Meet the candidates for CB mayor

Incumbent Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick is seeking a third term while councilmember Anna Fenerty has thrown her hat in the ring. We are asking questions on CB topics of each candidate. Ballots are out and must be returned by November 4.

Here’s what the mayoral candidates had to say:

Ian Billick

If you lose the mayor’s race will you apply for the open town council seat?

We’ve had a lot of success in the last four years including affordable housing and protection of Red Lady. Improvements to how Council functions have contributed to these successes. Council packets are now released on Tuesdays instead of Fridays, providing more time for council and public engagement. Meetings regularly finish by 10 p.m., avoiding late night decisions when few are observing and council members are tired. My priorities are maintaining affordability, managing north valley growth, and community housing. However, as the incumbent mayor if voters want change, I will honor that by supporting Anna as the next mayor and encourage a fresh perspective by not applying for the open position.

What do you see as the biggest issue facing Crested Butte and what will you do as mayor to address it?

We have to manage growth. County projects under review involve the equivalent of 50% of the Town’s existing housing stock. It’s been suggested that encouraging dense free market housing will generate affordable housing. I disagree. In a resort market with housing costs under pressure from short-term rentals, remote workers, and second homeownership, only deed restricted housing will meaningfully meet community needs. Furthermore, adding free market units will undercut quality of life while escalating costs. There are already days when CB doesn’t have enough parking to serve the ski resort and the buses overflow. Traffic is already busy enough that we are adding three roundabouts. Furthermore, the County does not require new projects to cover their share of infrastructure costs, including affordable housing, soccer/lacrosse fields, indoor recreation spaces, parking, mass transit, and school capital needs. 

As a condition of having Whetstone served by town utilities the county agreed to create a North Valley Corridor Plan. I will bring my experience, including as former chair of the County’s Planning Commission, to use this as an opportunity to influence the County, who is the decision-maker, to limit and guide growth outside town boundaries, ensuring these developments don’t drive up our property taxes while clogging our roads, parking, and fields.

What’s the next step with the housing issue in the valley?

We need to ensure the Mineral Point and Whetstone housing projects are done well. We also need to see how units from these projects are absorbed and what needs remain after these projects are completed before designing more major projects. In the meantime, the Town should better incentivize deed-restricted accessory dwelling units and prepare for future projects by ensuring we have land with approvals and infrastructure. With the dissolution of the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority we need to ensure those looking for housing, including those with language and cultural barriers, don’t have to navigate an uncoordinated maze of opportunities offered separately by the Towns and the County. We need to help those already in affordable housing gracefully navigate their deed restrictions as their lives change.

Based on a recent discussion brought up by Anna, is the town doing enough in the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) realm right now?

We should always do better! In addition to ensuring broad access to housing opportunities, we could improve our understanding and support of how Ute communities would like to connect with this valley as part of their cultural landscape, such as with the state initiative to provide Ute tribal members free access to parks. We could also be better at ensuring their relationship to this valley is told in their words when we tell the human history of this landscape. However, I was uncomfortable with the discussion that we shouldn’t move forward with a recommended design team for the Marshal’s facilities in part because the team did not look diverse. Professionally I’ve seen multiple instances in which simple assumptions about a lack of diversity based upon appearance were unfounded as well as legally and ethically problematic. 

Name a politician you admire.

Michael Bennet.

Name a sport or activity you don’t do (or don’t do well) but wish you did.

Extreme skiing and rock climbing. Life is too short, and likely shorter if I had seriously tried to learn.

Favorite or most interesting piece of alley art in town?

The “Fükengrüven” vehicle.

Anna Fenerty

If you lose the mayor’s race, will you apply for the open town council seat?

As of now I will not be applying for the open town council seat. I have a few creative projects I would like to pursue if I lose the mayor’s race. I have learned so much in the last four years, and it will serve me well as a citizen. It has been such an honor to be in service to my community and I will return in a future capacity no matter what the result of this election. I think there is a benefit to taking time away from public office to reconnect with the other side of the table. I have great respect for Ian and trust the direction he would take the town in the next two years. I believe I can bring new engagement and creativity to the issues facing our community.

What do you see as the biggest issue facing Crested Butte and what will you do as mayor to address it?

I see the issues facing town like nesting dolls. There isn’t one single problem, there is the interaction of many, and this is the challenge of our time. The issue that I ponder most is the imbalance of our Street and Alley Fund. For years the working theory was to save enough over a ten-year period to complete a large-scale paving project like we saw last summer on Elk Ave and Eighth Street. The council is considering a property tax mill levy in the 2026 budget to stabilize this fund. The existing tax is not keeping pace with the increases in operating and capital expenditure. Providing streets, sewer and water are the most basic responsibility of a municipality. I believe that an increase in the mill levy will push this problem into the future and what we really need is to entirely reset our thinking around how we move through town. This is an example of where affordability, transportation and climate overlap. It is a symptom of gentrification. We have more cars than ever before in this valley, and nicer cars; now, more maintenance is required for both. The gentrification issue spills into a larger cultural divergence, as our valley grows, we are losing the human connections that inspire our sense of community. There needs to be common spaces where all the facets of our community can interact. We as individuals are replaceable in theory, the more of us who align and promote what matters, the easier it is to maintain the place we all hold so dear. As mayor I will bring people together to have more input and momentum into the future.
What’s the next step with the housing issue in the valley?

The next step with housing in the valley is the thoughtful transition of the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority (GVRHA). The GVRHA is dissolving because the intergovernmental structure made sustained funding, growth, and executive leadership impossible. It will be replaced by the Gunnison County Housing Authority (GCHA). GVRHA has supported the town in maintaining ownership and rental interest lists, administering deed restriction (including qualification, compliance, and homebuyer education), GV-Heat, grant opportunities, outreach, as well as many other supporting programs. Many of these will continue under county leadership. But we have a huge task ahead balancing staff capacity as all these new housing projects become livable. A former county commissioner and I once talked in line for the Mountain Express about how after the crash in 2008, there was such a focus on job creation and economic renewal that some pressing infrastructure and housing needs were passed up. I would like us not to make the same mistake with housing and switch our focus from building to stimulation of support from the private sector with policies that favor ADUs and condominiumization.

Based on a recent discussion you brought up, is the town doing enough in the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) realm right now?

We live in a town that has been mostly white since its founding within a failing empire built on genocidal policies. There is always more that can be done to support diversity, equity and inclusion in this town. Immigrants founded this town and continue to populate its service industry. We need to recognize their contributions and defend them in this political climate. A writing mentor of mine recently spoke on how when we are children we understand injustice innately. Another child getting more attention and rewards seems so obviously unfair when we are young. Why does it become okay as we age? The Melanin Mountain Project is an amazing non-profit in our community supporting sustainable BIPOC tourism in our valley. The town can deepen this partnership to support their efforts.

Name a politician you admire.

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey is a social justice and human rights campaigner from Northern Ireland. She was the youngest woman at the time to be elected to Westminster Parliament in 1969. Her term began at the outbreak of the Troubles, and she remained politically active throughout. She survived being shot nine times by a gunman and only retired in 2023 after 55 years of focusing on community development. 

“Truth and Justice and an equitable inclusive society are still to be achieved, and Peace comes dropping slow.” -Bernadette Devlin McAliskey

Name a sport or activity you don’t do (or don’t do well) but wish you did.

Answering trivial questions in local periodicals.

Favorite or most interesting piece of alley art in town?

Our alleys are themselves art. Recently I have relished the way the falling leaves get caught in the freezing of the puddles between Anthracite and Ace.