The last time Ethan Funk ran for office, he was in elementary school, and he ran for student council.

The challenger in Ouray’s mayoral race isn’t one for the spotlight, or politics, particularly. But since his appointment to the council in 2019, he has learned a lot and has some ideas about how he’d do things differently if he ran the meetings.

Funk, 49, views his bid for mayor as a test of sorts, a survey of constituents.

“I’m taking a vote to see if I’m wasting my time or not,” he ...