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Richards turns in paperwork to run for 2nd mayoral term

Rachel Richards turns in petitions on Wednesday, Dec. 4 to the city clerk’s office for a ballot question. Less than a week later, on Tuesday, Richards turned in more paperwork — this time to run for mayor of the city of Aspen.
Jason Charme
/
Aspen Daily News
Rachel Richards turns in petitions on Wednesday, Dec. 4 to the city clerk’s office for a ballot question. Less than a week later, on Tuesday, Richards turned in more paperwork — this time to run for mayor of the city of Aspen.

Nearly two years after ending a 30-year tenure in public office, Rachel Richards is throwing her hat back in the ring.

Richards submitted paperwork to run for Aspen mayor to the city clerk’s office Tuesday, she said. Paperwork to run for two open Aspen City Council seats and the mayoral seat became available on Dec. 3.

She wrapped up a 30-year career in public office in the Roaring Fork Valley in April 2023. She began serving on the city council in 1991 first as a council member and later as mayor for one term. From 2007-2019, she served as a Pitkin County commissioner. She ran again for city council in 2019, and finished out her term in 2023 after announcing she would not run again.

But fewer than two years later, Richards decided to run for mayor, citing what she said was indecision among the current council and a desire to address evolving issues facing the city of Aspen.

“I want to see successor generations of people who believe they can make a life in Aspen, that they can raise their family, that they can be successful enough to participate … in government, in boards and commissions and in keeping Aspen special,” Richards said. “I realize that a lot of things are tough choices, sometimes they’re emotional choices…but I’ve seen opportunities lost that are unfortunate.”

She pointed to the current council’s decision to not place a question on the November ballot about the entrance to Aspen as one moment that motivated her to run. She is part of a group of citizens that gathered signatures for a petition that would ask voters to approve affirming the Colorado Department of Transportation’s authority to use a portion of the Marolt and Thomas open spaces for new highway alignments. The group submitted the petitions to the city clerk’s office last week and is awaiting formal approval to appear on the March ballot alongside the city council positions.

But Richards also said changes in the federal government that could impact things like public lands and immigration policy motivated her to seek out public office again.

“We need to be able to talk about and bring up resolutions of support for our congressional representatives to know where Aspen stands,” she said. “And Aspen can be a leader on protecting any number of things that affect our residents and affect our town.”

Current Mayor Torre is term-limited, leaving the race wide open for hopeful candidates who wish to lead the city council. Richards is the only person who has turned in the necessary paperwork to run for mayor, City Clerk Nicole Henning confirmed.

Two council seats held by Councilmen John Doyle and Ward Hauenstein are also up for election. Hauenstein is term-limited, but Doyle is not.

People interested in running for mayor or city council can pick up paperwork from the city clerk’s office. Those interested have until Dec. 23 to return paperwork to the clerk. The municipal election will take place March 4.

Lucy Peterson is a staff writer for the Aspen Daily News, where she covers the city of Aspen, the Aspen School District, and more. Peterson joined the Aspen Public Radio newsroom in December as part of a collaboration the station launched in 2024 with the Aspen Daily News to bring more local government coverage to Aspen Public Radio’s listening audience.