No election needed in Mt. CB

Only four people file petitions for election

The deadline for aspiring councilpeople to submit their petitions to the town of Mt. Crested Butte has passed, and there won’t be an election on April 6 because only four people filed petitions for the four upcoming vacancies.

Bill Babbitt and Mike Kube have reached their term limits of eight years on the council. Wendy Fisher’s seat is also up for election and she has decided not to run again. Current Mayor William Buck is running for another term on the council and filed a petition for re-election with the town.
Former Mt. Crested Butte Mayor Chris Morgan, former councilperson Danny D’Aquila, and Mt. Crested Butte resident David O’Reilly also filed petitions and will take their places on the council in April. All petitions are required to have signatures from 10 registered voters and were due back to the Town Clerk’s office last Friday, March 10.
According to Mt. Crested Butte Town Manager Joe Fitzpatrick, a resolution is being drawn up for presentation at the next Town Council meeting on March 16. Essentially, the resolution will state that an election is not necessary because only four petitions were submitted for the four seats being vacated.
Fitzpatrick said this isn’t the first time there hasn’t been an election to fill the council seats. He also said the town will no longer have to spend the $1,500 it had budgeted for the election.
The new councilmembers will inherit tough economic conditions and will have some monumental items on their agenda, including the Mt. Crested Butte Performing Arts Center project and Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s continued effort to expand lift-served skiing onto Snodgrass Mountain, to name just a couple of highlights. The News will interview the incoming councilmembers about these issues and more as they prepare to take their seats. Stay tuned.