Hoping for a ‘clean slate’

A new Aspen City Council has been sworn in, and most of its members say they are looking for a fresh start.

The city has a new mayor for the first time in six years — Rachel Richards, who has previously served as mayor, council member and Pitkin County commissioner — as well as a new face on council, Christine Benedetti. Both have many years of experience in public service, and they are joined by an incumbent who’s starting his second four-year term (John Doyle) and two councilmen (Bill Guth, Sam Rose) who have been at the table for the past two years.

It puts the city council in a good position to tackle some tough issues ahead, Mayor Rachel Richards said. But she also hopes it will serve as a reset for an entity that’s coming off of two contentious years in which rifts and tensions grew and festered among some members.

There were several moments in the last two years in which council members openly sparred with one another, whether in council chambers or in the media, including letters to the editor. Some behind-the-scenes bickering occurred as well, according to accounts by some council members.

On Oct. 30, 2023, Councilman Bill Guth surprised his colleagues by making an unscheduled motion to hang the Israeli flag on the former city hall building during a regular meeting. His action followed the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on Israeli soil by the militant group Hamas.

Remarks made at the late October meeting sparked controversy and tensions among council members that are still palpable today.Guth said not displaying the Israeli flag showed “a bias against Jews”; Councilman John Doyle compared Israel’s containment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to a “concentration camp” (a remark for which he has apologized several times). At a later meeting, both Councilman Sam Rose and Guth turned their backs to a group of activists who asked the council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Rose later apologized and said he didn’t believe his actions were productive for the community. 

In December, Guth called for the removal of all mentions of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging from the city’s regional, state and policy agenda during a discussion about the city’s guiding document on policy decisions. Former City Manager Sara Ott called the conversation “shocking” and former Mayor Torre, former Councilman Ward Hauenstein and Doyle rebuked the motion.

Rose and Doyle have butted heads on and off the council table, as have Hauenstein and Guth. Torre, who could not seek reelection as mayor because of term limits and instead ran an unsuccessful campaign for council, often appeared frustrated with his cohorts over the last two years as arguments often took the place of productive conversations regarding city affairs. 

A ‘less dramatic’ council

Yet the previous council configuration still made some strides. It passed land-use approvals and entitlements for the Lumberyard affordable housing project, moved the Armory Hall redesign project forward by approving an expedited land-use review process, oversaw the completion of Burlingame Ranch III and more. 

The new council iteration will take over the ongoing Lumberyard and Armory Hall projects, and potentially oversee the next steps for the entrance to Aspen. Most council members said they were excited for the future of the city and the projects ahead of them.

Guth twice declined to comment for this story, citing the newspaper’s “lack of respect and integrity.” He said he would not talk on the record to the Aspen Daily News moving forward. 

Other council members, however, said they were ready to move forward from past disagreements and work productively to get things done.

“It’s hard not to be negative,” Rose said. “I feel like (my) first two years have not been as productive as I wish they were. I feel like the story goes beyond before I was elected, but I’m really, more or less, looking toward the future and hoping that this new council is more productive and less dramatic and willing to agree disagreeably, much better than the previous council was able to.”

Rose said there was a lack of cohesion in the last council iteration, something he hopes is not true of the new city council.

As mayor and the city council’s leader, Richards said she’s hoping for productive and focused dialogue at the table.

“I hope all parties look at this April and going into the summer as a clean slate. This is something (where) bygones are bygones, and it’s a new day … and it’s a new season for all of us,” she said. “I’m hoping for very legitimate dialogue, but also focused, and there will be times when we have 3-2 votes, 4-1 votes, but it’s important that members look to not carry one issue into the next.

“It’s going to be very important for us to find that place where we speak with one voice or disagree respectfully in order to really secure the best new (city) manager we can, and to solve or reduce some of the problems that we have,” Richards added.

During the new council’s first meeting on April 8 while discussing boards and commissions appointments, Richards nominated herself as the voting member of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority board and initially nominated Doyle as the alternate, non-voting member. But Guth argued he should sit on the board as the voting member.

He motioned to appoint himself as the voting member and Richards as the alternate, a motion the council did not support. The council then approved Richards as its voting representative on the RFTA board and Guth as the alternate. The voting member has historically been the mayor.

“(Guth) participated in the meeting and has a clear interest in reducing congestion and a clear interest in supporting a commuting workforce,” Richards said. “So I think it’s a matter for all of us appealing to each other’s common ground and recognizing the common ground as more of a priority than the differences. … I think everyone’s looking to an effective use of their time.”

Richards is serving as mayor for a second time. She has more than 30 years of experience in elected office in the Roaring Fork Valley, both on the city council and the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners.

Although Rose endorsed Katy Frisch in the mayoral race, he said he’s excited to work with Richards over the next two years.

“I really, at least personally, don’t consider myself as ideological as much as I get annoyed by process and lack of people being able to explain themselves, and Rachel is incredibly smart,” he said. “Even if I disagree with her — even though I think I’ll agree with her on a lot — she will be able to explain herself.”

One of Rose’s biggest criticisms in his first two years on council, from some fellow council members and the public, was his decision not to serve on any boards or commissions in his first year on council. He said he felt unprepared during his first meeting and was not ready to commit to a board or commission.

“Now, I feel like I get to hit the restart on that, which has been one of the greatest criticisms, at least toward me, that frustrates me to no end because it was partially my fault,” Rose said. “But at the same time, I don’t feel like I was well set up for success there.”

Rose now serves on the Nordic Council, Pitkin County Board of Health and as an alternate on the Northwest Council of Governments.

Rose, who had disagreements with Doyle over the past two years, said he tried to mend their relationship after the March municipal election in which Doyle was reelected. He said his frustration with Doyle was what he perceived as a “lack of ability to explain his decisions.”

Doyle said he wants to move forward in his second term in “the most professional, positive way possible.” He said he’s looking forward to working with Richards again (they were on city council together for two years when Doyle was first elected in 2021) and moving forward on projects he started in his first term. He has set his sights on bringing passenger rail to the Roaring Fork Valley, something he hopes to work on during his second council term. 

“It’s kind of cool because we only have one new council member instead of two new council members, and I think that benefits the council,” Doyle said, referring to Richards’ longtime experience.

“Rachel having already served in the role is a benefit, and having Bill and Sam with two years of service under their belts is a benefit. So I try to look at the bright side of things, and those are all positives,” Doyle explained.

Doyle said he saw “a little bit of change” with Rose and Guth in the council’s first meeting when they took on roles with several boards and commissions. 

Benedetti is the only council member who has not served in elected office. But she has served on several boards and commissions as a community member in her almost two decades in the Roaring Fork Valley. 

“There will be a learning curve, definitely,” she said. “That said, I think that I’ve been part of enough city boards and commissions at this point and interacted with government in enough ways to have a decent grasp of how things will run and how to approach it. But you don’t know what you don’t know, and so there will be challenges and opportunities to come my way.”

She also saw the new council’s swearing-in as a chance for a fresh start.

“We’re all co-workers now, and so we have to figure out a way to work together,” Benedetti said. “The way I sort of operate has been to try to find consensus among people. … It’s not my agenda, but hearing all the voices at the table and then finding some common ground between those, I’m hopeful that we can do that. I think that would be the key to being effective, and also helping to mend some of the feelings in the community and maybe some of the feelings at the table between council members.” 

Search for a city manager

Former city manager Sara Ott resigned from her role just a week before the March 4 municipal election. 

Her departure has brought a major undertaking to the forefront of council members’ minds. The city council will ultimately be responsible for defining what makes an ideal candidate and leading the search for a new manager, a role the council last took up in 2019 when Ott was promoted from her assistant city manager position. 

Most of the candidates said a city manager should prioritize community and be able to work collaboratively with the city council. Richards wants a city manager who will understand the interconnectedness of the Roaring Fork Valley and the current issues facing the city of Aspen.

“Finding someone that understands the magnitude of the city’s different operations, our inner relationship and dependency as a valley and with the county, that is a foremost issue, a primary issue for all of us,” Richards said. “I think we have a lot of advantages going into that in that there’s a strong existing structure and capable personnel in all of our departments.”

Finance Director Pete Strecker has assumed the role of interim city manager while the city conducts its search. Tyler Christoff moved from his role as public works director to a second deputy city manager position, a new role in the city that was approved in the 2025 budget. Christoff joined Diane Foster, who has served as assistant city manager since 2020.

“In terms of recruiting, I think the strength of an organization is something that anyone would evaluate in terms of choosing to apply and choosing to accept the position,” Richards said. “And that’s where the council’s role is very important, that we have to speak with one voice, and we have a cohesion that a new manager will want to walk into.”

Richards also said she wants a city manager who will maintain professionalism and understand how a home rule municipality in Colorado is allowed to govern.

Doyle said he was “disappointed with the way that things went down with the city manager.” 

“I think (Ott) was very invested in Aspen and all the city processes, and I hope we can find a replacement that really is equal to or more capable than she was,” he said.

He wants to find an ambitious city manager who will last in the role longer than the average three-to-five-year city manager tenure. 

Benedetti said an ideal candidate for city manager would be someone with experience in a town similar to Aspen, whether it be another mountain town or a town of similar size or with similar resources. 

Rose wants to find a city manager “who exemplifies the best of Aspen.”

“Someone that really ingrained themselves in the community, that skis, that hikes, that bikes, that embraces what is the best of Aspen and will be able to do what’s best for Aspen,” he said. “… Someone who you can respect, who you can work with, a great leader, a great manager, a great delegator of work.

“And getting a city manager that’s more into figuring out why or how rather than saying, ‘why not,’ that’s definitely a big deal to me. I feel like a lot of people are way too good at explaining why it can’t happen versus finding a way to make it happen in a way that makes sense for everyone,” Rose continued.

The previous city council directed city staff to prepare a request for proposals for executive recruiting firms to conduct a national search for a city manager. 

The national landscape

Some council members said they were keeping the shifting national political landscape in mind as they assumed their roles. 

“The nation feels unstable right now, and I’m not unaware of the fact that we might have to be dealing with some of these national issues locally very soon,” Benedetti said. “No one saw COVID coming, obviously, and that derailed council for a couple of years. I’m not saying that’s a prediction, but I am worried … if we’re all of a sudden in a deep recession, some of these issues that we really wanted to work on are not there anymore and we’re just trying to figure out how to deal with bird flu, or measles, or a 20% drop in the budget. 

“But that’s part of the deal too,” she added.

Richards said the council will have to consider how some of recent changes in federal government may impact local agencies, businesses and more. She also said she worries about President Trump’s tariffs and how it may impact tourism in Aspen. 

Despite the landscape shifting nationally and the shifting leadership within the city, Richards is hopeful that her next two years as mayor will be fruitful for Aspenites.

“We are in a transition as a community in many ways. We are in a transition in the city government with the departments and transition with the new council,” Richards said. “But I think we all value all of our community, and how we pull that together in a meaningful way will be the test for all of us.”