The unofficial results are in for Tuesday’s municipal elections in Basalt and Carbondale.
In Basalt, there were five candidates vying for three town council seats. Hannah Berman, Angèle Dupré-Butchart and Rick Stevens were the top vote-getters.
The mayoral election had only one candidate, David Knight.
In Carbondale, there were six candidates vying for three seats on the board of town trustees. Jess Robison, Christina Montemayor and Ross Kribbs received the most votes to secure seats on the board.
Election results are still subject to certification; winners in each town will be sworn in on April 23.
Basalt election results: Mayor and new councilors stress importance of affordability and climate change
Hannah Berman, who manages sustainability, equity and philanthropy programs at the Aspen Skiing Company, was the highest vote getter in the town council race with 460 votes.
For Berman, climate change and affordability will be top priority in her new role.
“We talk about needing more young people in government and to me that was such a motivating factor because so many of the issues that we face, like climate and housing and childcare, especially impact my generation,” Berman said.
Angèle Dupré-Butchart, who was close behind Berman with 435 votes, agrees that affordable housing is one of the most important issues facing Basalt and the wider community.
Dupré-Butchart manages her family’s finance business, Dupre Interests, and has a 10-year history working in Aspen’s hospitality industry.
She said her background in business gives her a unique perspective on solving the housing shortage.
“I have overseen a number of projects for my job that have involved real estate and just kind of viewing that side of things,” Dupré-Butchart said. “So I feel like I have a good understanding of the cost of building, the cost of building, from a business side, but also just from a side of fiscal responsibility.”
Rick Stevens secured the third open town council seat with 360 votes.
Stevens served as Basalt mayor for several terms in the 1990s and 2000s and looks forward to returning to council at a pivotal moment for the town.
“What we have left to develop here should be really earmarked for the kinds of projects that can give people the opportunity to come here and build a life and family and career and contribute to community and maintain the town as a real town,” Stevens said.
The other two candidates running for town council, Kaja L. Rumney and Chris Mullen, did not receive enough votes to earn a seat.
In the mayoral race, current councilor David Knight ran unopposed after incumbent mayor Bill Kane announced he wouldn’t be running for reelection.
Knight is eager to take on the new leadership role and hopes to make Basalt a role model for climate action and affordability.
“I think it’ll be an opportunity to use some of the experience that I have already,” Knight said. “We have an entirely new set of councilors coming in, so to bring that and take what I’ve learned the last four years and help continue working in the direction we’ve been going.”
Knight said keeping the Midland Avenue Streetscape project on track will be another top priority for the council, especially now that the special election has been scheduled for May 21.
Tuesday’s mayoral and town council election was open to residents who live within official town limits, which include downtown Basalt, Willits town center, and some neighborhoods between the two communities along Highway 82 and Willits Lane.
The boundaries do not include residents of Emma, El Jebel, Holland Hills or the mobile home community next to Ponderosa Park.
Carbondale election results: Robison tops the charts in second bid for town trustee
A professional musician, a fiscal manager and a construction and contracting project manager will fill three open seats on the Carbondale Board of Town Trustees.
Ross Kribbs, Christina Montemayor and Jess Robison were the winners in Tuesday’s municipal election, according to unofficial results.
Kribbs is a violin teacher and musician, as well as co-director of the Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra; Montemayor is the campus fiscal manager for Colorado Mountain College in Carbondale; Robison runs construction consulting and general contracting businesses.
Robison was the top vote-getter this year, with 775 votes — a stark contrast to her last-place finish among eight candidates in 2022.
She says she was motivated to put more work into her campaign this time around — and it paid off.
“I door-knocked on, I think, close to 500 houses, and really tried hard to do some grassroots campaigning and just talking to people — hearing what they really wanted for Carbondale,” Robison told Aspen Public Radio over the phone on Tuesday night.
And as Robson listened, she picked up a sentiment that’s been a resounding theme in this election — even as “most people are pretty happy with what is happening in Carbondale.”
“I think the number one concern for everyone is growth,” Robison said. “And how do we do that while preserving the Carbondale character that everyone loves so much?”
Robison believes her background in project management — and her experience on the town planning and zoning commission — make her well-equipped to evaluate town projects and development proposals.
Montemayor, who earned 680 votes, and Kribbs, who earned 672 votes, did not respond to messages from Aspen Public Radio before the time of publication.
The winners will be sworn in on April 23, and will serve four-year terms on the board.
There were three other candidates in the running who ultimately didn’t receive enough votes to earn a seat: Katie Tabor, April Spaulding and Susan Rhea.
This election was open to residents who live within Carbondale’s official town limits, which include downtown Carbondale and neighborhoods like Crystal Village, Carbondale South and River Valley Ranch.
The boundary does not include residents who live west of town in Satank, nor those who live east of town along Catherine Store Road.
