Seven candidates vying for four Vail Town Council seats

The Vail Town Clerk’s Office has received and validated nomination petitions from seven candidates, including two incumbents, who have filed to run for the four open Vail Town Council seats in the Nov. 5 election.

The deadline for submitting nomination petitions was 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4. Eligibility requirements include being a U.S. citizen, a registered Vail voter, a resident of Vail for two years immediately preceding the election and collection of a minimum of 10 valid signatures from registered Vail voters on a nomination petition. The candidates who successfully filed petitions by the Oct. 4 deadline are (in alphabetical order):

• Jenn Bruno
• Dale Bugby
• Sounia Nejad Chaney
• Dave “Bone” Chapin
• Meighen Lovelace
• Greg Moffet
• Susie Tjossem

Moffet and Tjossem are incumbents. The remaining two seats up for election are held by Kerry Donovan and Kevin Foley. Foley is term-limited and cannot run again, while Donovan has opted to run for the Colorado State Senate in lieu of re-election.

Ballot order for the seven candidates will be determined following a drawing by the Town Clerk’s Office at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 7 in the Municipal Building.

Vail’s Nov. 5 election is an at-the-polls format with all voting taking place at the Town of Vail Municipal Building, 75 S. Frontage Rd., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters who won’t be casting ballots in person at the polls on Nov. 5 must fill out an application for a mail-in/early voter ballot. The application form is available from the Town Clerk’s Office or on the town’s website at www.vailgov.com. The deadline to submit a mail-in/early voting request form for out of state delivery is Oct. 25 to be able to return the voted ballot to the Town Clerk’s Office by the Nov. 5 deadline. Anyone receiving a mail-in ballot becomes ineligible to vote at the polls.

Early voting will begin at the Vail Municipal Building on Oct. 24 and will continue through Nov. 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Eligible voters include those who are U.S. citizens, are 18 years of age or older and have established residency within the Town of Vail 22 days preceding the election. Voter registration is available between now and Oct. 28 through the State of Colorado online voter registration system. To register, go to https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuVerifyExist.do. Voters will also be able to register in person at the Eagle County Clerk & Recorder’s offices up to the day of election. To verify if you are currently registered to vote, visit https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuVoterSearch.do.

Town of Vail elections are non-partisan. In accordance with the town’s charter, voters may select up to four candidates. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will serve four-year terms, while the fourth highest vote-getter will serve a two-year term. The mayor and mayor-pro tem are elected from among the council members and each serves a two-year term.

In addition to the Town of Vail regular municipal election, Eagle County will mail a separate ballot for any Eagle County, state or special district elections. For information on the county election, contact the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder’s Office at 970-328-8715. For questions about the Vail election, contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 479-2460.