Zele Community Table
Torre
April 11, 2007
Torre; Michael Conniff; Zele director of marketing Lisa Zimet; Kim Gutner MD; Russ Davis; Alyssa and Carly Gutner-Davis;
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Michael Conniff: The editorial in the Aspen Times that called on you to withdraw from the race was really harsh. I don’t ever think I’ve seen that before—an editorial calling for a candidate to withdraw from a race in the middle of the race. And then they turned around and said you should still run for your old City Council seat.
Torre: My initial response was that the Times was hiding behind a false front–we appreciate you on Council and such. Their real intention was to pare the field to two candidates. [Times managing editor] Rick [Carroll] has a longstanding friendship with Mick Ireland. It’s no secret that is where their support has been.
MC: But he endorsed you when he was editor of the Daily News.
T: The Times is a different bailiwick, the slant is different. When I read the Times it seems to be from an outside perspective, not really from an Aspenite viewpoint. There could be an objectiveness in that, but I don’t se it. I’m not speaking about the columnists, but the paper in general comes off as an outside entity. I don’t know the workings of the paper or papers in general, but the Aspen Times has less of that insider point of view.
MC: But Troy Hooper, a friend of yours, is now the editor of the Daily News. Do you think they will support you?
T: Our friendship is definitely not a factor. Troy and I are very clear with each other our friendship for each other doesn’t get in the way of our professional relationship and that’s for both sides. He’s very forthright. “You have to prove your candidacy to me.” I think I’ve done that. The endorsement from the Daily News is from [owner Dave] Danforth. They have their own perspective of it. I’m proud of the representation I’ve brought to the city. The Aspen Times has not endorsed me, including the time I won 1044 to 542 in a runoff–they still didn’t endorse me. I don’t think most voters look to the papers.
MC: What happened when you talked to Rick Carroll about it?
T: He said they liked my reputation on Council and said I should seek four more years. I say bullshit. The time for leadership is now. Mick Ireland was Pitkin County Commissioner for 13 years and he’s missed the boat.
MC: Can you give an example?
T: Environmentalism. The city, during our emissions category, we didn’t have to count the airport in our city, and most cities don’t. I have chosen to take that on with emission offsets. Mick Ireland, that wasn’t on his radar screen. And affordable housing. Mick Ireland has done a lot of great work. He says he’s been involved with 400 units over 13 years; I’ve approved 250 in four years. I’ve been more aggressive and more progressive. I am also not currently an owner of affordable housing. We need an update of the housing dynamics at play in the community. That depends heavily on the amount of growth, and the carrying capacity of our community. We can’t handle unfettered development. I want real goals and limitations. I want to reach that goal. The entrance to Aspen is another one—Mick Ireland has been fighting for the CDOT [Colorado Department of Transportation] plan of the preferred alternative. That would take ten years and $45 million. That funding isn’t out there. There would be six years of construction and two years before that even starts. The suggestions I made is about a solution now. It doesn’t take any of the possibilities off the table. I would love to see a light rail system from Aspen to Glenwood Springs.
Lisa Zimet: Physically there’s room for both.
T: But is there funding? How close are we going to get to $150 million? It would take multi-jurisdictions. It’s not financially feasible or implemental (sic). It can’t be done at this time. I want to leave all options on the table. My plan is to spend $5 million in under three years to make mass transit improvements.
LZ: What happens on May 8 [election day]? What if it the preferred alternative gets passed?
T: It’s not on the May 8th ballot—it’s just the bus lanes from Buttermilk across Maroon Creek to the roundabout, which I heartily support. The motivating factor is to support the question being asked. I am open to the community and the community’s will. What we saw in the last two days is people are split. We want some solution and we want mass transit to work better. We want to relieve the congestion. My process ideas are the ones that can realize it the quickest.
MC: What about Tim Semrau?
T: I have an entirely different rant about Tim Semrau. My primary objection is he is pro-growth and pro-development. The question is whether that’s appropriate for a policy maker if that can affect that individual effectively or personally. I don’t think that’s a good situation. He was on City Council while he was passing codes, and he put in a development that helped add seven feet and he has since sold that. We complain we have development by people who go through the approval process and then he was flipping that property.
LZ: He also is a preferred alternative proponent.
MC: What about affordable housing? How much money is projected in the fund from the Real Estate Transfer Tax?
T: The numbers go out ten years, so the final number was $138 million as a ten-year projection to 2016. Even just using a document six months old can lead to faulty decision-making. The new figure is $120 million in 2017. It was premature to make a recommendation to raise appreciation caps. We’re discussing property acquisitions. First we need a current assessment of housing needs. Land and construction costs are doubling in the last year, so long-range forecasting needs to take into account community needs. Now $120 million may sound like a lot but under the current assessment, we need to be finishing Burlingame, do new property acquisitions, and integrating housing into new development and in-town housing sites.
MC: Is there room for that in town?
T: I’m in agreement with my opponents. There’s the Red Brick, the Yellow Brick., and Truscott Place
MC: What about the $3.5 million the City just spent on a few units?
T: Right now the discussion is back to the table. I voted against that. It was a convoluted proposal, an exorbitant proposal. The issue was too clouded. Was it preservation or housing? It’s better not to mix two of the goals. You’re asking the things we’re asking. These are the questions that are out there.
MC: What about development?
T: Public-private partnerships will pay a big role. Is it daunting? Yes, it is daunting. Is it a goal we need to stick to? Yes. You support and utilize growth quotas for the amount of services that will be needed in this community. Or for lodging and commercial space. Only so much can be supported. I’m not anti-development, I’m anti-growth. We fix it at 1 percent. We’re a mature community, we’re almost at buildout. I’m a firm believer in that. I’m all for redevelopment but not a whole lot of new places that should be built.
Kim Guntner: We’re from San Diego. I wish somebody would control the growth in our area.
T: You have borders–the ocean–and you literally have a border.
KG: We’ve been coming here 44 years. They started as Powder Pandas. I started at Aspen Highlands. Who’s the Mayor?
LZ: Helen Klanderud.
KG: Who’s running for office?
T: One [Ireland] was the County Commissioner for 13 years. The other one [Semrau] served with me on City Council.
KG: What’s your day job?
T: I was a tennis pro but I resigned to run for Mayor.
KG: So your big competitor is the county commissioner? Is it close?
T: I think it’s neck and neck and neck. Anyone who’s not in favor of much development is not going to elect the developer.
KG: What is the town bike program?
T: Free bikes available in town to eliminate in-town traffic.
Alyssa Guntner-Ross: That would be really cool.
KG: How do you differ?
T: Personal style.
LZ: People will say you’re too green, in terms on experience.
T: I’ve spent four years on City Council. I’m Mayor Pro Tem. I ran for Mayor the first time six years ago because there were things I wanted to influence. It was like I won because I was at every meeting. I did two years of research. I was thrust into some important decision-making. I’m very proud of the representation I made. Now I have a lot more experience, knowledge, and a clearer picture of how things work or don’t. I’m in politics–a lot of the reason is I don’t like it and I want to see change. I bring a new energy and new openness. On hard issues, I bring in the community and listen to people.
MC: Do you represent a specific group of voters?
T: Aspenites for Aspen. Young to old. Rich, poor, working class. My support is broad-based and I’m very proud of that. This is representative government.
KG: You have just one name?
MC: I wasn’t going to bring that up.
T: I was Ronald Wayne Maranian III. I loved the name. But my parents—it was not their intention to name me after my father. Torre, that’s what they wanted to call me, Torre DuBose. I like that, but I shortened it to Torre. People call me Mr. Torre. People ask me what I like to be called.
KG: I have one question as an outsider. We lament the loss of the unique businesses. Sabatini’s, The Chart House, L’Equipe.
LZ: We used to have three or four bookstores.
HG: Cameron’s Kitchen.
Russ Davis: The Skier Chalet.
LZ: Souper.
HG: Now we have Sam Goody, Banana Republic.
LZ: They’re both gone,
T: The Red Onion.
HG: We were engaged at Andre’s. The ceiling was open and it was snowing.
RD: It was the skiing that did it.
HG: We miss the businesses that were unique to this town. How do you preserve the uniqueness of Aspen?
T: We have tools in the toolbox. We have a moratorium and are looking at affordable commercial space.
LZ: Poppycock’s still here.
HG: Guido’s. Walgreen’s.
LZ: How much monitoring is going on about the validity of people in employee housing?
T: We brought in Tom McCabe to clean it up. Right now, are we 100 percent clean? No, but are we 90 percent clean. It’s the culture. How to go after them is really up to the community that supports its own housing program.
LZ You need whistle-blowers.
T: You would have to have it. I’m all for it. We’ve put the message to City Council.
MC: What about the moratorium? Moratoriums?
T: There’s a moratorium—we took as a timeout to re-write the land-use code. We were building within the parameters of the code but the community said it was too much—we were getting the wrong things. I inherited that. Infill was being passed. I brought heights down, some of the codes down. The community was supportive. There were wrong actions, untimely, and things were being abused. So we have a moratorium in the downtown core. We don’t want a flood of applications while we’re changing the land-use code. Vet it, have hearings, pass it, there’s a waiting period, so over those five or six months there’s a flood of development. We’ve re-written the land use code to bring the parameters down. We are changing the mix to allow what will be built. So there’s been a loss of community uniqueness.
RD:But the moratorium is inflationary. You can continue to raise the rents, go back to being a small town, so there’s nothing here in the way of sales tax revenue: jewelry, real estate. Sit down with the landlords: “You’ll have to look at your rates or do rent control.” It would be very effective. Short of rent control we’re going to use zoning to maintain that mall area we’re talking about. This town is more or less owned by five landlords who own a ton. They’re not playing ball with the community at all. The promises they make they don’t even keep. Rent control may be the way to do it. The problem is how it’s sold. But if five people own that much control, that’s only five people. How many people don’t want to see a grocery store or a movie theater?
HG: We come here now and I don’t enjoy walking in town. The only time we buy is in ski season, with 40 percent to 60 percent off. I’m really sad to see how the town is transforming into Hollywood in the mountains.
MC: The horse has left the barn, can you reign it in?
LZ: Or is it like a train?
MC: In an interview here at Zele, Mayor Klanderud described Aspen as having a mid-life crisis. You’re a doctor, would you agree with that?
KG: I’d call it malignant narcissistic reality personality disorder. Adjustment disorder with mixed features, disturbance and personality. I am psycho dynamically trained.
T: Aspen suffers from a multi-personality disorder, but I don’t know which personality has the disorder.