If Toby Babich wins a seat on the Blue River Board of Trustees April 3, he’ll be the town’s first elected official in decades to have been chosen by the voters.

Rare though he may be as a challenger, he certainly looks prepared to make a serious bid for the board.

He flips through a copy of the town’s modest budget when asked about finances and new taxes – which he would oppose, he says, unless the town had some specific project to which the revenue would be dedicated.

His platform is neatly typed up, highlighting his priorities: connecting Blue River to existing transit systems, improving the town’s communication with residents and wildfire mitigation.

He even has campaign cards, complete with a QR code, promising he will be “listening to, working for (and) representing you.”

“I’ve got a really strong commitment to public service,” said Babich, who owns a Breckenridge lodging company and is a member of the Breck lodging association. “Not only in Breckenridge, but in Blue River as well.”

He decided to step up as the first candidate in recent memory to challenge the incumbent trustees because he said he saw gaps in the government, particularly in the area of communication.

“That’s the basis for everything,” Babich said. “It’s difficult to really accomplish a goal in a town like Blue River without having communication.”

He advocates taking pointers from the towns of Breckenridge and Vail, which use social media and the Internet to keep the public updated on council proceedings, and assessing the public need before taking action, citing a Blue River road-paving initiative that tanked at the polls a few years ago.

He also wants to see a public transportation system extended into Blue River through the Breckenridge Free Ride or Summit Stage systems – something the existing board of trustees has discussed.

Babich wouldn’t favor new taxes – his review of the town budget indicates Blue River has a healthy fund balance – unless there were plans in place to use the revenue for infrastructure improvements. If elected, he wouldn’t hesitate to suggest a few.

“One of the first things I want to do with the Summit Stage is really set a long-range plan for the town as far as how we want it to function and how we want to serve our residents,” he said.

Babich lived in Blue River as a child and moved back with his own family four years ago. In addition to running his business, he serves on the board of the Timberline Learning Center, the Breckenridge Marketing Advisory Committee and Breckenridge Central Reservations.

Municipal elections are set for April 3. Only registered voters residing in the Blue River town limits will be able to vote in the town trustee election.