Ep. 22 takes a deep-dive on the affordable housing crisis exacerbated by the pandemic-fueled mountain town housing boom. The issue is currently playing out in towns across the west and is on the minds of workers, longtime locals, elected officials, and regional housing authorities. The lack of affordable housing is more acute than ever and has transitioned into a labor crisis. Guests Jason Blevins and Skippy Mesirow offer their deep understanding of the topic coupled with first-hand knowledge. We honed in on the problem and offered potential solutions to this volatile issue that is truly an existential threat to the character that makes our mountain communities so special.

Jason Blevins is an award-winning writer at The Colorado Sun, a digital media outlet focused on local journalism directed by readers and owned by journalists. Jason has been covering Colorado business – sports, tourism, mountain culture, and the resort industry – for decades and recently penned several in-depth stories on the affordable mountain town housing crisis currently impacting Colorado.

Skippy Mesirow is serving his first term as Aspen’s youngest City Councilperson and has served as a political intern, staffer, campaign manager, activist, and organizer at the national, state, and now hyper-local levels. To subsidize his public service habit, he is the general manager of SkyRun Aspen, a vacation rental and property management business. Skippy is an outspoken advocate for affordable housing in Aspen and chairman of the board for the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority.