New Candidates Face a Community Divided on its Future
Four of the seven seats on Steamboat Springs City Council were up for re-election, at a time when the community is heavily divided on its future. Housing, childcare and climate change ranked among the highest concerns for each of the four successful candidates.
On November 9th, Gail Garey (District 1), Joella West (District 2), Dakotah McGinlay (District 3), and Ed Briones (Community At-Large) were officially sworn in. None of them have previously served on City Council. Three of the four beat former city council members and a current planning commissioner to win the race.
Looking Ahead
Robin Crossan, the newly elected President, told the assembled council that they would “need to move with care and caution, but we need to move off the block.” Escalating home prices and a growing population with a diminishing workforce has proved a firestorm for the recent council.
In a letter to the Steamboat Pilot, Briones stated, “This new City Council is poised to influence the future of Steamboat Springs for many years to come and bring balance back. I believe that together we can get that balance and I also believe that I can be one of the City Council members that gets us there.” Briones has lived in the Yampa Valley for over two decades years and works for the Mount Werner Water District. His campaign centered on the preises of “Keeping it Steamboat”, a sentiment Crossan echoed in her welcome address.
New Council Has Variety of Experience
The newly-formed council brings varied experience to the forum, but relatively limited public service experience. West, a retired law practitioner, was a part-time resident of Routt County since 2003 but moved to Steamboat full-time in 2015. She has served on a plethora of boards from the Routt County Community Agriculture Alliance to Seminars in Steamboat.
Garey, the creator and founder of Impact 360 Strategies, which promotes sustainable business practices, is a 20-year resident and raised two children here. She is a board member for the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council and Chair of the Organics Task Force.
26-year-old McGinlay, the youngest member of the Council, has been a local resident for five years. McGinlay works for Mountain Bluebird Farms and volunteers with the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council, the Routt County Community Agriculture Alliance and SoBoat (Sober Steamboat).
As a collective group, they are tasked with not only the housing crisis, but climate change, establishing a sustainable growth path for the city and creating economic and cultural diversity. With the first council meeting now under their belt, voters will be watching to see if they can indeed “get us off the block.”