October 18, 1996

TELLURIDE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE 2ND HOME OWNERS WIN RIGHT TO VOTE

By ROBERT WELLER
Associated Press Writer

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Second home owners have won the right to vote in Telluride's Mountain Village in a federal court decision that could eventually have a major impact on resort communities throughout the West.

The ruling means residents can vote twice in local elections: once back home and once in their vacation homes in the Mountain Village.

David Reed, the lawyer representing the Mountain Village, said the office of U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Daniels had informed him the judge had granted a summary judgment in favor of the town.

Reed said he hadn't seen the decision yet, but he believes Daniels "concurred there is a sufficient nexus between second home owners and the operation of the town to allow them the right to vote in municipal matters."

Daniels ruled in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a Joan May, a fulltime resident of the Mountain Village who contends allowing non-residents to vote is unconstitutional.

Then-Police Chief Jim Prendergast resigned, saying he opposed giving wealthy non-residents a vote on municipal government.

"What if all the ski towns adopted something like this and you owned land in Aspen, Vail and Telluride. Can you vote in all

three?" May said.

James Johnson Jr., an Eagle County commissioner, said the practice of allowing non-residents to vote would trigger a backlash. Johnson said people would feel "not only do I not have their money, and cannot get a good job, but I cannot determine our future through the electoral process."

The Snowmass Resort Property Owners' Association has been studying whether to support allowing second home owners to vote there. The decision would have to be made by the Snowmass Town Council.

When the case was filed in January, the ACLU also was contesting the Mountain Village's decision to require people who didn't own property to live in the community for six months before they could vote.

This especially infuriated opponents who said it meant celebrity home owners like Oprah Winfrey and Oliver Stone could vote but newly arrived residents couldn't.

Reed said the town has amended its charter to make the residency requirement 30 days in line with the state of Colorado's requirement for voting in state elections.

And Mayor Darrell Huschke, the most vocal supporter of the voter residency rules, was ousted as mayor by the council.

Mark Silverstein, ACLU legal director for Colorado, said he would have to "study the decision before making a decision" on whether to appeal Daniels' ruling. Daniels' decision would have to be upheld by a federal appeals court before it could affect other resort towns in the West.

The Mountain Village is separate from the town of Telluride. Mountain Village residents, who number about 800, voted to incorporate more than a year ago.