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Aspen council may change policy on conflicts of interest

Marci Krivonen
/
Aspen Public Radio

  The mayor of Aspen is considering asking his colleagues to tweak a city rule that would minimize conflicts of interest among elected officials.

Right now, the city’s rules around ethics only address employees. They’renot allowed under law to work for anyone in the private sector for six months after leaving their job if the move puts them in a situation where they do or appear to have a conflict of interest.

The rule doesn’t apply to elected leaders. If it applied to that group, former councilman Dwayne Romero would not be able to work for his current employer, Mark Hunt. Hunt is a developer. One of Romero’s last actions before leaving office was approving Hunt’s controversial Base 2 lodge project.

Mayor Steve Skadron says it might make sense to have the rule apply evenly.

“I don’t believe there are examples of abuse. I don’t believe Dwayne is abusing this but I am not opposed to reconsidering this. I think we should talk about it and maybe there is a compelling argument one way or the other that should be explored,” he says.

Meanwhile, an Aspen resident filed a lawsuit against the city related to Romero’s role in the Base 2 decision. That suit is now being handled by the city’s insurance company.

Carolyn Sackariason, Aspen Public Radio news.