Kevin Burns looks to fill mom’s shoes on Dillon Town Council
summit daily news
Editor’s note: This is the second in a five-part series looking at the potential candidates and issues of the 2012 municipal elections in Summit County. Each story will focus on the political landscape of a different town. Attempts to contact some candidates were unsuccessful.
There are already five possible hats in the ring for the three seats that will open up on the Dillon Town Council in April, including that of Kevin Burns, who is looking to fill the void left by his mother, Lucinda Burns.
Lucinda Burns said she will step down from the council in April.
“It’s really a time-constraint issue for me,” she said. “I certainly enjoyed being on the town council, I just need to create some more time in my life.”
Burns is also the director of Early Childhood Options, a local nonprofit.
But her son, Kevin Burns, who graduated from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a degree in political science, is ready to take over her seat.
“I think the town’s moving in a direction toward getting more people into the downtown area,” said Burns, a Summit County native who now works for a local PR firm, Summit Information Services. “That’s very exciting for the town. … I want to continue doing that kind of work.”
But Burns wasn’t the only candidate enthralled by the opportunities to strengthen downtown Dillon. Several candidates, including newcomer Erik Jacobsen, also put an enriched and reinvigorated downtown on their priority lists.
“I think the key issue is really the economy,” said Jacobsen, a financial advisor. “Especially on a local level, to allow the town to do whatever it takes to attract businesses and get some economic growth.”
The Dillon Town Council approved the implementation of a “tax increment financing district” (TIF), which is expected to help fund redevelopment.
Incumbents John Mackey and Doug Roessel’s seats are also up for grabs in April. Mackey could not be immediately reached for comment, but Roessel has announced plans to seek re-election this spring.
“I’m trying to keep the things the current council has put in place … rolling,” said Roessel, owner of Elevation Fitness and Academy of Rock.
Terry King, a fresh face on the Dillon political scene, is also considering a run for office.
“I had never run for any kind of public office before, but I have a lot of management ability,” said King, an accountant turned ski instructor who moved to Summit County from Mississippi four years ago. “I had a lot of financial background and I thought I could put those talents of mine to good use. I’ve been semi-retired, but I miss the action of some of those things I used to do.”
Vicki Menzer, who could not be immediately reached for comment, has also picked up a candidate petition, though that does not constitute a firm commitment to run for office.
The candidates must turn in a petition with signatures of registered Dillon voters supporting their run to the town clerk’s office by March 2 to get their names on the ballot.
Only Dillon residents will be allowed to vote in the town’s municipal election April 3.
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