AVH candidates in their own words

This is the first contested race for the board of directors at the hospital in six years. Aspen Valley Hospital (AVH) canceled two previous ones because no one applied, except the incumbents. For this election, there are seven candidates running for two open seats.The candidates all answered a series of questions posed by Aspen Public Radio. Here are their responses.Ballots must be returned to AVH's administration office by 7 p.m. on May 3. They can be mailed or dropped off in person.

Aspen City Council race: Mick Ireland

Aspen Public Radio

Published April 8, 2015 at 5:00 AM MDT

Former Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland is in familiar territory. He’s out campaigning for office like he’s done several times before. This time, Ireland is hoping to fill one of two open seats on city council. Aspen Public Radio’s Marci Krivonen reports.

Ireland served as a Pitkin County Commissioner for 13 years and mayor for six. He grew up in a family of public servants, he says.

"Even before I was a commissioner, I was on volunteer boards and financial advisory boards, blue ribbon this, blue ribbon that. Elected office came up when I was appointed to fill a vacancy on the county commission."

Reporter: "What is it that got you to run this time around?"

Ireland: "What really drew me back in was a thing called Ordinance 19."

Council approved Ordinance 19 with a 3-2 vote last summer. Also called the lodging incentive program, it was created to improve Aspen’s aging bed base. It would have offered developers breaks on fees and affordable housing requirements.

"It really shifted the Aspen paradigm from growth pays its own way to ‘we will use our money to subsidize luxury development,’ and I thought that was wrong," Ireland says.

He was part of a group that gathered hundreds of signatures to overturn the ordinance. He feared it would make Aspen resemble Vail. Council members eventually rescinded their vote.

"Ordinance 19 said a lot about council’s vision. What that ordinance said was we aren’t going to burden development with affordable housing. And, we’re not going to burden development with paying the planning department and inspections team for mitigation for impacts. That’s a different town."

Reporter: "If council’s vision is of a more Vail-like Aspen, what is your vision?"

Ireland: "I think we can retain a lot of economic viability by offering character that is lower key. I think people pay a premium to be in Aspen because we have a different character. It’s special."

Now, Ireland’s backing a new issue: Referendum One. It asks voters this spring if they want a say in development projects with variances outside the city’s land use code.

Ireland was mayor when council agreed to a legal settlement that allowed the Aspen Art Museum to be built. He says the alternative choice would have resulted in a bigger building. He says he has yet to go inside the museum.