Libertarian Mulder Targets Western Slope Zoning and Wolf Policy

Aspen —A $14 million project. Twelve units. That’s the kind of math that doesn’t work on paper, let alone in practice. But Eric Mulder, the Libertarian candidate for Colorado governor, has a different answer to the Western Slope’s housing crisis. He doesn’t want to build more units with state money. He wants to let you build them in your backyard.

Mulder is running in the Nov. 3 midterm election, and his platform reads like a direct challenge to the current legislative approach. Where Denver has focused on Front Range density and state-funded construction, Mulder is pointing a finger at local governments. He argues that municipalities and counties hold the real power over zoning, not the governor’s office. His solution? Deregulation. Specifically, he wants localities to embrace "housing diversity" by allowing mobile home communities, tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, and multifamily housing. The goal is to let market forces create permanent shelter for various income levels without the state stepping in with a checkbook.

This stance creates an immediate friction point with the resort towns that make up much of the High Country. The Aspen Times asked Mulder directly if he supports legislation to tax or limit vacant homes and short-term rentals. The answer was a hard "no."

Mulder’s reasoning is legalistic rather than economic. He argues that state laws limiting vacant home and short-term rental ownership would run into federal regulatory restrictions and likely be overturned by the Supreme Court. Instead of taxing the empty house on the hill, he believes housing diversity will naturally reduce costs by increasing supply. It’s a libertarian bet on market correction over legislative intervention.

The water fight is another area where Mulder’s answers diverge from the typical political script. He asserts that Colorado has consistently upheld its end of the bargain regarding Colorado River usage. For future security, he looks to biology rather than infrastructure. He supports the continued reintroduction of beavers and river otters, arguing these animals naturally increase water tables and wetlands. He claims this conserves more water without harming livestock populations, a point that will likely draw scrutiny from ranchers who have seen the impact of beaver dams on their land.

On wolves, Mulder proposes a reevaluation of the reintroduction program. He draws a sharp line between wild herds and livestock. He argues wolves thrive in vast areas with minimal human contact, where they naturally cull elk and moose, improving wild herd health. But he notes that ranchers already manage livestock health, so wolves aren’t needed for culling. Worse, he says, wolves induce stress in livestock not used to them. His proposed fix is a geographic one: focus reintroduction efforts on vast state parks with designated wild herd and fauna management zones. Keep the wolves away from the working ranches.

Mulder’s answers to these five questions paint a candidate who wants to shrink the state’s footprint. He sees zoning, water management, and wildlife policy as local or biological problems, not state legislative ones.

For the neighbors in Glenwood Springs, Steamboat, or Durango, the practical impact is a shift in where they look for relief. If Mulder wins, expect pressure on city councils to change zoning codes rather than a new state housing fund. Expect the wolf program to be redrawn with park boundaries in mind, potentially removing wolves from adjacent ranch land. And expect the short-term rental market to remain untaxed by the state, leaving that fight squarely in local hands.

The question isn’t whether his ideas are popular. They aren’t, not yet. The question is whether the Western Slope’s voters will trade the comfort of state intervention for the uncertainty of local deregulation. Mulder is betting they will.