The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
You should have your 2011 election ballot by now. If you live outside of Crested Butte, there aren’t many things to check. But in Crested Butte, citizens will be electing the majority of the Town Council in the next two weeks. Don’t read the end of this sentence if you like suspense—but a dude named Huck will be the next mayor in Crested Butte. Three other newbies will join him at the council table. Four people are running for those three seats.
Huck and the Fantastic Four have been invited to the Candidate’s Forum scheduled for 6:30 this Thursday evening. It’s really not the candidate’s forum—it is your forum. Citizens can join the hopefuls at the Crested Butte Center for the Arts at 6:30 p.m. and ask anything of their prospective representatives.
Some people think that we’ve been soft on them the last few weeks. Some criticize that we’ve leaned toward too much “Favorite pet name” and not enough “How would you solve the economic conundrum of the valley.” I’ve been told they need to be asked things like, “If the town has too many regulations, which ones would they eliminate?” It’s been suggested they be asked, “How would you repair any breach between Crested Butte and the neighbors to the north?” Or, “Is the Forest Service Travel Management Trail Plan helping or hurting the residents and visitors to the valley?”
Apparently asking about their favorite Halloween candy isn’t meaty enough for some voters. Okay, that’s fair (but it still says something substantive when you look at their answers this week).
So Thursday is the voters’ night. Ask them anything. Put them on the spot. Grill them. Hold them accountable. Just please do it politely.
This is a sincere invitation for the people to come out and take part in small-town democracy. It can be sort of fun. Not every place allows for this type of opportunity. If you can’t make it, our colleague Chad Reich from KBUT is gathering questions via the electronic mail system. Email your question to [email protected] and he will ask them at the forum.
We look forward to seeing how Michel, McGruther, Matusewicz and Owen handle questions from the people they want to speak for. It’s your turn.
