Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Paul Hughes, the former city manager who was fired by the Steamboat Springs City Council nearly two years ago, confirmed Monday that he will run for a seat on the City Council this fall.

Hughes served as Steamboat's city manager from 1998 to December 2005. He was fired in a surprising action at the end of a late-night City Council meeting. Hughes already had announced his plans to retire and had offered to continue working until his replacement was found. Councilman Towny Anderson later publicly apologized for the way Hughes' termination was handled.

Monday morning, Hughes submitted his candidacy petition at City Hall. He will run for the District 2 council seat that will be vacated by term-limited Councilman Ken Brenner - who cast one of the votes to fire Hughes.

But Hughes said the firing is no longer on his mind.

"It's really important that we set this to rest about vindication or payback," Hughes said about his campaign. "It has nothing to do with Ken or anybody else on that council who fired me. It has to do with my belief that in the past two years, things have gotten to a point where people have said to me, 'We've got to do something about this City Council.' I'm running because I think we need to get a good number of good people in there."

Hughes said he feels the City Council should involve more voices when addressing issues such as affordable housing.

"Those discussions did not include sufficient conversations with people who actually build housing," Hughes said. "I would like to see a much better effort at getting more people to help us solve our problems."

At least one other candidate is likely running for the District 2 seat, which represents the mountain area. On Friday, longtime Steamboat resident Meg Bentley submitted her candidacy petition. A former member of the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission, Bentley said managing growth, creating a range of housing opportunities and promoting accountability would be her goals on City Council.

Bentley moved to Steamboat in 1974. She is a founder of The Playworks Preschool, a co-owner of Steamboat Aviation, and a former member of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club's Board of Directors.

Councilman Loui Antonucci holds the other District 2 seat until November 2009.

Large and at-large

The race for the at-large City Council seat got larger Monday, as Anderson confirmed his bid for re-election to the seat he won in 2005.

"I like the direction that City Council is going," Anderson said. "I'm interested in the dynamics of the base area redevelopment, downtown and West Steamboat. How we help each of those areas is going to determine what this community will be for the next 50 years."

Steamboat Springs Planning Commission member Cari Hermacinski announced her bid for the at-large seat last week, citing needs to protect "the long-term livability of Steamboat Springs" in the face of unprecedented growth, and to spend taxpayer dollars wisely.

"Maintaining a responsible economic footing will be a major challenge for the next council," she said.

Also running for the at-large seat is Savoy Place resident Dave McClure, a retired university librarian who moved to Steamboat about 18 months ago from Knoxville, Tenn.

McClure said he hopes to provide a voice for the labor industry and ensure development doesn't detract from the quality of the Steamboat community.

"I think it's the city's responsibility to make sure the labor pool receives health benefits," McClure said. "There's a need for health care for laborers."

All potential candidacies depend on verification of petition signatures.

Five of the seven City Council seats will be on the ballot Nov. 6.

Although candidates must run for a seat in the district they live in, or the at-large seat, all Steamboat Springs voters will vote on all of the City Council races.