Basalt election: Q&A with candidate Rick Stevens
Rick Stevens/Courtesy image
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series of Q&As with the candidates for the April 2 Town of Basalt municipal election. The Q&As will run in the order in which the council candidates appear on the ballot.
Basalt voters will get to choose three new council members from a slate of five candidates, plus an uncontested mayoral seat — a totally different scenario from 2022’s municipal election: three candidates ran for three seats and the town canceled the election in favor of declaring the candidates winners.
This cycle, current Mayor Pro Tem David Knight is the sole mayoral candidate. Five council candidates — none of whom are incumbents — are vying for three council seats: Richard Stevens, Chris Mullen, Hannah Berman, Angèle Dupré-Butchart, and Kaja Rumney.
The candidates participated in a candidate forum hosted by the Basalt Chamber of Commerce at the Basalt Regional Library on March 4.
Rick Stevens, a former Basalt Town Council and planning commission member and mayor, is back on the ballot after narrowly losing the mayor’s seat in 2016 to Jacque Whitsitt. He’s a longtime Basalt resident and owns a construction management company.
The election will take place on Tuesday, April 2 via mail-in ballot. Registered Basalt voters should have already received their ballots. Ballots must be received by the Town Clerk no later than 7 p.m. on election day to be counted. Ballots can be returned by mail or dropped off at the 24/7 ballot box at 101 Midland, behind Town Hall on the Midland Spur.
The Times sent the same questions to candidates via email. Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
AT: The midvalley is growing. What is the most important area of focus for Town Council in managing that growth?
RS: The midvalley encompasses three counties. Jurisdictional shopping in the land use/ development business has been a common theme, especially because of the varying degrees of ‘growth management’ codes and regulations. The core resort has pushed development further away over the last decades. The midvalley was the first to absorb the impacts that come with expansion versus smart growth. The impacts are now felt all the way to Parachute. As a response to those impacts, the midvalley has created a sustainable community with its own economy. The opportunity for managed growth congruent with our goal of a quality built environment is real.
When you focus on the notion that our community will grow in ways that will benefit all, we will all succeed. Basalt will focus on climate, density near transit, families, and local businesses that will support the generations.
AT: Is building new affordable housing or buying down pre-existing stock a bigger priority for you?
RS: The buydown of pre-existing stock is a limited option that may address the needs of a local government’s ability to provide housing stock to attract a workforce. The inventory is limited and expensive. Building new in a way that provides real opportunities for the community to thrive is the biggest bang for the buck. Neighborhoods that can accommodate ADUs should have the opportunity to build them. The remaining parcels that can be developed need to deliver product that is primarily deed-restricted. The “not-in-my-backyard” mentality that has permeated the system should no longer be influential in the decision-making process of land use. We can do better.
AT: What makes Basalt unique and how would you protect/build upon that identity as a Town Council member?
RS: Basalt and the midvalley have always been a place where the best things fly below the radar. The social capital that Basalt has preserved, in spite of the past reputation of being a divisive and fractured region, is still there. That quality is present in the everyday life and stays dormant until it needs to be called upon. I will always ensure that our governance model expresses care, grows our capacities, is adaptable to change, expands possibilities, and shares power.
Basalt will continue to be a community whose future is in motion. Basalt will continue to build its brand and identity on the solid community foundation it has created over the decades. Transformational policies will become the norm. Transactional behaviors will be negated.
AT: How would your background contribute to Town Council business?
RS: I have decades of experience on many levels. I have 16 years of experience as an elected official, and 10 years as Mayor. I know the intricacies of the valley and how to navigate through the potholes to get to the right answer. I have strong relationships with other leaders and I will negotiate settlements on issues from a position of strength. I have served on several community boards across the valley. Community service has apparently become a habit and a passion for me and I plan on being at the table one way or the other.
AT: What is your favorite way to recreate in Basalt?
RS: Being with and enjoying all the people that make this community such a great place. Watching families grow and thrive. Looking for fish off of the Pueblo bridge. Coaching kids at Crown Mountain. Playing lacrosse on Willits Field at sundown. Pretty simple stuff really.
