Mt. CB recall election candidate questions

Roman Kolodziej

Years in Mt. CB: 19

Occupation: I own Black Tie Ski Rentals.

Do you agree with this recall election? 

This might be a shocker, but I don’t. Recall elections, in my opinion, should be reserved for situations involving egregious behavior like sexual harassment, misappropriation of funds or other severe conduct. This recall, however, is due to something far more mild. 

As a town councilor, I also sit on the Mountain Express (MX) board. I and the four other MX board members, including one of my Mt. CB co-councilors, unanimously voted to change some of the free condo bus loops to a free Uber-style service called FirstTracks, which extended transportation to everyone in North Mt. CB. Some citizens didn’t want their service to change and when it wasn’t changed back, they decided to focus their aggression on me and eventually decided to try to remove me from council.

As I’ve said before, if I wasn’t educated on the issue and read the petition language in a vacuum, I would have signed it myself. It insinuates that I alone spent taxpayer money in a “reduced tax environment” outside of the State of Colorado without asking permission of the town council.

Here are the facts. MX is an independent organization formed by both towns through a vote of the taxpayers to provide free public transportation. By design, it doesn’t need the permission of either town’s council to spend money or make operational decisions. Yet petitioners, after being corrected numerous times, keep repeating those false claims as recent as last week’s letter to the editor. And yes, MX spends money outside of the state like EVERY person, organization and governmental entity in the valley. Until they open a bus factory or oil refinery in Almont, MX will need to purchase its products and services elsewhere. Additionally, sales tax revenues are at an all-time high, so I’m not sure what “reduced tax environment” the petitioners keep talking about. Finally, MX has a board of directors consisting of five members: two town councilors from each town and an at-large member. I alone do not have the power to do anything.

I get that people were upset about a change in their bus service. The MX board heard their comments and concerns, seriously considered them, and used the opportunity to improve the FirstTracks pilot program. In the end, MX has a job to provide free transportation to as many people as possible and I, in my role as a Mt. CB town councilor, need to consider all constituents when making decisions. This is evident in that the petitioners still have free but different transportation and now so does everyone else in North Mt. CB.

This is not an election between me and other people. This is an election between me and not me. If not me wins, there are other people interested in my vacated seat whom citizens can vote for.

What motivated you to take this position and what strengths do you bring to the role?

I realized it was time to stop complaining about things and actually get involved to affect them. 

My greatest strengths are being prepared and being a critical thinker. I read my packet and attend council meetings and committee meetings (STOR, Mountain Express, as well as other advisory/working group committees over the years) with intention. I do not like to make decisions based on what “feels” right, rather, I strive to have a defendable position. I’m conservative in my approach to spending taxpayer money and am always advocating for the many good people in our community that are getting pushed out with increased frequency.

What do you see as the number one issue facing the Mt. CB town council right now?

This is tough. Affordable housing is right at the top of my list. I’ve repeatedly advocated for it and although we as a council have made great strides recently to move the Homestead development forward, the council does not have a unified voice and direction regarding affordable housing. 

That being said, there are several major developments in the works that will dramatically alter Mt. CB. Our council needs to navigate them carefully and can best do that with input from the public.

If anyone wants to reach out to me about this recall petition, Mountain Express and the FirstTracks program or anything town council related, they can reach me at rkolodziej@mtcb.colorado.gov.

Favorite winter activity:

Sitting on the lift and answering the question, “So, why do you telemark ski?”

Bobbie Sferra

Years in Mt. CB: 6 years

Occupation: Retired (Former teacher, school principal, assistant superintendent, college professor), community volunteer (Crested Butte Center for the Arts, Nordic Center, Farmer’s Market and special events).

Do you agree with this recall election? Yes

What motivated you to run for this position and what strengths can you bring to the role?

As a full-time resident in Mt. Crested Butte, I would like to become more involved in our community. Last summer, I learned that due to lack of candidates to run for town council seats, there has not been an election since 2006 and that all of the members have been appointed. I started researching about the town of Mt. Crested Butte and attended public meetings to become informed of the issues, news and developments in our town. I believe the town needs people who are highly invested in the community and have the time and skills to make informed decisions on behalf of the town and its citizens. If I am elected, I am prepared to give 100% to the role as town council member. 

As a retired school administrator and college professor, I have over 40 years of experience working with diverse communities, communicating with the public, problem solving, personnel issues, policy making, strategic planning and working with multi-million-dollar budgets. I understand how important it is to be transparent and communicate with the people who are impacted by decisions. In addition, before I moved here, I participated in a nine-month experiential program with the purpose of training community members to participate as leaders in the community.

The strengths I bring to the role are: a commitment to represent the community at public events, strong communication skills, ability to build relationships and engage with community members and community organizations to better understand their needs and concerns and solid research/analysis skills for decision making.

What do you see as the number one issue facing the Mt. CB town council right now?

I believe the number one issue is maintaining the Mt. Crested Butte culture and vibe as a community-based town for year-round recreation. This includes efforts to welcome people to our community and to work with businesses and organizations to assist in providing affordable housing to allow the people who work here to live here.

Favorite winter activity: Nordic skiing

PETER ESSELSTYN

Years in Mt. CB: 5

Occupation: Retired Mechanical Engineer/Capital Project Manager

Do you agree with this recall election?  

I don’t agree or disagree with the recall. What I do know is the people who initiated the recall had their reasons to do so and they should be heard. I applaud Mt. Crested Butte for having a process for this recall to take place regardless of how it turns out. As a potential town council member, I believe the residents should be heard – it is not my opinion that matters, but what the town constituents think that greater concerns me.

What motivated you to run for this position and what strengths can you bring to the role?

I have had conversations with several current and past Mt. CB town council members about the lack of participation in being on the town council. I am a firm believer in term limits for all elected officials and find it disconcerting that new blood doesn’t come into elected offices leaving legacy members to fill the void. I moved to Mt. CB from Boston, MA and sadly saw in many of those local and state elections candidates run unopposed leaving the will of many people unanswered. In an effort to be more of the solution rather than the problem, I decided to volunteer my time and get involved. In my years in Mt. CB, I have forged many relationships within the town, county and CBMR, from being the president of the Summit HOA and being a volunteer on the Crested Butte Fire Protection District. In my volunteer and previous career positions, I have been a team leader and welcome collaboration and a pooling together of ideas. `

What do you see as the number one issue facing the Mt. CB town council right now?

I believe that I offer more of a visionary perspective on the growth of Mt. CB versus just being reactionary to issues as they arise. In conversation with town residents, I often find they don’t know what is going on in the town or what the town is striving towards. My approach would be trying to create an environment so that residents and visitors alike are able to enjoy all that our community and gorgeous lands offer. I’d like to take part in the long-term planning of the town. Infrastructure and planning is part of my professional DNA from being an engineer, planner and creator. My approach is always to make things better with any project that I undertake. 

Favorite winter activity:  

Well, my wife and I came here for the alpine skiing, but we also enjoy taking our dog on the CB Nordic trails and we do a bit of backcountry skiing. I also enjoy building projects in my wood shop and brewing beer.

BRUCE NATION

Years in Mt. CB: About 4 1/2 years. My wife and I moved here from Ohio in 2019, just in time to get to spend the pandemic in a place with sunshine and outdoor activities. It’s been one of the best decisions of my life.

Occupation:

I’m a Database Administration Consultant. For those that don’t work in tech, I’m a data nerd. How to structure it, store it, retrieve it, interpret it, present it, etc. Before moving to Mt. CB and starting my own business doing consulting, I worked for all sizes of companies from startups to Fortune 500. The most recent being a healthcare tech startup that I helped grow from just a few employees to over 700 before being acquired.

Do you agree with this recall election? 

That’s a great way to phrase this question. I do support the election. I think it’s important that citizens have another way to have their voices heard when we have not had a contested election for town council in so long. I’m very encouraged by the number of folks stepping up to get involved in our local government.

I think there are some very valid complaints about the poor communication and engagement with the community from Mountain Express around the changes coming to the bus routes. If you’re going to pick one person to hold responsible, Roman Kolodziej as chairman of the Mountain Express board is that person.

However, I do not plan to vote for his recall. I did initially sign the petition for the recall, but after speaking to colleagues of his from inside and outside town council, and attending the last several meetings, I feel he is one of the hardest working, engaged and effective council members we have. I think his heart is in the right place and he truly wants to do what is best for Mt. CB. One person I spoke to said they think “he’s the only town council member that consistently speaks up for working people and who seems to grasp the reality of what’s going on valley-wide with issues like housing.” In summary, while I feel he has made some mistakes, working hard and caring about the town and its citizens go a long way with me.

What motivated you to run for this position and what strengths can you bring to the role?

My initial motivation came from hearing there was a need in town for more people interested in local government. I’m a firm believer in term limits, so seeing two ballot initiatives to extend ours just so we could keep the council populated was a big eye opener.

My biggest strength has always been problem solving. Throughout my career I’ve always been good at not only finding unique solutions to problems, but analyzing and mitigating any unintended side effects of those solutions. I’ve also worked in some very dynamic workplaces where change is constant.  I’ve learned it’s important to keep an eye on that change and try to guide it in the ways you want it to go rather than simply being reactive to it.

What do you see as the number one issue facing the Mt. CB town council right now?

I see affordable housing as the biggest issue, not just for Mt. CB, but the whole valley. This issue affects everyone. With a housing market this out of balance, it’s the reason you can’t hire employees, or find a plumber or have to pay $30 for a pizza.  Hotels are getting variances to allow people to live there full-time, while houses are being used like hotels. Businesses are buying housing for their employees, which helps that business, but also removes that housing from the general pool and ties a person’s housing to their job. There are a lot of tools we have at our disposal to help the housing crisis. Some of which can be enacted by Mt. CB alone, but to truly solve the problem it will take cooperation between Mt. CB, CB, Gunnison and the county.

Favorite winter activity: 

I enjoy almost all winter activities. My favorite generally depends on the conditions. If you’re gonna make me pick one, I have to go with drinking hot chocolate.

TOM ROLLECZEK

Years in Mt. CB:

Six years. Our family moved to Mt. CB in 2017. However, I started college at Western in 1993 and moved away in 1999.

Occupation:

I work as a business development consultant in the technology field. 

Do you agree with this recall election?

I have been following the recall objectively; with the goal of understanding all sides.  Therefore, I don’t have a position on the matter. I am simply enthusiastic to represent my community.  

What motivated you to run for this position and what strengths can you bring to the role?

I am motivated to serve because I believe Mt. Crested Butte is at a crucial crossroads in its development. I would like to contribute my skills of project management, negotiation and problem solving. I also strongly feel anyone elected to this role has a responsibility to listen carefully to the community members; something I will do well.  

What do you see as the number one issue facing the Mt. CB town council right now?

There are many important and practical issues facing the council at this moment. Thus, it is difficult to identify one as the most important. However, population growth and the resulting community development is an overarching theme that the council must address on many fronts.  

Favorite winter activity:

Skiing! Of Course!!