron for mayor. Steve is smart. He cares about Aspen. He is honest. His decisions are based on what he truly believes is best for our community.

Susan Bernard

Aspen