{"id":32885,"date":"2018-04-26T12:34:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T19:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=32885"},"modified":"2020-05-22T13:06:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T20:06:27","slug":"5-of-the-coolest-mountain-town-mayors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/5-of-the-coolest-mountain-town-mayors","title":{"rendered":"5 of the Coolest Mountain-Town Mayors"},"content":{"rendered":"

For mayors of mountain towns and cities, municipal budgets, local schools and the nitty-gritty of day-to-day management take up much of their time. But for some of them, that doesn\u2019t mean they shy away from broader national and global topics like climate change, smart growth, affordable housing, LGBTQ rights and immigration policy. Not only do they speak out, but they\u2019re often leading the way on these issues. We set out to find some of the coolest, most interesting mountain-town mayors working to shake things up on their home turf. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackie Biskupski<\/b><\/h3>\n

Salt Lake City, Utah<\/b><\/p>\n

Population: <\/b>193,700<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Jackie Biskupski came to Utah for a ski trip and never left. Now she’s the mayor. Photo courtesy of Salt Lake City’s Mayor’s Office.<\/p><\/div>\n

Twenty-five years ago, Jackie Biskupski, who originally hails from Minnesota, visited Utah on a ski trip and decided this was where she wanted to call home. She was a recent graduate of Arizona State University with a criminal justice degree when she first moved to Salt Lake City. After working first as a private investigator and later for the insurance industry, Biskupski was elected to the state legislature in 1999 before becoming the city\u2019s first openly gay mayor in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her time in office hasn\u2019t been easy:\u00a0<\/span>The Outdoor Retailer Show moved to Denver as a result of longstanding disagreements between the industry and many of Utah\u2019s elected officials over federal lands in the state.\u00a0 These disagreements came to a head in early 2017 after moves by the Utah congressional delegation and the state legislature to pare back federal protections.\u00a0But Biskupski has energetically pursued a progressive agenda: advocating for the construction of new homeless shelters, calling for the public release of police body-camera footage and working to combat the city\u2019s notorious smog problem. Her stated climate goals: 100 percent renewable energy by 2032 and an 80 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2040. She\u2019s been a vocal critic of the federal government\u2019s decision to decrease acreage of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur capital city is the gateway to the majestic national parks and monuments that make Southern Utah a worldwide tourist destination,\u201d Biskupski said. \u201cThese lands are powerful economic drivers for our city, with thousands of visitors launching their adventures to these iconic landscapes from Salt Lake City.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

P.T. Wood<\/b><\/h3>\n

Salida, Colorado<\/b><\/p>\n

Population: <\/b>5,500<\/span><\/p>\n

\"P.T.

P.T. Wood, mayor of Salida, Colorado. (Photo courtesy of P.T. Wood)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNot only do we have a role to play in global issues, it\u2019s a critical role,\u201d said P.T. Wood, mayor of Salida, Colorado. \u201cMayors are very much the local voice of our towns, and it\u2019s incredibly important for us to be part of the conversation on broader issues.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many mountain-town mayors, Wood not only enjoys the outdoors year-round but has made a living in it. The Boulder native and avid skier is a wintertime regular at local Monarch Mountain and the surrounding backcountry. In the spring and summer, he paddles the Arkansas River, where he worked for years as a river guide. In 2012, he opened Wood\u2019s High Mountain Distillery, which makes small-batch malt whiskey and gin, and after a decade of work on Salida\u2019s planning and zoning board, he decided to run for mayor. He felt strongly about issues\u2014economic diversification, affordable housing and others\u2014and nobody else was stepping up to the plate. He was elected last November.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn any town people want to be in, housing is an issue. We have about 80 percent public land and we\u2019re at the throat of the valley, so we don\u2019t have a ton of land to put houses on,\u201d Wood said. \u201cBut climate change is also a huge deal for us. Tourism is a big part of our economy\u2014skiing in the winter, the river in the summer\u2014but beyond that it goes to the safety of our drinking water and food and actually being able to survive up here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Anne Watson<\/b><\/h3>\n

Montpelier, Vermont<\/b><\/p>\n

Population: <\/b>7,500<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anne

Anne Watson, ultimate Frisbee coach and mayor of Vermont’s state capital. (Photo courtesy of Anne Watson)<\/p><\/div>\n

In March 2018, voters elected Anne Watson as mayor of Montpelier, Vermont, the state capital. Watson, a Vermont native and physics teacher at the local high school, counts sledding, snowboarding and snowshoeing among her past and present outdoor pursuits. But her real passion is Ultimate Frisbee. She\u2019s coached the high school boys team to two state championships.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a city councilor and now mayor, Watson championed efforts to make Montpelier carbon neutral by the year 2030. A one-megawatt solar installation she supported already helps to power the city. Efforts are underway to quantify the city\u2019s overall energy use in order to establish a baseline. Watson is also enthusiastic about ongoing improvements to her town\u2019s mass transit system. She points to expanded bike trails and easy access to Montpelier\u2019s Winooski River waterfront as important parts of making Vermont\u2019s capital a cool place to live.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMontpelier is a place where we have twice as many jobs as residents, and that\u2019s not even adjusting for job-age residents,\u201d she said. \u201cMany more people commute here to work than live here, and if w<\/span>e can make it more affordable and accessible for people to live here, it\u2019ll help reduce carbon emissions. If we can enhance recreational options so they don\u2019t have to drive far to get to them, that will also help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Neil Bradshaw<\/b><\/h3>\n

Ketchum, Idaho<\/b><\/p>\n

Population: <\/b>2,750<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Neil

Former co-owner of a water bottle company, Neil Bradshaw is now mayor of Ketchum, Idaho. (Photo courtesy of Neil Bradshaw)<\/p><\/div>\n

Neil Bradshaw grew up in Zimbabwe, worked in Europe for years and moved to the town of Ketchum, Idaho, in 2005, for a slower-paced life. Before he was elected mayor in 2017, he had a long career in business development and finance internationally. At home in Idaho, he\u2019s led a nonprofit that helps mentor young entrepreneurs in the valley, advised local business owners on exit strategies and he\u2019s currently hard at work developing more affordable housing in town.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision for Ketchum is for a town that is vibrant, connected, sustainable and safe,\u201d Bradshaw said. \u201cBy connecting as a community we can build empathy and understanding as well as find solutions for our local challenges. We\u2019re working on building a diversity of affordable, workforce and entry-level housing options that will allow families, teachers and firefighters to call Ketchum home. This is a key initiative since year-round residents improve our town\u2019s economic health, vibrancy as well as provide a workforce for our local businesses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

An avid backcountry skier and hiker, Bradshaw co-founded the outdoor water bottle company Avex, which sold at REI stores for years, and he sits on the board of the Juniper Fund, an organization that supports mountain workers and their families on the high peaks of Nepal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Steve Skadron<\/b><\/h3>\n

Aspen, Colorado<\/b><\/p>\n

Population: <\/b>6,800<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Steve

Meet the mayor of Aspen, Steve Skadron, a backcountry skier and uphill enthusiast. (Photo courtesy of Steve Skadron)<\/p><\/div>\n

Aspen, Colorado, has long been known for progressive activism\u2014witness the Freak Power elections of 1969-70, made famous by Hunter S. Thompson, and the early adoption of LGBTQ-friendly town ordinances shortly thereafter. Today, mayor Steve Skadron has three times won re-election on policies of climate preparedness, clean energy and smart growth.<\/span><\/p>\n

With regard to the latter, Skadron is big on making Aspen\u2019s downtown even more pedestrian-friendly than it already is, and he supports a plan to expand the downtown\u2019s automobile-free zone. \u201cWe dedicate so much time and prime real estate to asphalt for the purpose of cars and automobiles,\u201d he told The Aspen Times. \u201cI think we can think differently about this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many Aspenites, Skadron came to the Roaring Fork Valley for the skiing two decades ago and never left. An avid backcountry enthusiast, he has actively lobbied backcountry ski businesses to make Aspen their U.S. headquarters and he\u2019s helped promote Aspen\u2019s uphill ski culture. He walks the walk, too: Mayor Skadron has competed in the famous Grand Traverse ski-mo race\u2014a 40-mile dead-of-night dash over the Elk Mountains from Crested Butte to Aspen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For mayors of mountain towns and cities, municipal budgets, local schools and the nitty-gritty of day-to-day management take up much of their time. But for some of them, that doesn\u2019t mean they shy away from broader national and global topics like climate change, smart growth, affordable housing, LGBTQ rights and immigration policy. Not only do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":32887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[795,727,656],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-32885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-climate-change","tag-latest-posts","tag-public-lands"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/news\/5-of-the-coolest-mountain-town-mayors","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"5 of the Coolest Mountain-Town Mayors","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/5-of-the-coolest-mountain-town-mayors","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/5-of-the-coolest-mountain-town-mayors"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/JackieBiskupski.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/04\/JackieBiskupski.jpg?fit=2500%2C1668"},"articleSection":"News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["climate change","latest posts","public lands"],"dateCreated":"2018-04-26T19:34:12Z","datePublished":"2018-04-26T19:34:12Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T20:06:27Z"},"rendered":"