Snowmass Village voters will decide on a mayor and two town council members this November, with contested races across the board. And while Election Day is still two months away, one thing is already certain: Whoever gets elected as mayor will have plenty of governing experience in Town Hall.
Incumbent Bill Madsen is vying for his third two-year term as mayor; he served for six years on council before that. His challenger, Alyssa Shenk, has been a council member since 2014, the same year Madsen started; Shenk was first appointed to fill a two-year vacancy, then elected to a couple of full four-year terms.
Shenk is term-limited as a councilor, but she can still run for mayor.
She said she also considered running in 2020, but with two other active council members on the ballot that year (Madsen and Tom Goode), she felt some continuity on council was more important than her own chance at the mayoral seat. She ran for reelection to council instead and earned more votes than any other candidate by a margin of several hundred.
“I felt like, (in 2020) … maybe it would be better if at least two of us were able to stay on council and work towards and complete some things we had in the works,” Shenk said.
But now, Shenk said, it feels like the right time to run. Madsen said he was a bit “surprised” that Shenk is vying for his job, in part because they align on some core topics, and in part because he’s supported her past campaigns. Shenk said she’s motivated by the community, not the competition.
“First and foremost, I'm not running against Bill. I'm running for Snowmass Village,” Shenk told Aspen Public Radio on Tuesday. “You know, I've worked well with him the last 10 years, and we don't agree on everything, but I respect him, … I think that I could do a lot of service staying on council as mayor for however many years people would want me there.”
There is, however, a lot the candidates do agree on, like the need for more affordable housing, expanded childcare, and smooth transportation.
“We've got to provide a great place for people to live, and we’ve got to educate the children,” Madsen told Aspen Public Radio. “I mean, those are the basics.”
Madsen frames such issues as “taking care of the village,” a concept that also includes infrastructure updates and future planning.
He’s been a proponent of such projects as the proposed Draw Site workforce housing project with as many as 79 units, citing a housing crisis; Shenk also supports the project, but views herself as more middle-ground as she also weighs the impact of the project.
Council unanimously authorized the language for a November ballot measure on the project, but only voted 3-2 in support of what it’s asking. Members Britta Gustafson and Tom Fridstein were opposed, expressing concerns about the size and scope of the development that could cost $86 million.
Both Madsen and Shenk said they recognize the need for consensus, too — especially in light of the Draw Site, which would also require a supermajority approval from council if it passes muster with voters this fall.
However, they may take different approaches to that consensus-building. Shenk said she envisions a “more established and defined leadership role” for the mayoral seat that could bring some efficiency to council conversations. Madsen, in his own response about consensus and the Draw Site, also mentioned the importance of the upcoming election; he said he believes the town needs “progressive” people on the council, and he’s encouraged his friend Art Burrows to enter the council race.
Madsen said he’s looking forward to some election season outreach of his own as well.
“It's always, always fun to get out in the community and talk to our constituents, our community members, and see what their points of view are in the village,” Madsen said.
in the town council race, Burrows is joined on the ballot by incumbent Tom Fridstein and two other two other newcomers: Cecily DeAngelo and Debbie Alcorta.
The two available council seats will each come with a four-year term. Aspen Public Radio will provide additional coverage of the council and mayoral candidates in the lead-up to the Nov. 5 election.
For more information on other races and how to vote, visit our election guide.
