The recent letter “Anybody but Torre for Aspen mayor” was unnecessarily mean-spirited (Dec. 28, The Aspen Times).

Torre is a great guy. He is charming, athletic, handsome, and knowledgeable about Aspen. Moreover, Torre loves Aspen as much as anyone I know. It takes a lot of courage to run for public office. I admire Torre for picking himself up off the mat after so many losses, and still throwing his hat in the ring for another try.

Torre has been a wonderful friend and neighbor for more than 30 years and he has earned our respect. Please cut the man some slack, and always remember that “even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

---

---

Before anyone criticizes Torre, they should reflect on Teddy Roosevelt’s comments about “the man in the arena.”

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

---

---

Jerry Bovino

Aspen