ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Two newcomers to Basalt government and one familiar face won handily in the race for three council seats on Tuesday.
Hannah Berman received the most votes with 460 while Angele Dupre-Butchart tallied 435. They sought public office for the first time.
Former mayor and councilman Rick Stevens will return to office after collecting 360 votes.
Candidates Kaja Rumney and Chris Mullen made unsuccessful bids for the three at-large seats. Rumney had 321 votes and Mullen had 195.
Current Councilman David Knight was unopposed for mayor. He received 523 votes. Knight is finishing a four-year term on the council.
Berman said she tried to talk to a broad cross-section of Basalt residents during the campaign. She estimated that she knocked on the doors of a couple of hundred voters and also made herself available to get coffee with as many people as possible.
“I talked to several hundred people and I heard mostly about housing and climate and child care, which were all things I knew would be priorities going into campaigning,” Berman said. “Campaigning was a really positive experience. People were kind. They would share about their lives and their priorities for the town. I would knock on their door and find myself still talking at their kitchen table 20 minutes later and I really loved that. I’m excited for a lot more of that in the coming years.”
Berman, 27, is the senior sustainability and philanthropy manager at Aspen Skiing Co. She also is a renter of deed-restricted housing in Basalt. She made a point in the campaign of working on climate issues and bringing a voice from the perspective of a renter.
“To me climate and housing are the two biggest challenges for our town and for our time in the world,” she said. “Those are both issues that can be addressed through municipal codes.”
Dupre-Butchart, 40, said she had a bunch of personal things that came up during the campaign that prevented her from knocking on a lot of doors. However, as a Roaring Fork Valley resident for 17 years and midvalley resident for 11, she felt she had a lot of contacts and a good feel for what residents want from the Basalt town government.
She said she was open and honest about her views at a candidates’ forum that was held in early March and in question-and-answer pieces in local newspapers. She also had a network of friends that helped her “get the word out.”
“I just felt all of us candidates really put our best foot forward and I was super proud to be part of a group that really put ourselves out there,” she said. “I thought the town of Basalt would be really happy with any of us.”
Dupre-Butchart looks forward to directing her attention to housing issues when she takes office later this month.
“I think throughout the campaign it was evident with all of the candidates that housing seems to be at the forefront of everybody’s mind,” she said. “The town owns a few parcels that are yet to be developed.” Those parcels are identified by the town’s master plan as appropriate for affordable housing, she noted.
“I’d love to figure out what we can do to have our locals stay local and not have to leave because they can’t afford to live here,” Dupre-Butchart said.
The three winning council candidates and Knight as mayor will be sworn in at the April 23 meeting. They all won four-year terms.
