Mayor Ireland barely hangs on in tight May 3 election; Frisch, Skadron winners in city council race

Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland appeared to win a third straight term Tuesday night despite a strong challenge from longtime real estate broker Ruth Kruger.

Unofficial results showed Ireland garnered 892 votes, just barely pushing him over the required 50 percent plus one vote needed to avoid a runoff election. Kruger earned 719 votes, or 40.83 percent. Former talk show host and marketing consultant Andrew Kole finished with 150 votes, which is about 8.5 percent of the unofficial total vote.

In the Aspen City Council contest, Steve Skadron easily won a second term while Adam Frisch won his first. They, too, averted a runoff despite a field of six candidates. Skadron won 55 percent of the vote while Frisch earned 52 percent. In city council races, anything less than 45 percent plus one vote results in a runoff.

Provisional ballots still must be counted but election analysts on GrassRoots TV said they doubted it would change the total. The mayor's race was so tight, however, that it's theoretically possible the provisional votes could force an automatic recount, the analysts said. Officials said the election had a low turnout in contrast to comparable elections.

The only measure on the ballot was approved in a landslide. By an unofficial vote of 1,505 to 174, voters signed off on plans for a public park in east Aspen at the corner of Highway 82 and South Riverside Avenue.

Here are the unofficial final results for the May 3, 2011, election in Aspen, Colorado:

Mayor's Race

Mick Ireland 892
Ruth Kruger 719
Andrew Kole 150

Aspen City Council Race

Steve Skadron 905
Adam Frisch 853
Scott Writer 507
Marcia Goshorn 397
L.J. Erspamer 329
Cliff Weiss 284