ISSUE #142: ImportANT 2018 Election Info 9/17/18

"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'"

                               -- Isaac Asimov

As a matter of housekeeping, The Red Ant is happy to keep you apprised of the facts pertaining to the 2018 General Election on Tuesday, November 6.

 

Go to www.PitkinVotes.com  This website will enable you to check/update your voter registration.  You can also designate a "ballot mailing address" if you won't be home to receive your ballot when it is sent out on October 15. (The post office will not forward your ballot.) 

And overseas voters - your ballots go out on September 22.  Please wait for The Red Ant endorsement issue (or contact me) before voting!!

 

October 15 is also the last day to register to vote.

 

If you're keen on voting in person, you can still practice this lost art beginning on October 22.  See the site for details on time and place.

 

Remember, your ballot must be received BY 7PM on election day. And postmarks don't count.

 

Any questions or issues?  Please contact the County Clerk, Janice Vos Caudill, or the election manager, Elizabeth Granado, at 970-920-5180.  Pitkin County has long been known for its helpful election staff who always go to great lengths to help people get their ballots.

 

The Red Ant will be issuing a full election endorsement issue to coincide with ballots being mailed out.  This is for your convenience, however, I encourage you to do your own research on what has shaped up to be a cumbersome ballot.  The Red Ant endorsement issue will explain why I am supporting an issue or not, but I will not be laying out all of the pros and cons.

 

In addition to the standard general election fare (Gubernatorial, House of Representatives), Pitkin County has a bevy of tax measures coming your way, and several CRITICAL elections and measures:

• BOCC:  November 6 is when we can vote to put Rob Ittner back on the Board of County Commissioners. Please go to www.VoteRobIttner.com and make a donation to his campaign!  HEREis why we need to get him back at the table.  And ONE MORE reason. 

• County Assessor: With the retirement of longtime assessor Tom Isaac, the position is now up for grabs.  And like a phoenix who rises from the ashes,  Mick Ireland is back, rearing his ugly head.  Desperate for both a paycheck and health insurance, our old nemesis really just wants the power to oversee and control YOUR property tax bill.  And if you don't think he'll make punitive changes, you have a very short memory. (Get refreshed HERE.) Mick has even floated the nefarious idea of raising property taxes on those who are not full-time residents. His campaign slogan? "Let Mick do the Math."  NO THANKS!! Thankfully, a gracious and longtime employee of Isaac's in the assessor's office is running against him.  Deb Bamesberger doesn't have the name recognition that Mick does, but what she does have (experience, ethics, honesty and demeanor) is what we want and need in that critical role.  Besides, her work in the assessor's office has been and will continue to be her job, not a political career.  Please help Deb by donating to her campaign today HERE.  Every little bit helps!  And you don't have to be a resident or registered voter to donate!  Don't just take my word for it - read THIS letter and THIS one too!

We also can look forward to Aspen's Whiny Millennials and their ballot measure to change Aspen's municipal election date to early March (from May).  They say it will enable more of them to vote.  Never mind that Aspen's city clerk is perhaps the most gracious city staffer imaginable, bending over backwards to get ballots to any registered voter, wherever they may be!  It's actually just a ploy to get seasonal employees registered here and enabling THEM to vote.  And it will additionally keep hard-working Aspenites from running for office since campaign season will coincide with high season, when the people we ideally want representing us actually have to work! (Yes, Skippy's mitts are all over this one...)

 

And finally, after all this time, we actually get to vote NO on the Taj Mahal City Hall on Galena Plaza.

 

Please check your voter registration and mailing address today. Your vote REALLY counts in Aspen!  And look for The Red Ant endorsement issue around October 15.

P.S. Please contact me for your Sick of Mick sticker!!  (The Red Ant proudly had these made in 2011 when Mick was running for his third term as mayor.  I knew I held on to the extras for a reason!)