Position Gives Telluride a Voice in State Policy Making

TELLURIDE – As if leading Telluride weren’t time consuming enough, now Mayor Stu Fraser has undertaken two new roles that should help advance this small mountain resort town’s voice and interests at the state level.

In late June Fraser became one of six municipal officials from around the state to be newly elected to the Colorado Municipal League’s 19-member executive board during the organization’s annual conference held in Breckenridge.

The CML is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1923 that represents the interests of nearly all the state’s towns and municipalities.

“It’s an important part of what happens in Colorado in regards to the state legislature,” said Fraser, noting the group’s active role as a lobbying entity on behalf of municipalities.

“I felt that was an extremely important board to get on,” he continued. “It allows you to have a more active part in what goes on throughout the state.”

According to the CML website, the group monitors the daily events of the Colorado Legislature for proposals affecting municipalities and works to pass, defeat or amend legislation in accordance with general municipal interests and membership direction.

As appropriate, its staff, which includes three full-time lobbyists, also plays a major role in writing legislation beneficial to Colorado municipalities.

“I think it’s a real honor for Stu that he is on the board,” said Town Manager Greg Clifton, a former president of the CML executive board in 2001 and 2002.

“The CML board wrestles with a lot of very important issues throughout the year,” Clifton continued, noting the group’s vital role as “the voice of municipal governments” before state policymakers.

“It’s really good for the Telluride community to have representation at that table,” he said, noting that the concerns of small, Western Slope communities like Telluride are different from the more populous Front Range metropolitan areas.

“I think it’s very important that the representation on that board be diverse and comprised of all the parts of the state of Colorado,” Clifton said.

“There have been times when there has not been a real strong Western Slope representation; there certainly is now.”

Fraser was also recently elected vice president of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns’ five-member executive board.

CAST is an organization of municipalities whose economies are largely dependent upon tourism. It was formed in 1979 by 10 resort towns including Telluride in part to recognize the unique challenges facing resort communities in providing municipal services to their residents and visitors, according to the CAST website.

“I felt that by securing these spots, it would allow us to be part of the bigger picture within our state,” Fraser wrote in his mid-year State of the Town address earlier this month.

Fraser said he anticipates quarterly CAST meetings and monthly trips to Denver in his new CML role.

“It’s a different world,” he said. “We tend to get sort of focused on the box canyon and nothing outside the box canyon.

“I’m really excited,” he continued. “It’s bigger than what I’ve been doing here. I feel very successful that we’ve been able to accomplish the things we have.”