From swimming lessons at the John M. Fleet Municipal Pool and working at the Red Rock Diner to graduating from Roaring Fork High School, raising a family in Carbondale and serving two terms on the Town of Carbondale Board of Trustees, Erica Sparkhawk knows what it means to be part of her hometown community. 

Now, as Carbondale’s new Mayor, she is bringing that lifelong connection to the role with a focus on sustainability, conservation, and representation.

“I’ve always taken the approach of sustainability and conservation, which is a really high priority to both the residents and the Town of Carbondale,” Sparhawk said. “Having grown up here, I’ve always felt as if I could bring a good perspective. I also have kids and coach soccer, so I’m interacting with many diverse members of our community. 

“I have always felt as if I were the type of person who could be on a board and help make decisions because I represent our community,” she continued. “I don’t approach anything with the ‘I know everything’ mindset, because it’s much more about serving this community that I love and making sure all voices are represented when we make our decisions.”

Sparhawk has dedicated her life to sustainability, conservation, and equity, both professionally and personally. 

The two-time Ram, graduating from both Roaring Fork High School and Colorado State University, explained that growing up in Carbondale with dedicated parents and respected community members helped instill the drive that led her to the mayoral office, and that passion first emerged in high school. 

“I was a little bit of an activist in high school,” she smiled. “A couple of my girlfriends and I were the ones who first started the Roaring Fork Rams girls’ soccer team. I had played with the boys, which was fine, but there was a coach who didn’t want to play me because I was a girl, so we started our own team.

“It wasn’t easy at all,” she continued. “The school district didn’t have much money, so they didn’t want to pay for our coach, they didn’t want to pay for our uniforms. There were many problems, but there was never any question in my mind — we just kept looking forward, and we made it happen. That was what it was like growing up here — we were raised to make sure nobody was being taken advantage of.”

While Sparhawk’s professional life took her from nonprofits and clean energy resource management to food waste collection and local politics, her never-ending drive for equity has only gotten stronger. 

After nearly a decade on the board of trustees, Sparhawk said she felt strong community support before she even threw her hat into the mayoral candidate race — a sentiment further supported by the near 1,400 votes (88%) she received during the election. 

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After former Mayor Ben Bohmfalk announced he wouldn’t be seeking a second term, Sparhawk explained she fielded countless calls, texts and grocery store chats requesting her leadership. Still, it wasn’t until her youngest daughter gave her the green light that she felt fully confident in the campaign.

“It was really important to me to make sure that my family was on board, because I have been on council for eight years, and this is a huge time commitment,” Sparhawk explained. “It was actually my freshman who was like, ‘You need to do this, the community really wants you to,’

“That was really meaningful for me because she will be in high school for my entire term,” she continued. “It was almost like the community was requesting me to run. There were so many people in the community who knew he wasn’t going to run again, so that I would see them at First Friday or the grocery store, and they would ask me, ‘You’re going to run for Mayor, right?’ At a certain point, I was kind of like, if everybody really wants me to do this, I think I should step up.”

As she nears her second decade in public service, Sparhawk said the most important thing she’s learned is to listen to anyone and everyone about their perspectives. She used the example of accessible childcare as an issue that signifies the importance of different voices.

“There have been discussions that we’ve had on town council that it’s been really important we had women at the table,” Sparhawk said. “Every board should be made up of a mix of people from the community, because they all bring a different perspective. 

“Having moms and parents on the board is important because they’re able to interact with so many other parents, and have a real grasp over the community’s struggles,” she continued. “In our valley, we know how hard it is to make it with just one income, so you see fewer stay-at-home parents, and you really see the need for finding childcare. That’s just one example of having people on the board feeling the community’s struggles and giving direction to the staff and saying, ‘this is a priority.'”

Sparhawk’s personality and drive for the community’s success made her a perfect replacement for Bohmfalk, as she knows the best results come from an invested worker. Now, being able to show her kids their voices have a real impact means more to her than anything else she could get out of the job. 

“I’m so grateful for the support I’ve felt from our community. I don’t think I would have moved forward without it,” Sparhawk said. “Now I have a chance for my kids to see the impact that you can have by just raising your voice. That opportunity is very special to me.”