Kolodziej recall protest hearing set for November 10

By Kendra Walker

Last month, the Town of Mt. Crested Butte received a citizen’s petition to recall councilmember Roman Kolodziej from his seat on the town council. While town clerk Tiffany O’Connell reviewed the filed recall petition and issued an initial determination of sufficiency on October 24, the town received a protest from Kolodziej on November 2 challenging the initial determination of recall petition sufficiency. The protest fell within the 15-day protest period. 

A protest hearing must be scheduled to occur within 30 days, and has been scheduled for November 10. An election may or may not happen depending on the outcome of the protest process. 

If the recall petition is determined to be valid, then the petition will go before the council on November 21 to set a date for a special election. The special election would determine whether Kolodziej should be recalled, and if he is recalled, whether any candidate will be elected to replace him. His replacement would either be selected by the voters if eligible residents are nominated to run or appointed by the town council if no eligible candidates run. If a majority of Mt. Crested Butte electors vote “no” on the recall question, Kolodziej would remain in office.

If a special election occurs, it would be the first recall election in Mt. Crested Butte history.