Poschman: It’s our responsibility to fund the future we want

We have important decisions before us on the upcoming ballot. The defunding of essential federal and state agencies and program budgets puts the onus on our local communities to manifest (and fund) the future we want.

Our community has grown dramatically and now includes a highly mobile population from points west throughout the Roaring Fork and Colorado river corridors. We see increasing demands on all services, from airports to housing, transportation, libraries, child care, schools, and fire protection. Please vote to support these essential elements of our civilized society.

Ballot item 1A: Vote yes. Bonding authority for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is required to build a new terminal and lay the foundation for modern transportation into our community. A no vote will not bring back simpler times or fewer planes, but will only prolong the pain of a failing, outdated facility.

Ballot items 4A and 4B: Vote yes. See the recent guest commentary by Dr. Christa Geiszl, a member of the Aspen School District Board of Education, which provides a transparent and thorough explanation of the ballot measures and reasons why we need to support our schools and teacher housing, now.

Ballot items 6A and 6B: Vote yes. Let’s give our Aspen firefighters the tools they need to mitigate fire danger and proactively protect our valley from the inevitable fire. As property values increase and development pushes farther into rural areas, we need well-trained firefighters with the right equipment. We can no longer rely on the state or federal government to step in.

Ballot item 7A: Vote yes. We have been doing our best to fund child care facilities and teacher pay for years, carefully using federal COVID funds and other funding sources which are now running out. Let’s take care of our kids and their teachers.

Aspen School District Board of Education: The three candidates are unopposed. Dr. Christa Gieszl has done an excellent job and I am glad she will be retained. I am also grateful to have longtime local Elizabeth Stewart Severy joining our school board.

Greg Poschman

Aspen