Kissing Babies and other campaign tales from Aspen.

Office Hours on Ajax. Vote: Andy 4 Aspen.I am now firmly entrenched in a political campaign in Aspen.  I am running for City Council.  There are 2 seats available and 7 candidates running.   

Not just in Aspen...but all over America there seems to be a disconnect between the citizens and their elected officials.  Trust...seems like a thing of the past in our country.  Finally, I am moved to take action.  To stand up and be heard.  I'm not a politician...I'm a ski bum / blogger and a former numbers guy.    Yes my education and experience is exceptional...but in this race that makes me under-qualified...or over-qualified depending on your viewpoint.  But I will tell you one thing...I like it when other people under-estimate me.  

Perhaps you've seen my simple platform:

1) No 7 hour meetings.   Reasonable people do not conduct public businees at 1 am

2) Simplify the Zoning Code.   Lets make one set of rules and enforce them consistently.

3) Fiscal Responsibility.  Just because Aspen has a $100+ million budget, doesn't mean we need to make poor decisions about money.

I've learned a lot in the first week of my first campaign.  I've learned its easy to be a critic and very difficult to be a leader.  I'm going to do my best, because I believe in the future of Aspen, because I love Aspen and I want to help Aspen be the best Aspen possible, and I'm just the guy to do it.

So I'm out there kissing babies and other stuff.

CLICK 4 the RECENT INK ABOUT ANDY 4 ASPEN.

ACRA Forum (video)

Probeline with BGS (video)

Aspen Democratic Forum (video)

Aspen Times on Election Social Media

ASPEN DAILY NEWS Q & A.

Residency Issue (Aspen Times)

THE ASPEN TIMES

ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO (NPR)

Aspen Sports Summit: Do Not Miss It.

One of the best parts of living in Aspen is the vast array of cultural, educational and entertainment options...in addition to our fabulous landscape.  

One upcoming event that I am truly excited about is the Aspen Sports Summit, a two day conference scheduled for March 27 & 28 at Aspen Meadows.   Aspen Sports Summit will bring together top professionals in the fields of HEALTH, FITNESS, MEDICINE and SPORTS TRAINING to present their cutting-edge ideas about how one can achieve peak physical performance.  These industry leaders will cover a wide spectrum of topics about the human body, health and fitness and the best ways to get the most out of your physical, mental and nutritional training.   Aspen Sports Summit is Education with a Mission.

Click  ASPEN SPORTS SUMMIT to get all the info and to register.

Presented by Bill Fabrocini and The Aspen Club, Aspen Sports Summit will have something for everyone. Whether you're a professional athlete (almost everyone in Aspen is, right?) a competitive amateur or just an old ski bum like me...you're sure to learn something at Aspen Sports Summit that will help you improve your athletic performance and keep you healthy.  

Click the SCHEDULE to review the agenda and click SPEAKERS to see the talented group of health and medical professionals.   

Aspen Sports Summit is a "do not miss" event.  We look forward to seeing you there.

The Party Political Platform for Aspen.

It's official.  Because it's on Facebook.

Andrew M.  Israel, aka AspenSpin, aka Andy Party aka The Political Virgin has declared his candidacy for Aspen City Council.  

The time has come for me to speak up.  I believe the political process in Aspen is broken.  I have personally lost trust in "the system" and it's my goal to be a catalyst for positive change in Fat City.

To quote Moe and Larry of the the 3 Stooges--- "can we fix it"--- "i dunno can we?"  Now is the time for me to try.   Most people know me as the #1 blogger in Aspen who skis every day and party's every night.  But I am very proud of my past professional, philanthropic and academic success.

I grew up in suburban Detroit.  It was sort of a Leave it to Beaver type childhood, with two grounded parents. I am the youngest of 3 brothers.  I earned a B.S. in Accounting  from Michigan State University,1980 and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, 1985.  I practiced as a C.P.A. in Michigan and Colorado for 3 years prior to attending The Wharton School. I am currently a licensed Real Estate Broker in Michigan and Colorado.  I spent more than 5 years working for The Taubman Company, a super-regional shopping center developer, owner and manager.  At Taubman I worked on projects such as Beverly Center in L.A., Cherry Creek in Denver and The Mall at Short Hills in NJ.  I had a wide variety of real estate experiences at Taubman, including leasing, management and strategy.

In 1992, I began a new phase in my career, managing money at Morgan Stanley in NYC.  In those days Morgan had a small but elite high net worth division.  I was chosen to join that group as one 200 professionals around the World .  I performed as a stock broker, investment advisor, money manager and hand holder to the top 1% of the 1%.  Billionaires only.  My timing was fortuitous and I developed a talent for picking and trading stocks and equity options.  I personally profited handsomely from the 90's bull market and managed to "retire" to Aspen in 2003.  Since then I have logged over 1100 ski days.    I served as a PSIA Level 1 Certified Ski Instructor for 3 seasons at ButterMilk and then founded AspenSpin in 2006.  AspenSpin a is a life-style blog that documents the over-the-top social scene in Aspen. The rest.... it's documented history on Facebook, twitter and AspenSpin.

The Party Political Platform for Aspen is quite simple;

1)  No 7 hour meetings.   Not only is a meeting that long and late ridiculous, its unproductive.

2)  Simplify the process. One set of codes and laws enforced consistently for everyone. 

3)  Promote financial stewardship and fiduciary responsibility as a core value in the City of Aspen.

Aspen Drinks; The Après Ski Cocktail Classic.

Aspen is a town that likes to drink.  With 100 bars in the six block core of Aspen, grabbing a cocktail is quite easy. Skiing is probably still the main sport in Aspen, but Aprês skiing may have the highest level of participation.

Click 4 Pix:   ASPEN DRINKS

The APRÈS SKI COCKTAIL CLASSIC  ( ASCC) relocated their offerings from Snowmass to Aspen for their 3rd annual event.  The ASCC presents a wide variety of alcohol related programs throughout the weekend.   Seminars, spirit and cocktail paired dinners, tastings and sponsored bars took place all over town.  According to ASCC producer Joe Lang, "well over 2000" revelers enjoyed the festivities this past weekend.  Liquor brands, (both major and micro) from all over the world were in Aspen showcasing their products.   The ASCC is all grown up and is poised to stake it's claim on the Aspen event calender.   Sign up for next year, Click  APRÈS SKI COCKTAIL CLASSIC.

AspenSpin is forgoing the grog this entire ski season.  A. Party has not had one sip of booze since early November. But that doesn't mean we don't like to have fun.  We attended the ASCC grand tastings and participated in the city-wide pub crawl.  Despite staying away from the firewater...we did get all jacked up on ginger beer, but still managed to snap some siiiiiick pix.  There were a lot of inebriated people cruising the streets of Aspen...which made our job that much easier.

Click 4 Pix:   ASPEN DRINKS