A wealthy Colorado ski town popular with owners of vacation homes is considering expanding voting rights to allow the owners of LLCs and trusts to have their say in local elections.
Mountain Village, which was first incorporated in 1995 just outside Telluride, is looking to make a move no other town or city in the U.S. has made, in response to the view that, if an individual pays taxes in the community, then they should have a vote.
Currently only two states, Connecticut and Delaware, allow nonresidents to vote in municipal elections, but they do not allow for trusts and LLCs to be put on voter rolls.
"Some of our council members feel that the voices of second homeowners who own their homes in LLCs or trusts for various financial or legal reasons are being left out of the conversation in Mountain Village," Town Manager Paul Wisor told Newsweek in an interview Friday.
The proposal, which is being discussed at-length at various council meetings, would allow no more than two LLC members to vote in local elections for council members, mayors and new regulations.
Mountain Village was born out of an idea to build a ski resort close to the mining town of Telluride. It has since grown into a village known for its sprawling vacation properties, which in turn generate revenue to grow the community further. Before the mid 1990s, Mountain Village was a special district which then became an incorporated town.
As of April 2024, the town had around 1,160 individual property owners, but many more homes were owned through LLCs and trusts. It's estimated around 153 trusts and 566 LLCs would benefit from the voting rule change, if approved.
Currently, second homeowners have to choose a residence from which they wish to register to vote, even if they split their time between the two and therefore contribute to the tax rolls of both communities.
"There are a lot of people who contribute financially to the Mountain Village community but ultimately don't have a say in how those revenues are spent by the Mountain Village government," Wisor said. "Those folks believe they have just as much a right as anybody else to vote in our elections."
The town manager said that commercial interests would not be able to influence votes, as the proposal includes limitations only allowing two voters per LLC and one per trust, however many properties they may own in the town.
On Thursday, the council held the first reading for the motion. While the council said it had worked to ensure elections would not be adversely affected by the change and instead increase participation, some locals voiced their frustration with the proposal.
"All of these votes come from the very top of the socioeconomic class," Paul Savage, a nine-year full-time resident of Mountain Village, said at the meeting. "Predominantly white property owners who can afford a vacation home in a posh ski resort.
"This is not representative government."
Savage said that while second homeowners should be represented, they should not be given the right to vote in Mountain Village.
Another long-time resident said his financial advisor was telling him and his wife should put their assets into a trust for the best outcome, but that such a move would lose them the right to vote.
"I have been involved in the community since we moved here in the mid-80s," Jim Royer told the meeting.
"One of the reasons we bought land here was because it had the unique opportunity that as a homeowner we could vote, we could be involved in the community."
Royer said he was hopeful the council could iron out the details of the proposal to ensure residents invested in Mountain Village, who were simply looking out for their assets, could still participate in their community.
"If you want to eliminate a significant part of the population of this community, if you want to say: 'We don't want to hear from them, we just want their money', that's a pretty harsh statement," Royer added.
The council ultimately decided that the change will not go for a vote until June 2025, as part of a regular election. Officials will do further work on clarifying the details of the motion whose fate voters will eventually determine.
About the writer
Dan Gooding is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. His focus is reporting on immigration and the U.S.-Mexico ... Read more
