Electing the election, letter to the editor

It’s not the first time moving the election day has been suggested but it just may be the first time a sitting City Councilman has come out against it. On Facebook it’s turning into a full out Bert vs Skippy rock ‘em sock ‘em. If you can get past the accusations of SkiCo liftie zombies casting votes for their Ice King overlord or upstart “kids” gerrymandering by dates instead of districts I ask my fellow Aspen voters to look at the science, specifically how your state of mind effects the way you vote.

We vote differently when we feel economically solid than when we feel strapped. March is when the majority of us who work in Aspen are feeling giddy and overwhelmed with work… when the cash is at least a plentiful as the snow. By May we’re in deep hangover phase. You’re wondering how the winter money melted so fast and if it will ever come again while spending all your time and resources to clean things up for summer. The short answer- when you’re feeling strapped you’re less likely to vote and if you do vote you're a lot less likely to vote smart. Seriously… there are studies… lots of them.. the 2013 study from Harvard springs to mind.."For an even starker example of how financial concerns can weigh on people's minds, Mullainathan and colleagues traveled to rural India, where sugar cane farmers typically are paid only once per year. "The month after the harvest, they're pretty rich, but the month before – when the money has run out – they're pretty poor," he said. "What we did is look at the same people the month before and the month after the harvest, and what we see is that IQ goes up, cognitive control, or errors, goes way down, and response times go way down.”



Sound familiar?

Simply put…

More voter turnout = good for democracy
Smarter voter = good for democracy
March elections = both of the above.

The intent of infill, letter to the editor

The word "infill" is being flung about as an invective by proponents of the City Charter Amendment  (the ballot initiative which would force building variances to a popular vote). Is infill evil or is the way we have interpreted infill the problem? 

Infill is one of the strategies of "Smart Growth". Smart growth is a middle line between all out no holds barred frothy mouthed rabid development and the implacable phalanx of no growth stone faced NIMBYs. Smart Growth incorporates walkable neighborhoods, slamming the door on urban sprawl, mixing  residential and commercial uses within zones  while preserving open space and farmland. 

Infill isn't only a way of countering urban decay and traffic congestion;  it's a way of increasing density in one area to allow open space in another. 

So why is "infill" a dirty word in Aspen? What follows is a personal opinion.

Did we use vacant land in the City core for infill? No.

Did we replace decaying unmaintained buildings for new vibrant community oriented buildings through infill? No. 

Did we promote diversity by intermingling low cost residential housing with commercial downtown real estate through infill? No.

Did we encourage spaces for small start up businesses through infill? No.

Did we increase our open space through infill? No.

Did we decrease our traffic congestion through infill? No.

Have we improved the quality of life of our citizens through infill? Hmmm…that depends on how much you miss those 'Stube waffles  at the joiners table.

Aam Cafe

Wienerstube

Yet these are all the goals of infill and "Smart Growth". We chose to keep the "build" part of the strategy and ignored the "why" we build and "what" we build part of the strategy. Why did we do that? It couldn't possibly be because "build" makes quick bucks and all the other goals cost time, political capital and money.

This is what we do; we forget the intent of the rules we impose upon ourselves and then we cry foul. Pushing responsibility for 524 pages of land use code onto the voting public will not solve the problem. Holding our Representatives accountable to the intent of the code, that just might work.