Incumbent Francie Jacober leads early in Pitkin County commissioner race
Democratic incumbent Francie Jacober leads early in Pitkin County’s District 5 commissioner race Tuesday night.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Pitkin County’s airport-related ballot question 1C leads with “yes” votes as the first round of votes are counted on Tuesday night.
Ballot question 1C seeks to amend Article II of the county’s governing document, the Home Rule Charter, to reaffirm Pitkin County’s power to approve and carry out the layout plan for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.
After Tuesday’s first batch of votes, 1C had 2,751 “yes” votes, or 66.7%, and 1,373 “no” votes, or 33.29%.
Ballot question 200, the opposing airport ballot question, had 1,624 “yes” votes, or 39.36%, and 2,502 “no” votes, or 60.64%.
Ballot question 200 seeks to amend the Home Rule Charter to restrict county officials’ decision-making power regarding the expansion or relocation of any runway at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport beyond the dimensions and locations that existed on Jan. 1 without voter approval in their ballot question. It also clearly defines “runway.”
Other Pitkin County ballot questions
Ballot question 1A had 2,504 “yes” votes, or 60.57%, and 1,630 “no” votes, or 39.43%.
This question asked voters to support a new property tax for up to the next 25 years for a mill levy of 1.5 mills.
For homeowners, the tax is approximately a $121 increase per $1 million of property value annually. For commercial property owners, it is approximately a $435 increase per $1 million of value annually.
This would bring in about $8.5 million to the county that could be used for building senior and transitional housing, supporting housing partnerships, converting free market properties to deed-restricted ones, and preserving and restoring current affordable housing.
Ballot question 1B has 3,431 “yes” votes, or 84.7%, and 620 “no” votes, or 15.3%.
This question looks to issue revenue bonds for $22 million, not to exceed $37 million in repayment, in order to finance the expansion of the area where waste is deposited at the county landfill.
The Aspen Times will update results as they become available.
Regan Mertz can be reached at 970-429-9153 or rmertz@aspentimes.com.