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Aspen council approves ballot question to replace gendered charter language
Summary
Council approved second reading of a charter amendment that replaces gender‑specific terms (he/him, councilman) with gender‑neutral language; the change must be approved by voters to take effect.
The Aspen City Council on Aug. 26 unanimously approved a second reading of Ordinance 9 to place a charter amendment question on the ballot asking voters to replace gender‑specific terms with gender‑neutral language.
City Attorney (on the record at the meeting) explained that because the change amends the city charter it requires voter approval and will not take effect unless the electorate approves the measure. The ordinance lists the affected sections (22 sections cited in the ordinance) and will be assigned a referendum number once the county clerk processes the ballot language.
The council characterized the update as a non‑substantive modernization that changes pronouns (he/she) to they/them and replaces uses of 'councilman' and 'councilmen' with 'council member.' It does not alter the substantive rights or duties in the charter. The council directed staff to make the ordinance and ballot language available to the public.
