The three-member Ouray City Council will have plenty of options to choose from when it decides on Monday how to fill two vacancies.
A total of nine people have applied and will be interviewed to occupy the two slots. Dave Doherty, Tamara Gulde, Mike Hakola, John Hart, Bette Maurer and Kevin Schiffer are seeking a two-year term. Ashley Hineline, Jason Perkins and Bruce Ward are seeking a four-year term.
Each candidate will have one minute to make an opening statement. Mayor Michael Underwood and councilors Peggy Lindsey and Jenny Hart will then interview each of the nine candidates and ask them why they are the best choice and what they bring to the table; what their goals are; and whether they would be willing to meet with the mayor once a month to discuss their thoughts and ideas regarding the direction of the city. Each candidate is scheduled to have five minutes to respond.
The council will use a ranked choice voting method to appoint the two new councilors. Under that system, each councilor will rank the candidates in order of preference (first, second, third, etc.). If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that person is selected. If not, the candidates with the fewest first choice votes are eliminated.
The process continues until a candidate has a majority. The city issued an explanation of how ranked choice voting works, with a video produced by the city of Fort Collins. City officials did not say why this method was being used to select the new councilors.
Here is a bit more information about each of the candidates:
- Doherty is a former city building inspector, who left the position in 2019.
- Gulde ran unsuccessfully for mayor this fall after completing a four-year term on the council. She told the Plaindealer immediately after the November election that she would not seek appointment to fill one of the vacant seats but changed her mind.
- Hakola is an Army veteran and retired locksmith who previously served on the Ouray Planning Commission. He previously ran for the city council in 2019 but wasn’t elected.
- Hart is a longtime Ouray resident and retired utility construction manager who currently serves on the Cedar Hill Cemetery District board of directors. He is not related to Jenny Hart, who ran for council and was elected in November.
- Maurer is a former city councilor who served from 2013-2019. She is also a former owner of the Twin Peaks Lodge & Hot Springs (then called the Best Western Twin Peaks) and a longtime volunteer with the Ouray Elks Lodge. She ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2019.
- Schiffer, the owner of Fresh Air Custom Creations, has lived in Ouray since 2020. He serves on a variety of city committees, including the Ouray Planning Commission, Ouray Economic Development Committee and the Ouray Main Street Committee.
- Hineline is director of operations for Mountain Adventure Retreats, a vacation rental company, and a Realtor with Wild West Realty. She moved to Ouray with her family about four years ago.
- Perkins is the co-owner of Ouray Riverside Resort and a member of the Ouray Tourism Advisory Committee. He ran unsuccessfully for council in 2021.
- Ward is the founder and executive producer of the TV series “America’s Forests with Chuck Leavell” and the retired founder of Choose Outdoors, a Denver-based nonprofit that promotes public lands. He moved to Ouray in October 2024.
After the new councilors are chosen, the council is scheduled to discuss and approve an agreement to have the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office provide law enforcement services, which was already signed by the city clerk, mayor and city administrator.
Monday’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Ouray Community Center, 320 Sixth Ave.
