The numbers don’t lie. 1 county, 6 local cities, 12 pages of #YSElectionGuide covering 16 ballot measures and propositions, with 68 candidates vying for local office. Almost 2 months of research and in-depth, mandatory in-person interviews later (emailed interviews are usually written by communication staff or vetted by professionals before being returned), we present our annual Yellow Scene Election Guide. 

Read up, ask questions, debate, and make the decision that best supports the future we all need to see. Use your mind, your heart, and your hope. Then Vote Accordingly.

Election interviews conducted by Brian Heuberger, Kristin Hersh, Shavonne Blades, and De La Vaca.

#YSEndorsements are marked clearly with a YS logo:

  

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Boulder City Council

Aaron Brockett

Bio: Owner of a small software engineering firm. Planning Board from 2011-2015, including the last two years as Chair, Council since 2015.

Platform: Affordable housing, transportation via transit alternatives; social justice issues,  support for our small businesses.

Education: The achievement gap.

SRO’s: Leans Support. Transit: We need to increase funding.

Housing: Allow additional new housing to be built, have redevelopment opportunities to convert old commercial corridors into walkable mixed use communities, make accessible dwelling units easier to build.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: Current budget is strong, but we need a 20% reserve level.  Massive gap in library funding.

O&G/Climate: SB 181 was a step in the right direction to prioritizing health, but it should have gone farther and allowed cities and counties to unequivocally forbid oil and gas development in their territories.  

Renewables: Support.

Adam Swetlik

Bio: Went to CU. Has been working two jobs ever since to keep up with the costs of living in Boulder. Chair of the Housing Advisory Board.

Platform: Affordable Housing: Increase inclusionary housing percentages, head tax on large corporations, overhauling our engagement process.

Ed: Increase pay for teachers, support increase in education taxes.

SRO’s: Supports

Transportation: Alternatives to RTD, smaller buses with a smaller carbon footprints, better routes and options.  Create incentives to get out of our cars.

Housing: Increase inclusionary housing percentage from 25% to 35% to provide more units, and provide down payment assistance programs.   Implement progressive luxury home taxes, vacation home taxes, and head taxes on large businesses. Impose maximum size requirements.

Prop CC: Supports.

Budget & Revenue: Support an open space program that would create a sales tax and provide more funding for 20 more years.  Support small businesses.

O&G/Climate: Ban fracking in Boulder and support neighboring cities in the county who are engaged in fights against oil and gas. 

Renewables? Support.

Bob Yates

Bio: Law school at the University of California. Partner in a law firm in Omaha. I helped start a small company called Level Three Communications. I realized I didn’t just want to be remembered for being a lawyer and starting a company. Got involved in nonprofits; proudest achievement is the new museum. I ran for the city council and ended up getting elected.

Platform: Number one issue is affordable housing. We don’t have equitable housing. We need to focus more on middle-income housing.

Ed: No answer

SRO’s: No answer

Transit: Our roads are not at the level that we would like them to be. We need to make sure our roads are safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. We need to look at ways we can complement the services the city provides. We need to partner with other cities to create a robust regional transit service that will complement what RTD is doing.

PropCC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: To increase transportation funding we could Increase sales tax. A second option is to increase property tax. Colorado has the fifth lowest property tax rates in the nation. A third option is head taxes. It’s based upon the number of employees.

Housing: Unclear answer.

O&G/Climate:  Boulder has a fracking ban. Counties and cities should be able to have a say because they each have different values and standards.

Renewables: Supports.

Mark Wallach

Bio: Real estate attorney; worked with real estate development. Served on the advisory council commission, I’ve been active in politics in Mississippi, and a speechwriter for Senator Bill Bradely from New Jersey.

Platform: Affordable housing, efficient transportation, smart economic development, growth management, and social justice.

Ed: Boulder has declining enrollment, but that also relates to housing problems. Vaping in schools has also become a total health crisis; I’m in favor of increased restrictions.

SRO’s: Does not support.

Transit: We need to give people an alternative to get out of the car. We need covered bus stops, smaller and more frequent buses, and added bus services to Longmont. We also need more feasible bike lanes and reduced speed limits for cars.

Housing: We need to look at our underutilized assets regarding land, focus on repurposing buildings, and convert older commercial complexes into affordable housing developments.

Junie Joseph

Bio: Grew up in Haiti, moved to the US at 14. Worked for the United Nations; Human Rights Officer for the Central African Republic. I served in the Obama White House working with social justice, political inclusion, and specifically Native American Affairs.  

Platform: Socioeconomic diversity and political inclusion. Affordable Housing.

Education: Continue to support CU. More diversity in lower education.

SRO’s: No Response.

Transportation: More to provide bus stops, bus services, the last miles, more access to walk or bike.

Prop CC: No Response.

Budget & Revenue: Be more efficient with the budget. Support progressive taxes, including luxury items.

Housing: Housing relates to all other issues.  If you believe in socioeconomic diversity, political inclusion, or the environment, you should be for housing.

Environment: Get off fossil fuels. Protect the environment and people.

Renewables: Support.

Corina Julca

Bio: Immigrant from Peru. In Peru, Corina worked as a high school teacher and college instructor. She is now a full-time mom, raising her son and daughter, together with her husband.

Platform: I am running for City Council to represent the vanishing middle class, the vulnerable and immigrant populations, and my neighbors in the Opportunity Zone.

Education: Access to better education through affordable housing.

SRO’s: Leans Support.

Transit: I will enact policies that improve public transportation, local and regional. I will support peak train service to Longmont and partner with other  to hold RTD accountable for FasTracks. We need to improve both transportation within Boulder and within the region, especially to Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette and the Broomfield-Westminster area cities

Prop CC: Supports.

Housing: Helping middle-income residents stay in Boulder is one of my main goals. Implementing a net increase in permanently affordable housing constitutes another primary goal.

O&G/Climate: Prioritize reducing Boulder’s carbon footprint. Will do what I can to combat fracking.

Brian Dolan

Bio: Boulder local since a toddler. An actual member of the community

Platform: Community engagement, Open space, Affordable housing, Addressing climate change – reducing emissions, moving towards 100% renewable.

Ed: Overcrowding, lack of infrastructure in HS; Other levels not enough students.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Transportation on Boulder is underfunded; 60,000 in-commuters daily; Work towards incentivizing carpooling; Increase cost for parking in biz districts; In-commuter parking on the outskirts of town – shuttle bus.

Prop CC: Unclear answer.

Revenue & Budget: Give people incentives for not driving directly in boulder, add a cost for in-commuters.

Housing: Protect current stock of affordable housing; Can’t add thru development, needs to be paid for on its own.

O&G/Climate: Against fracking for multiple reasons, need broader energy solutions, expand the areas they CAN’T frack in.

Renewables: Supports.

Final remarks: There’s a lot of issues facing Boulder, we need leader listening to the whole community. Need representative forward thinking plans not reactionary.

Gala Orba

BIO: I am a scientist, dancer, landlady, Life Coach, activist, and a devoted public servant. BS in Actuarial Science Mathematics from DePaul University. Teaching license from CU’s School of Ed in 2014. Served the community as an area coordinator for the democratic party. 

Platform: police oversight, protecting arts and artists, flood mitigation, enforcement of the Assault Weapons Ban and the new Colorado Red Flag Law, $15/hr minimum wage, economic improvements, etc.

Ed:I hope to implement co-teaching of all subjects in schools.  Co-Teaching is a more effective and efficient way to educate the youth and leads to better classroom management, comprehension, student engagement, happier and less stressed teachers, and better test scores for students.

SRO’s: Does not support.

Transit: People take buses and public transportation for granted. We’re going to have to allocate more tax dollars if we want better transportation structures.

Prop CC: Supports.

Budget & Revenue: No answer

Housing: I would like to repeal the 1981 prohibition on rent control. Encourage our landlords to be fair and just. I also support our city’s 15% goal wholeheartedly.

O&G/Climate: I am anti-fracking and pro-renewable energy. Supports legislation in this area. 

Renewables: Supports

Mark McIntyre

Bio: 42 year resident of Boulder. Student government, Transportation Advisory Board and Campaign Finance Working Group.

Platform: Stewardship of our environment, democracy and good governance, and social justice and equity.

Education: I come back to transportation. Open-enrollment requires we have safe routes to school.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: Reduce congestion and meet environment goals regarding less cars on the road and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.  Create real alternatives that are cost-effective.

Housing: Pro flexible accessible dwelling unit requirements or in-house dwelling units. Regulations are too restrictive. Continue to use developer fees to provide more housing options.

Prop CC: Support.

O&G/Climate: Support Boulder’s Moratorium. Supported Prop 112 and SB 181.

Renewables: Support.

Rachel Friend

Bio: Attorney with pro bono work for immigrants, educator that taught criminal justice, and an activist that works on flood mitigation with South Boulder Creek Action Group, the assault weapons ban with Moms Demand Action, and helping Democrats win races with Blue Rising and Colorado Resistance.

Platform: Flood mitigation, social justice, and good governance.

Ed: Many concerns, no solutions offered.

SRO’s?: Support, unarmed.

Transportation: I’d like to incentivize Boulder residents to use electric bikes, create more pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, and provide better first and last mile solutions.

Housing: We need more affordable houses. For property owned by the city, we should build family-friending housing and maximize affordable units.

Prop CC: Support.

Budget & Revenue: We need good governance. We have to be efficient; prioritize; and focus. For revenue, we need to use more progressive tax mechanisms.

O&G/Climate: Support the moratorium.

Renewables?: Support.

Final Remarks: I want what’s best for the maximum amount of people, I want to speak for those who don’t have a voice, and I want to make this a better place for our children. We haven’t done that to date.

Nikki McCord

Unavailable for Comment.

Andrew Celani

Unavailable for Comment.

Susan Peterson

Bio/Qualifications: Studied civil engineering, came to Denver in 1978. Code writer. Executive MBA. In charge of engineers globally as part of her work. 23 years as a professional, retired 2 years ago. It’s time to “pay it forward”.

Platform: Respect and value our natural beauty, Be serious about climate change, Deal with the impact of growing density and increasing traffic, foster a vibrant and sustainable community, good governance and management.

Ed: Wants to see tax allocation redone to support all students equally. Concerned about zoning that groups minority/low income populations into certain schools. Thinks open school policy is problematic: adds to traffic (climate issue), let’s wealthy choose schools (the poor have less ability).

SRO’s: No hard opinion.

Transit: Traffic mostly from incommuting. Three main areas to mitigate: housing stock in Boulder that meets labor needs (diverse, affordable); more mass transit with polls for some local roads; corporate responsibility to employees/community, satellite offices across region.

Prop CC: It was a good measure for its time, but outlived its usefulness. We need decisions on funds that are more dynamic. Support.

Budget & Revenue: Level off the sales tax. Tax single occupancy vehicles. Get better at public-private partnerships – get concessions, invest in employees/communities or impose a head tax, etc.

O&G/Climate: The “whole idea of drilling into the foundation of Mother Earth and thinking it’s not going to have downstream ill effects…is just crazy. Support the moratorium. Support 181. Supports efforts to stand with local communities; air quality affected by Weld County. Incentivize change at home level. Transition away from gas.

Renewables: Supports.

Housing: We don’t have housing stock that matches what the economy needs. Plans and programs to incentivize developers to build what’s needed (ease of permit, etc). Inclusionary housing program was a good start, needs work. Integrate affordability and linkage fees, income based programs, prioritize neighborhoods.

Paul Cure

BIO: University of Paris and then back to Boulder. We started a farm and operated it for the last 16 years. Vice President of Historic Boulder and Community Liaison for Highland City Club.

Platform: High-paying jobs with accessible hours, housing options that allow people to live here, and transportation to accommodate.  We need to embrace common values for common ground and focus on what brings us together as a community.

Ed: Get kids healthy local food, increase awareness regarding where food comes from. Getting kids out for real world experiences; focus on learning and education rather than just passing standardized tests.

SRO’s: Arming guards is a tough one because it’s militarizing education, and I’m not for that. The lockdown procedures seem fantastic.

Transit: No taxes on parents who do need to drive cars for work/kids and have no other option. Work with RTD to improve public transportation, and working with the university to eliminate cars on campus for the first two years.

Housing: Middle-income loans is a nice first step, but we should be innovative; need practical applications to opportunity zones.

Prop CC: Unclear answer.

Revenue & Budget: My main initiative is called Boulder Bucks. It’s a buy-in program, and a percentage of funds goes towards participating businesses and institutions.

Benita Duran

Bio: Boulder Resident for 26 years, 30 years local govt/ public sector professional, first time running for elected office. Former Assistant Boulder City Manager. Former aide to Denver Mayor Federico Pena. BA Economics, MPA Public Administration. Current trustee of Boulder Community Hospital and Commission on State Economic Development Commission. Fifth Generation Colorado Latina, born in Pueblo.

Platform: Create more win/win scenarios to address the issues of affordable and attainable housing in Boulder. Fiscal Health of City’s Budget. Economic Vitality in all business districts of Boulder. Environmental stewardship – support flood mitigation for South Boulder resident. Transportation infrastructure and climate action plan funding.

Ed: Utilization of public funds to support community resources and programs that serve our teens and young adults. I support the leadership of the city council in addressing issues that impact teens.  

SRO’s: Leans support.

Transit: Funding is one of the biggest problems and the related taxing structures. RTD is not serving Boulder/Boulder County envisioned. I support a Boulder County regional tax district, efforts to find city funding to fund free “NECO”  passes, and implementation of the city’s transportation master plan. 

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: Yes, Support of the Library District concept which would create separate taxing /funding district and review about $10M pressure on city’s general fund budget. It is also important to me to prioritize planning for an anticipated recession in the next 1-2 years.

O&G/Climate: Support the county commissioners, state leadership in providing for local control, the City of Boulder’s efforts to be an ally regionally. Job development and training needs to be a component of quality of lives and environment.

Renewables: Support.

Housing: I am supportive of all efforts that can broaden the opportunity to different and diverse opportunities, like ADU’s; I want to see that it is easier to work through the city process to do so.

Louisville City Council

Barbara Butterworth: WARD I

Bio: I worked for a Fortune 500 company for 18 years, and then I owned a small business called the Book Cellar for 16 years. Then my neighbors and friends encouraged me to run for city council.

Platform: Representative government, economic development, and business retention.

Ed: We need to focus on recruiting new teachers that are the best available, and provide ideal conditions so we can maintain the great teachers that we already have.

SRO’s: Leans support.

Transit: We need to improve the roads, add new bus services, and make transportation easy and convenient.

Housing: We need to make sure that the builders devote a portion for economic inclusion and affordable housing.

Prop CC: No Response.

Budget & Revenue: Maintaining the health of our current businesses is crucial; we need to retain the businesses that we have and recruit businesses that we want. Find ways to work with our economic developer to encourage businesses of all sizes to come here.

O&G/Climate: I truly believe that O&G shouldn’t come close to our residences. We have to keep them an adequate distance away from our communities.

Renewables Supports.

Caleb Dickinson: WARD I

Bio: Born in Boulder, raised locally. All his children are in the local public schools, local business owner. Sits on several local boards. Highly involved in the community.

Platform: More communication between the community and city council, local development boards, etc.

Ed: Advocate for full day kindergarten, more assistance in the classroom for teachers and students

SRO’s: Support

Transit: Focus on people not cars. What is the best way to get cars from point A to point B? The real question is the best way to get people from A to B. Connect areas with multimode transit.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: Utilize vacant retail spaces. Increase ways to get retail taxes. Louisville has a historical provision fund tax that faces little to no opposition. Keep sales revenue up and possibly increase sales tax.

O&G/Climate: I believe in environmental justice. We need to fight for environmental rights for urban communities.

Renewables: Supports

Sherry Sommer: WARD II

Bio: I have a BA & Masters in Political Science. I have studied what makes a good community most of my life and became involved in local development groups.

Platform: Implement Sustainability Plan, Economic development specifically parcel.

Ed: The schools need more funding. Parents need to be involved with the process.

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: Advocate with RTD, understand the needs of our community in context of mass transit. Encourage multi modal transportation. Increase walkability, bike paths, local and regionally.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenus & Budget: McCaslin – parcel O needs revitalization. Create a new business paradigm and encourage more commercial development, tenants. Support the changing retail environment.

Housing: We need a town that is welcoming to diverse populations. Work with the county; identify strategies that are a good fit. Preserve existing affordable housing. Perhaps creating a land trust or purchasing and ensuring preservation.

O&G/Climate: I agree that O&G has huge impacts on air and water and is a county problem. Local communities have more power and we need to represent the residents.

Renewables: Supports

Deb Fahey: WARD II

Unavailable for Comment. No Website

Bio: Resident 33 years, Director Memory Care Facility, BA Psychology CU

Platform: Business-friendly policies, create a “destination city” status for Louisville.

Gordon Madonna: WARD II

Unavailable for Comment. No Website.

Bio: Native of Colorado, Family since 1900, worked in mines, not a politician, municipal government employee, not accepting financial backing from anyone.

Platform & positions: Unknown

Dennis Maloney: WARD III

Unopposed

Unavailable for Comment. No Website

Bio: Retired from CU Boulder CTO. Increase business and commercial entities, increase bike and walking accessibility between homes and commercial.

Platform: Unavailable

Louisville Mayor

Don Brown

Bio/Qualifications: Former city council member from 2000-2008, sat on CSU Board of Law alumni board, YMCA Boulder services, VIA services and the Imagine board: lived in town 25 years, wrote Louisville first open space ordinance.

Platform: Pro Business, Sustainability, Activating existing empty commercial areas

Ed: Safety in our schools is paramount

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Rely on expert staff to make recs about appropriate solutions, “I’m not a traffic engineer and I don’t pretend to be one on tv”. Find ways to entice passers to reality, cooperate with local and state partners to appropriate increased buy-ins on our arteries and provide funding

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: Activating our commercial areas that are currently dormant, we have interested landowners looking for opportunities to collab on making that a profitable space for city and property owners. Rethink space for the next 25 years. We need to be proactive.

Housing: Fill in the gaps of our living. There are no places for young adults and “empty nesters” to go; we need to reinvigorate and reactivate our dormant spaces to take advantage.

O&G/Climate: Explore acquiring mineral oil and gas rights on our open space property; could be expensive but we should explore ways to keep Louisville and its citizens safe from oil and gas drilling. We will work to make sure it doesn’t happen in Louisville.

Renewables: Supports

Ashley Stolzmann

Bio/Qualifications: Graduated from Colorado School of Mines with highest scholastic honors and a degree in Chemical Engineering. Stolzmann has served on the Denver Regional Council of Governments board, and has served on its executive committee, as well as the regional transportation committee. She has acted as the Louisville Sustainability Board liaison and finance committee chair.

Ed: Funding shortfalls, students dealing with a lot of social and emotional problems, as well as gun violence. Our summer reading program via the library, as well as rec center activities, help provide our students with something to fill their gap of learning. We also promote safe paths to schools, such as biking and walking. We need to make sure that this is the community we live in from a crime and safety standpoint.

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: Audio Failure

Prop CC: Supports

O&G/Climate: Need to cut our emissions and reduce our impact of putting carbon in the air, while finding ways to pull carbon out of our air. Has been working with  Xcel to work on plans to get more renewable energy for our community. Has a proposal to have city facilities be 100% by next year, currently have thats 50% but hoping everyone on council supports the 100% proposal. We can’t wait til 2050.

Renewables: Supports

*Audio cut out. Technical issue.

Longmont City Council

Regan Sample: WARD III

Bio: Own a Financial Advisory and Real Estate business.

Platform: My top concern is our growth

Ed: Support open enrollment and better salaries for teachers.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: Revitalize the north and south corridors and make different neighborhood economic nodes for living, shopping, and destination spots. Work with neighbors for more effective transportation plans, work with CDOT and RTD.

Housing: I support the city plan for the 12 percent of construction set aside for permanently affordable housing. Clear and efficient zoning regulations so we can build affordable housing.   

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: Support small business, welcome tourism.

O&G/Climate: I definitely support SB 181. It should not be next to homes. Monitor the sites-especially at our borders.

Renewables: Longmont’s goal is by 2030, supports.

Jeff Moore: AT – LARGE

Bio: Worked as a self-employed contractor, a scientist, then engineer, developed several patents and published paper.

Platform: Gross housing costs, traffic congestion, and our environmental issues.

Education: Support pre-K and early childhood education.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Too many cars and the lack of RTD services needs to be addressed as a community.

Housing: Devoting money out of the general fund for subsidized housing units.

Prop CC: Does not Support.

Budget: Now that we are fiscally stable, we should prepare a rainy day reserve.

Environment: I am opposed to drilling within city limits. The bigger concern is the impact on the air quality coming from outside our city.

Renewables: Support.

Susan Hidalgo-Fahring: WARD III

Bio: My experience on the districts negotiations team has given me experience in many areas of budgeting and analyzing priority projects – fiscally responsible.

Platform: Affordable housing, Environment, Health and Safety

Ed: We need to look at funding from the state and make sure class sizes and resources are available. Suicide among students is an epidemic; we need to be able to identify and have resources. It comes down to having adequate funds to support those resource programs, build a network of community connections.

SRO’s: Does not support

Transit: Create an infrastructure that improves these multi-modes of transportation (bikes, walking, bus, RTD) and shuttle services. We need more RTD routes, they need to be readily available.

Prop CC: Supports

Revenue & Budgets: I would like to review where we are now and reanalyze some items, specifically incentives that are given to new developers.

O&G/Climate: We are in a climate crisis because of the types of energy we utilize. We need to be looking at other alternatives and begin making transitions. We need to be using the current research about emissions and enacting a firmer stance at the state level.

Renewables: Supports.

Housing: We need some new developers, build a more competitive market with developers building affordable housing. We need to focus on our most vulnerable residents and quality of life.

Ron Gallegos: AT – LARGE

Bio: I’m a Colorado Native, my family was one of the first Spanish families here. I own a finance company, I’m an abstract artist. I’ve also been a project and line manager for US West. I was on the council from 1995-1999. I’m a man with a plan and a vision for the future.

Platform: I aim to develop an economic model based on tourism. We should build-up downtown with recreational and performance centers to improve the community for our residents, attract tourists into our city, and generate more revenue for the government.

Ed: We need to look for opportunities to get some other higher education, private or state colleges for people in town. You have Front Range and IBC for vocational education, but we need to have more college opportunities and recruit them here.

SRO’s: No Response.

Transit: We need internal transportation systems in terms of buses: bypass lanes and parking garages. We need a scheme in Longmont for pedestrians, bikers and even scooters to reduce the need to drive and reduce congestion.

Housing: We need to think vertically with multi-story and multi-use buildings. We also have to address our old-fashioned zoning requirements so we can concentrate on a multi-unit approach, with duplexes, fourplexes and apartment houses, and then set a portion aside for affordable housing.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: We need to attract businesses by leveraging our location.

O&G/Climate: We need to work together and write rules that are fair and equitable. There’s no need for drilling or fracking to occur within city limits; we definitely don’t want them operating here.

Renewables: Supports.

Final Remarks: It’s important that we have the appropriate players on council so they can be thoughtful with their approach regarding what kind of environment and what kind of messages we’re sending to the residents and businesses.

Joan Peck: AT – LARGE

Bio: Degree in computer science, worked in a bank and in the school system. In Longmont for 40+ years. Community activist during that time, and now I enjoy serving on the city council.

Platform: Transportation, economic development, environmental protection and social equity. We want to do smart development that provides opportunities for residents while protecting the features of our city.

Ed: Our council formed plans for initiatives that we’d like to see addressed, and one was pre-school.

SROs: Supports, district choice

Transportation: We’re trying to get the businesses involved so they can work with the city to support a robust system. We need to advocate for funding from the state, DRCOG or federal funds, or a local level gas tax.

Housing: Modify our zoning to use tiny houses and container houses. We’ve been meeting with developers to determine what’s hindering affordable housing and to develop an inclusionary housing ordinance.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue and Budget: Does not support the rec center ballot initiative in Longmont [edited after audio review.].

Oil/Gas: The city pushed all of the oil and gas activities outside of our city. I’m fortunate to vote twice on that issue.

Renewables: Supports.

Matthew Garrett: AT – LARGE

Bio: Several months ago looking at Longmont city council, nobody was from Longmont. I decided that wasn’t right, so I went for it. Lived here his whole life.

Platform: Get the community directly involved in issues that they see as priority. Bridges over the train tracks to reduce sitting traffic.

Ed: Teacher pay, teacher empowerment

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: Encourage Longmont to sue RTD.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: I’d like to know where the marijuana money is going. I don’t want to raise taxes. We could cut out RTD. Change development ordinances, streamline them. Build up not out developments (retail on bottom floor, housing above).

O&G/Climate: I believe in personal property rights but in the city limits the city should have first right of refusal to purchase mineral rights from owners. We can’t stop doing it right now, our whole culture runs on it.

Renewables: Leans Against

Housing: Longmont needs to buy open space for future development. More developments need to be build ups. Minimize parking requirements. Streamline developer process for decrease costs for them.

Tim Waters: WARD I

Unopposed

Bio: 45 years in education, last role was as a superintendent in Greeley. I started volunteering in Longmont, and when the special election materialized in 2018 I threw my hat in the ring.

Platform: Reduce our carbon footprint and greenhouse gases. Reducing housing insecurity, homelessness, public transportation, growing intelligently as a community, and all of that relates to quality of life – not just those already enjoying quality of life – but for those that are still trying to find their higher quality of life.

Education: We need more and better early learning programs. Our council also has a vision for Longmont to become an epicenter for arts, science, humanities, and technology so we can have the best prepared workforce in the nation.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Make CDOT and RTD work for us, especially in the northwest corridor and with fast track. Hold RTD accountable, collaborate regionally, and go after funding. Be smart about zoning to create greater density along business and transportation corridors.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: We have ballot measures asking voters to increase the sales tax to support the construction of a new recreational center. The change would allow developers to lease land for 30 years, making it more likely we can form public-private partnerships to build projects that would be a boon to the economy.

Housing: We need inventory for the economically challenged.

Environment: Longmont approved an agreement to move all surface operations outside of our city limits. Fracking projects outside of Longmont still go under our surface as they extract minerals from under our city, so in a perfect world, I’d like to restrict that as well.

Renewables: Support.

Longmont Mayor

Brian Bagley

Bio: I’ve been on the Longmont City Council since 2011, I’ve been mayor since November of 2017, and I own my own law firm called the Bagley law firm. I taught at CU Leads School of business. I have business and political background that I believe has served me well.

Platform: There’s a lot of projects for our economic development going on, and there’s a lot of movement with our commercial retail development in progress.

Education: I started an initiative that focuses on early childhood education. I believe the best use of our dollars would be to make sure that every child from birth through kindergarten has a high-quality

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: The number one issue is that we have $9 billion in unmet state needs, and no one wants to pay for it. Longmont gets screwed when it comes to transportation, so we have to solve our transportation problems on our own and we can’t rely on the state or RTD. We have to form plans to improve our roads, provide public transit options, and develop comprehensive biking networks throughout the city.

Housing: We developed the goal of having 12 percent of our housing stock be identified as permanently affordable. For any new development in town the developer has to ensure 12 percent of their housing stock is permanently affordable.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: We’re pretty blessed with our budget. We really don’t need to raise taxes or generate more revenue for Longmont, and instead we need regional solutions. We can’t build highways or county roads, so we need to talk to our partners to come up with solutions to those larger issues.

O&G/Climate: We won. In Longmont, we prohibited all industrial activities inside our neighborhoods. It equated to 98 percent of Longmont being off the table for surface extraction.

Renewables: Supports.

Final Remarks: Anybody who’s been paying attention since 2011 knows where I stand on the issues. I am equally mistrusted by the far right and the far left, nobody tells me what to do. I truly act out of a sense of love and duty for the community, and I will continue to do that if the citizens of Longmont are willing to let me keep doing the job.

Schuyler Trowbridge

Bio: Small town Indiana born, experiences in labor and a spinal injury without health insurance informed his political perspective. Community college, healthcare industry work where he learned about policy, and efforts to support living wages.

Platform: Revenue and police – cannabis hotels and lounges; use cannabis revenue to fund affordable housing, all day pre-k, and extending vocational training; mandate donation/reuse of food from grocers and restaurants; mandatory corporate recycling; rent control; sanctuary city; “hold our government accountable because right now there’s no accountability”.

Ed: Engage programs like ELPASO, teaching parents how to get kids ready for preschool. Bring in more vocational schools. Spearhead green energy options.

SRO’s: “Absolutely not. They target marginalized communities…statistically speaking. We need to subsidize school psychologists and not militarized forces on campus.”

Transit: We need RTD to meet their responsibility; consider a class action lawsuit, audit RTD, etc. Keep our Free Bus going. Transportation should be free for our lowest income citizens.

Prop CC: : If we can get our roads fixed, get more money for education, pay teachers what they deserve, I’m all for CC.

Budget & Revenue: Cannabis hotels and lounges will increase revenue and tourism. Re: Budget: If we can support a luxury ice hockey center, we can subsidize local solar energy creation.

O&G/Climate:  I have a 95% rating from Colorado Rising. We have the grounds to sue CO O&G for mineral estate rights. We have to stop fracking under Union Reservoir. We need to push a class action lawsuit to preserve our health and safety/climate change rights. I’m 100% willing to take up that battle.

Renewables: I support it. I’m going to create a race between Longmont and PRPA. The faster we move, the faster they’ll move.

Housing: This is a Colorado problem. We are at 100K; we can fit 250K. We should be competing for the best, most hardworking, most talented people to come here…not just the rich. We’re letting section 8 vouchers expire instead of working with our landlords. We need inclusive housing.

Final Remarks: I’m fighting for the people; that’s my whole thing. My policies are bold but I think it’s time we asked for something different.

Lafayette City Council

Timothy Barnes

Bio: I have been on an advisory board for over 10 years. Boulder County Community Action Program.

Platform: Sustainability,Quality of Life, and Affordable Housing

Ed: Work to mitigate transportation issues. More resources for educators and ensure equitability for ESL students and diverse populations.

SRO’s: Currently supports

Transit: Bus system circulator within the city. Connecting walking and biking trails to encourage cross city transportation. People with physical disabilities would be still accommodated on such trails.

Prop CC: Supports. [edited after audio review.]

Revenue & Budgets: If we created more efficient systems, this would save costs and increase available budget. Integrate greener infrastructure to decrease costs and generate more local businesses by supporting those in our community.

Housing: Bring on the communities to ensure we have 20% affordable housing and use smart growth. Maintain affordable housing. Consider different types of housing around transportation needs. Affordable housing needs to be located in accessible parts of town. Utilizing culture brokers to advise the city on diverse culture needs.

O&G/Climate: We need to transition to renewable energy. It is time to address health issues and long term climatic changes with O&G industry to mitigate damages.

Renewables: Supports

Tonya Briggs

Bio/Qualifications:Entrepreneur, plumbing business. Accounting industry experience. Used to dealing with a wide range of people.

Platform: Community rights/Climate change. Affordable Housing. Public Transportation.

Ed: No answer.

SRO’s: No answer

Transit: Use has decreased, routes decrease; it’s cyclical. We need to find solutions to the struggles they’re having and find a balance.

Prop CC: No answer.

Revenue & Budget: At this time, no.

Housing: Supports more affordable housing.

O&G/Climate: Wants this addressed via charter. Happy to help Boulder County. Supports lawsuit against Weld County.

Renewables: Supports.

Anne Borrell

Bio: I build websites, I’m self-employed, and my husband and I run an architectural design business. I also do a great deal of community work, and I built a nonprofit arts organization for schools in New York State.

Platform: School funding, attracting ideal businesses, reducing congestion, and expanding housing options. Protecting the integrity of the earth; I wanted to fight in this fracking war against the O&G industry.

Transit: Conduits of traffic need to be addressed. We need over/underpasses to ease the flow of local traffic across 287. We need to provide and encourage more public transit options with a dependable and frequent busing system.

Housing: I support accessory dwelling units, changing the zoning to permit increased co-housing and mixed-use housing options, and we should modify mobile home property fees to alleviate the financial costs.

Prop CC: Unclear answer

Budget &; Revenue: We can generate revenue by paying our workers and teachers more to create economic fluidness.

Ed: We should help schools address mental health issues, nutritional needs. and I would also support the immigrant population and anticipate issues they face.

SRO’s: Leans against.

O&G/Climate: I will challenge any law that prevents me from banning fracking, and we will make the Lafayette Bill of Rights a permanent part of our charter. We have to forget the regulation approach and say no to any drilling here.

Renewables: Supports

Final Remarks: I am a real advocate for the arts, I love the artistic appreciation and artsy aesthetic of the Lafayette, and I would like to develop Old Town to make it a destination spot with arts, cultural events, and community celebrations.

Marty Feffer

Bio: Boulder County resident for 32 years. Self-employed handyman, politically active.

Platform: Affordable housing and labor issues, we must solve our climate and environmental crisis. Pass another Lafayette Bill of Rights, have the voters approve it to the town charter; file a lawsuit against Weld County.

Education: Support Safety in schools.

SRO’s: Does not support.

Transit: Create more roads and a better community feel.  Make alternative transportation available, such as auxiliary or bike transportation capabilities.

Housing: Reinstatement of the requirements for affordable housing with development projects.  Developers pay a fee that goes to an affordable housing pool. Income inequality has to be addressed. Increase wages.

Prop CC: No answer

Budget & Revenue: Our tax structures and revenue streams are based on retail. We have to weigh preserving the residential character of Lafayette and our tax base.

Environment: Do not allow the machine and financial arguments of the oil industry to influence us or compromise us.

Renewables: Support.

Doug Conarroe

Bio: Lived in Lafayette since 1995. Been involved in many community service operations and boards

Platform: Traffic on Baseline Rd, Putting a hwy 7 bypass, Affordable housing, Education

Ed: Grew up in east co school, historical inequities, Increase community involvement, Increase community support for local schools

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: Finding a way to get people from Broomfield to Boulder (bus service would be feasible). Get an actual plan out on the table for discussion.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: Sales tax is most of our revenue. Ensure that we create opportunities. Encourage growth and local spending. Possible sales tax increase as the largest and most viable source.

O&G/Climate: Supportive of current regulations. Copy Boulder County, creates an ally for measures. Supportive of drilling in industrialized areas. Nothing that O&G does is permanent. Current setbacks are appropriate.

Renewables: Supports.

Housing: Help entry level workforce get in. Encouraging smaller footprint living – tiny houses. Perhaps provide down payment assistance programs.

Andrew O’Connor

Bio: Can you please give us a brief bio regarding your background and your qualifications for office? I was born in NYC, went to Vanderbilt, then I graduated law school and worked as a public defender. I’ve done civil litigation, including police brutality and foreclosure cases. Most recently I worked with my wife to get the assault weapons ban in Boulder, and I aim to do that for the city of Lafayette as well.

Platform: I want the quality of life to be better. Do better with tax revenue. I want to do a yellow book audit on our budget. Road repair, Provide affordable housing, Better garbage utilities and public services. Ban fracking in Lafayette, I want a 99 percent severance tax, and I’m also going to have the city of Lafayette sue Weld County.

Education: Funding is the big problem. We need to increase funding to pay our teachers better, reduce classroom sizes for students, and provide more resources for schools.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Many areas in Colorado have been struggling, but this is especially relevant in the city due to increasing population and inadequate transportation capabilities. We have to improve infrastructure. We also have to say no to companies trying to move here because we’re almost at buildout, encourage public transportation, and make downtown a walking mall.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: Raise residential property taxes, impose a severance tax on wells, and raise taxes on businesses. Leave small businesses alone

Housing: The main problem is greedy developers. Ones that we do allow to build residential properties will need to provide sufficient affordable housing.

JD (Jaideep) Mangat

Bio: Involved with local change since middle school, Enacted local community changes since then. Serving on several councils, boards and liaisons (many roles within the community).

Platform: Affordable housing, Environmental sustainability, Growth – traffic congestion, Education

Ed: Education is the key to success in everything. Attended the very schools I would be representing

SRO’s: Support

Transit: Layfeyette relies on CDOT, they have diff priorities. Locally 100/20th pushing for expansion (2 lane & lights) – expansion doesn’t always solve congestion. Making sure public transportation is accessible and affordable. Prioritized bike lane expansions.

Housing: Created an increased-over-time developer fees. Money collected goes into affordable housing funds. Limit on quantity of developments and any additional much be affordable housing options. Lafayette needs to be more affordable living, not just housing.

Prop CC: Supports

Revenue & Budget: Potentially Increase taxes on Public works, approval comes from voters ultimately

O&G/Climate: No fracking within city limits but still a threat to the community. Continue to add moratoriums and roadblocks. Need to charge fees for emissions and have a 3rd party calculate. No place for O&G in Lafayette.

Renewables: Supports, Lafayette goals more ambitious.

Nicole Samson

Bio: 17 years working in city government. Worked in economic development, recreation, policy development, state grants, and housing. Experience as a manager of a small business, an executive director of nonprofits, and so I view issues from all three perspectives regarding the private, public and nonprofit sectors.

Platform: Solve housing, business, O&G, roads and traffic. My main mission is to foster the funky and creative character of Lafayette.

Ed: I’m trying to develop housing for the higher ed community, including for students who move out of their homes for college, recent grads, and teachers.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: We don’t have enough funding and we don’t get help from the state, so we need to partner-up with the county and go after state grants and federal funding. We need to make wider roads for cars, bigger sidewalks for pedestrians, better bike lanes for cyclists, and work with RTD.

Housing: Accessory dwelling units would solve the housing crisis, so I’m trying to get accessory dwelling units approved. Exorbitant fees for the house, power, and trash services can add up and increase housing costs; relieve some of the housing fees.

Prop CC: Support.

Budget & Revenue: Evaluating fees to remove ones that are harmful to the people and apply fees that are beneficial.

O&G/Climate: I’m in favor of local control and keeping drilling away from schools or residential zones. We need setback requirements. We have to solve the supply and demand issue for energy.

Renewables Support.

Final Remarks: I stand for listening to the community. The council working with the public, experts, and staff members is how we can be successful. I want to solve these issues, and we’re relying on all of us doing it together as a team.

Patricia Townsend

Bio: I have lived in town for six years. I work as a research assistant on genetics studies at CU. I’ve also worked in a community center that supported low-income families, and counseling agencies that supported low-income clients. I have been on East Boulder County United Director’s Council since April 2019. I’ve also done independent media volunteer work to amplify social and economic justice issues. I have a BA in biology, MA in counseling.

Education: Supports educators.

SRO’s: Supports

Prop CC: No answer

Housing: More affordable housing throughout the city, stop grouping around Sanchez.

O&G/Climate: We need to address the climate emergency we are all facing, Lafayette can recognize climate and community rights over oil and gas industry rights in all deliberations and decisions. We can support grassroots efforts regionally to ban fracking and drilling on the grounds. We can assert our right to protect our environment and our children’s future. We can offer Lafayette’s Community Bill of Rights and Climate Bill of Rights as effective examples of how to frame and address the fight for climate protection.

Jenna Tullberg

Bio: Undergrad in social work with an emphasis in child welfare. Masters in public administration with an emphasis in public policy. I have worked in the non-profit sector since 2002.

Platform: Health and Safety, Environment, Affordable Housing, Transportation

Ed: Supporting initiatives to improve the spending per student. The placement of affordable housing near struggling schools should be reconsidered.

SRO’s: We need to strengthen that relationship between students and police. Students need to feel comfortable coming to them with problems.

Transit: Increase accessibility to public transportation for individuals who need them.

Prop CC: Supports

Revenue & Budget: Diversify where we are getting funds from. Increase tourism and event funding to increase sales revenue.

Housing: We need to do something about the people who are currently struggling. We need to determine who are the most in need. There should be caps on trailer park lot increases.

O&G/Climate: There is no reason a community should have to jeopardize their health and safety. I am for a full ban. Lafayette has to continue to say NO. You can’t regulate destruction and make it safer.

Renewables: Supports

Cliff Smedley

Refused interview.

Brian Wong

Bio: Worked in HR for the last 19 years. On the recycling advisory board in Louisville, seven years on the planning commission for Lafayette, including four years as chair.

Platform: Municipal high-speed internet as a public good and public utility. Publicly funded city elections. Diversity in the city council, and so we should provide matching-options and relieve the costs of campaigning so low-income people can run. Artificial Intelligence capabilities to solve many of our modern problems.

Ed: We need to continue to keep reviewing bond measure to increase innovation, address teacher salaries, and improve school conditions.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: We need state dollars to improve or widen those highways. We can also use AI for the traffic signal lights. Smart signals can help determine if the light cycles should adjust in certain situations. Regionally we need to collaborate with our neighbors.

Housing: We need to increase the diversity of our housing stock, with more economical rentals, and especially more attainable rentals. We should provide more accessory dwelling units and permit them throughout the city. We should incorporate tiny houses into our future developments, and identify land that would be ideal for high-density housing and affordable units.

Prop CC: Leans support.

Budget & Revenue: Bring in businesses that will generate tax revenue. Develop 287 so people can drive through and tax dollars into our shops. Integrate small businesses and support them.

O&G/Climate: Our citizens passing the Bill of Rights. My main job would be representing the values of our community, and I would protect that decision. I’d also find ways to keep O&G out of our community, and work with our regional neighbors.

Renewables: Supports.

Final Remarks: I’m very committed to the Lafayette community, and I’d be honored to have the opportunity to partner with the other city council members to move Lafayette forward and to make sure that we prepare for the future, be innovative with our approaches, become cutting edge, and figure out what we can do to create sustainable change going forward.

Stephanie Walton

Bio: I am raising a family here, grew up locally. Issues that were regional made me feel qualified especially after serving a 4 year council elected term.

Platform: Transportation, Sustainability, Neighborhood Resilience, the traffic flow within and through Lafayette utilizing a transportation planner.

Ed: Keep close relationship with superintendents and advisory groups. Mitigate school traffic flows. Supporting free and reduced internet access at home for qualified families.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: No answer.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: No answer.

Housing: Make decisions to encourage people of varied demographics, especially the aging population, to set local goals. We need to look at how we can maintain naturally occurring affordable housing.

O&G/Climate: Priority is sustainability. We need regional cooperation whether it is rule-making or legislation for more air monitoring, and long term studies. Honor previous council and resident intentions.

Renewables: No answer.

Broomfield Mayor

Publishers Note:

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Kimberly Groom

Bio: Broomfield raised, decided to stay in Broomfield to raise my family. Worked in many industries, including at a nuclear facility, information management, then a 20 year career as an aerospace program manager. Broomfield City Council for two years.

Platform: Continuation of management and oversight of O&G, Affordable housing and attainable housing, mental wellness should also be brought into the forefront.

Ed: Safety is a big issue. I’d like to put a fence around every school and control one access point. We need to evaluate our education system.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: We need to expand our roads, create opportunities for public transportation and mass transit, provide better bike lanes, and form first and last mile transit options. But another innovative solution is satellite capabilities.

Housing: I separate it into affordable and attainable. We have to use our urban centers and find developers to provide high-density and diverse housing options. Broomfield was just approved for a low-income housing development, and public-private partnering can help.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Budget & Revenue: For generating revenue, we have been able to buy buildings outright instead of leasing them, I intend to keep looking at futuristic financial projects.

O&G/Climate: It would be too economically detrimental to ban it. So we need to keep reviewing contracts, forming regulations, and making decisions to create a balance.

Renewables: Leans Support.

Final Remarks: It’s truly an honor to represent Broomfield.

Kevin Kreeger

Background: Overcame difficulties as a child to work my way through college. City Council 4 years. Created an environmental sustainability advisory group and housing advisory task force.

Platform: Protect our open space, keeping fracking away from homes, and smart economic development. Better fiscal oversight, no closed door votes. 

Ed: No answer.

SRO’s: No Answer.

Transportation: RTD is broken, we need to look at it ourselves. Helped bring in $800,000 in federal funding for our Uber & Lyft Pilot Program.

Prop CC: No response.

Revenue & Budget: Increase oversight. Allocate more money for Health and Human Services. Economic development by rezoning land to allow more businesses.

Housing: Helped create a housing advisory task force, We can tell developers to make a certain number of units to be affordable based on ideal AMI criteria.

O&G/Climate: Fracking does not belong in residential areas at all. The wells all come with the risk of fire, explosions, spills, and toxicity.

Renewables: Support.

Patrick Quinn

Bio: I’m a business person, I’ve been a CFO and CTA. I’ve dedicated my last 30 years to being a public servant. Actively involved with public service projects. Chair for Boulder’s Open Space Advisory Committee. In 2007 I ran and was elected to be Broomfield’s mayor until 2013.

Platform: We need to manage that growth regarding transportation, attainable housing, and sustainable energy needs, all of which connect to our growth issues.

Ed: No answer

SRO’s: No Response

Transit: The main problem is funding. We have to cobble funds together for any projects we want to do. We need funding from either CDOT, DRCOG or RTD. We need to work with our regional partners. I’ve worked hard with RTD to to help fund and develop bus traffic transit and managed lanes on highways.

Prop CC: No Response.

Revenue & Budget: I will be actively involved with the budget. I would update it now. To generate revenue, we should attract the developers who can provide us with commercial content neighborhoods want and that provide regional dollars. We need the retail development on I-25, Highway 7, and the northeast area of town.

Housing: Housing is too expensive. I support the Housing Authority separate from the City Council, and we should have ways to increase density. I’m looking for innovative ways to come out of the Housing Authority, but I look forward to them finishing up their work and proposing recommendations.

O&G/Climate: I’m for local control, for using SB 181, and for exercising land use authorities to make sure that when drilling occurs safety and health concerns are addressed every step of the way. We should take the recommendations that come out of our environmental task force to make regulations.

Renewables: Support.

Final Remarks: I’m a leader, and I work towards consensus. Our nation and local community are divided right now and I want to get everyone working together. We have real problems with the growth we’ve created, and now we just need to work on it as a community.

Broomfield City Council

Stan Jezierski: WARD I

Bio: In Broomfield for 15 years. Small law firm in Broomfield and in my ward. I’ve been on the city council for the past four years, Open Space and Trails Committee, Board of Directors for the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce, and volunteer for the Broomfield Community Foundation.

Platform: We started a lot of great things that I’d like to see completed. We put together an environmental stewardship task force to be an environmentally sustainable community. I’m passionate about our affordable housing task force, and then oil and gas regulations in light of SB 181.

Ed: We need more funds to pay our teachers decent salaries, provide technology and equipment in the classrooms, prevent schools from falling apart, and reduce our classroom sizes.

SRO’s: Yes.

Transit: Doing work to widen Dillon Rd. Get people off the roads by creating more walkable communities, biking lanes, and finishing the downtown Civic Center.

Housing: I support streamlining our regulations to encourage developers to build lower income units, increase our density in the right areas, and create appealing urban areas with housing and commercial retail.

Prop CC: Leaning yes.

Budget & Revenue: I’m in favor of economic development, attracting larger institutions and small businesses, and forming relationships with corporations. Support our development department and build a community that attracts businesses.

O&G/Climate: I’m in favor of SB 181. I want to form regulations to make sure any operations in Broomfield are far away from residential neighborhoods and schools.

Renewables: Support.

Kim Elizabeth Tavendale: WARD I

Bio: Mother, wife and volunteer.

Platform: Important to ensure economic growth, health and safety, property rights, affordable housing.

Positions: Unknown

*Audio Failure

Jean Lim

Bio: Oil & Gas development next to 7,000 homes got me involved.

Platform: Protecting my community’s health and safety, growing our Broomfield economy in a sustainable way, and opening up local government communication.

Ed: Major funding concerns to fund basic education efforts.

SRO’s: Support.

Transportation: Increase multi-modal transportation in Broomfield. A pilot study with Uber and Lift to get residents to and from the larger RTD hubs, Permitting increased biking to work, make sure our bike trails are connected.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budge: I want to develop the Civic Center area for more businesses. Emphasize local businesses and local artists.

Housing: Fund affordable housing units. Allow variances and fee reductions to support mixed-use housing. 

O&G/Climate: Developments do not belong anywhere near neighborhoods. I was part of SB 181. I support distance requirements and peer reviewed health studies.

Renewables: Support.

Brent Hultman: WARD II

Bio: I was born in Colorado. I’m a strategic planning and business coach, and that ability to bring groups of people together and look at clearly defined strategic direction is a key part of my qualifications. I’m also very involved with nonprofit boards and other ways to serve the community.

Platform: The limited resource of space gives us a challenge. We need to shoot for the open space goal, but also providing affordable housing.

Ed: The biggest issue is administrative overhead and monies being allocated at a district level.

SRO’s: Supports.

Transit: Overtaxed roads is a big problem. We need to work with regionally to come up with things that can mitigate some of that. We have to look at how development and infrastructure come together so we don’t create chokepoints and overtasked streets.

Housing: Our real problem is the lack of smaller entry level or downsized properties for sale. We have a proliferation of rental options, but those are not very affordable. There’s a huge demand for houses that younger people, seniors, or middle income families can afford and get into.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: It’s important to keep Broomfield open for business and continue to be a place that’s attractive for businesses. Keeping the communication channels open and remain easy to do business with, while also understanding that businesses are just one of several voices we need to listen to.

Environment: Until we reach the point where we don’t need oil or natural gas, I think we’re taking the right steps to address public health and safety without needing to put a moratorium in place and block out all production.

Renewables: Leans support.

Final Remarks: If I’m elected I’ll continue to be out in the neighborhood to address the little stuff while at the same time keeping up on the bigger stuff.

William Lindstedt: WARD II

Bio: Grew up in Broomfield. Spent 5 years in the state legislator as an intern, became senior leadership staff. Oversaw 40 legislative aids, worked as a consultant creating nonprofit public policy. Former Vice Chairman of the Broomfield Democratic Party.

Platform: Affordable housing. See small businesses receive same incentives that large corporations do. Clean and safe environment by being Fracking-free.

Ed: Smaller class sizes. Increase teacher pay.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: Work with our neighbors to prevent cross-through traffic and expand roadways. Focus on developments for RTD and mass transit near major corridors to get cars off the road, first and last mile partnerships with Uber and Lyft. 

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: Allow cannabis shops. Impact fees from large industrial operations.

Housing: Indexing tap and sewage fees to the size of the home instead of this flat market rate. Incentivize developers to build smaller units, create a properly staffed housing authority.

O&G/Climate: Health and safety first.  No drilling near homes. 

Renewables: Support.

Christopher Cleary: WARD III

Bio: Been working on health and safety since 2012. Worked with many local advocacy groups. Multi-generational community advocate. Ready to make changes from a higher position.

Platform: Health and safety. Charter 301 – health and safety first! Municipal broadband high speed internet, Transparency in govt & disclosure of city employees and representatives, Create fully functional housing authority.

Ed: Yes on CC. Using it to go back into education. Using MMJ funds back in education.

SRO’s: Supports, unarmed.

Transit: Local RTA, Reanalyzing routes in the area, create new routes where there is a need, Connecting RTA to RTD, Creating work from home positions, Hyper loop – cost per mile than light rail.

Prop CC: Supports.

Revenue & Budget: Untapped resources – Hemp textiles, hemp plastics, hemp paper, Rooftop solar / solar gardens. Municipal broadband after return on investment.

O&G/Climate: All of O&G jobs are less than 1% of the workforce, yet fracking impacts 100% of the population. There is no safe way to frack. Full ban on fracking.

Renewables: Supports.

Housing: Develop a fully functional housing authority, Create renters rights, Create a renters registry, Annual inspection for occupancy (habitable) with a social service rep. Caps on rent increases. Change zoning for accessory housing units.

Kevin Jacobs: WARD III

Bio: Broomfield City Council, 2007-2015.  Master’s in public administration-CU. Retired as Vice Chancellor and Chief Human Resource Officer for the Denver and Anschutz campuses.

Platform: Sustainability is first focus. Support the Broomfield Civic Center project, improve our infrastructure, address school safety, and strengthen law enforcement.

Ed: Continue to foster good relationships between the city council and the school board.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: Creative solutions to widen mass transit and make that move cleaner and safer, and facilitate alternative transportation. More biking options. 

Housing: Support city involvement in affordable housing.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: The gross tax structure has been adequate.  Don’t raise taxes. Manage development and growth.

O&G/Climate: Top issue. Opposed to Oil & Gas in our neighborhoods. Maintain strict distance standards, and prevent existing wells from exposing us to leaks, spills, and emissions.

Renewables: Support.

Laurie Anderson: WARD IV

Bio/Qualifications: I have worked as a mechanical engineer for several years developing products for the medical industry. Haven’t held office before but have worked closely with local govt on specific issues.

Platform: Health and Safety, Transportation, Maintaining smart growth

Ed: Biggest issue is lack of funding.

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: We need to move to more multi modal forms of transportation. Biggest issues are traffic congestion and consider regional solutions. Prioritize a more walkable community, we need a main bus station…We need to encourage more mass transportation.

Prop CC: Audio cuts out.

O&G/Climate: The wells are far too close to our community. We need to protect our wildlife and openspace. We need to enforce the operator agreements every step of the way and accept that that agreement is not enough by itself to keep us safe. Our city needs to rewrite regulations to actually fulfill 301. Air quality control commission need to enact strong regulations that actually protect residents. We need to start implementing policies like emissions offsets.

Renewables: Support

Housing: We  are currently focusing on building large single family homes, which are not considered affordable. They have just begun working with developers to discuss how to add more affordable housing in each development project. I would like to make that a requirement.

Emily Joo: WARD IV

Bio: Mother of three, I do events in marketing, works at the Family Resource Center. My grandma was on the city council, she won by write-in ballot because they loved her so much, and now it’s my turn to fulfill that legacy of serving Broomfield.

Platform: Economic vitality, transportation, infrastructure, housing, and attracting great Right now Broomfield is being fractured by a divisive atmosphere and I’m trying to bring us all together.

Transit: My solution is the Jefferson Parkway, an RTA to connect the various areas of the city. We need to promote healthy transit, such as bike paths and walkable neighborhoods.

Housing: We need to increase the supply of affordable homes around $300,000. It’s important to form public-private partnerships to provide affordable homes, and to have programs that help with down payments. We should apply a match-savings program so people can own land, and attract developers willing to create diverse housing.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Budget & Revenue: We have to avoid relying too closely on sales tax, we need zero-based budgeting, and we have a sizable city reserve that we need to be careful to preserve.

Ed: We need to treat all school districts fairly. When schools come before us and say they have needs we have to support them with that, and we should also make sure that resources are equitably provided to all districts.

SRO’s: Supports.

O&G/Climate: Prioritize health, safety, and the environment. We need strict regulations to keep O&G away from our neighborhoods. Make sure companies are paying their fair share for the monitoring and damage caused to the environment.

Renewables: Does not support.

Final Remarks: I’m not a D or an R, I’m a B for Broomfield. I have one foot in the past, one foot in the future, and I’ll bring our community together and lead us forward.

Heidi Henkel: WARD V

Bio: Colorado native, spouse is military. Have been involved with local activities and small business. Trained climate reality leader and sparked conversation about sustainability locally. Graduated CSU.

Ed: Lifelong school advocate, as grad of Adams 12 ELEVATE team.

SRO’s: No answer.

Transportation: I’ll work on developing good clean energy and sustainability policies along with finding better transportation methods.

Prop CC: No answer

O&G/Climate: With an unprecedented 84 wells closer than ever to homes, schools, vulnerable drinking water reservoirs, and on our open space, local government needs to take a stand on protecting our residents from large industrial oil and gas development. I’ve been working overtime with our legislators to pass meaningful bills for local control and being an advocate for Broomfield residents and the front range.

Renewables: Supports

Affordable Housing: Serves on the Community Services Block Grant Tripartite Board which addresses and works towards eliminating poverty, listens to residents on attainable housing issues. Supports addressing the shortfall innovatively.

David  Beacom: WARD V

Bio: Retired from Xcel Energy, BA & JC Creighton University, Director DRCOG

Platform: Incentivize business, more building resolves housing but takes time

Education: Approaching problem incorrectly. 5 School Districts, Adams 12 does best job on admin fees. Higher pay for teachers. Lower pay for administrators.

SRO’S: Support

Transportation: Very complicated, voters denied 109 & 110, push to fund through DRCOG. Work with neighboring communities to improve roads.

Prop CC: Do not Support

Housing: If the city makes enough money we can afford it. More condominiums built. Government tax CHAFA to help build affordable housing. Ongoing issue. Work with developers to bring a percent of an affordability component.

Environment: Fracking is a divisive issue. We passed the toughest safety MOU. Activists got 181 through legislation. Broomfield is a leader in making it tougher to have unsafe fracking. More pipelines. Better air monitoring. The impact of fracking has been minimal on the air quality of Broomfield. I voted in favor of moratorium until regulations are compatible. Fracking is not the issue, better regulations and control. Technology can move us there over time.

Renewables: Support but it will take time.

Westminster City Council

Bruce Baker

Bio: I graduated from Lakewood high school, received my degree from CU Boulder, and after serving in the military I moved back to Colorado and practiced pharmacy for over three decades. I am running for Westminster City Council. The current city council deceived the public, flat-out lied to them about the condition of our sewer and water system, and are now gouging people with outrageous water prices. It was dishonesty, and to actually see dishonest government in real life is mind-boggling.

Platform: I believe in open and transparent government. I’m running to improve the transparency and competence of our City Council Board and to give the power back to the people.

Ed: We need to provide more equitable funding for our schools.

SRO’s: Supports, district choice.

Transit: We need the taxes to improve our roads.

Housing: I would restrict occupancy to owners.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: Many years ago we decided to develop a tax fund to purchase more open space, but we met our goal and so we can either eliminate that fund, or ask the voters to use those funds a different way.

O&G/Climate: I’m a free-market capitalist person; but oil companies shouldn’t be able to drill wherever they want. I think they’re doing the best they can to be good neighbors, and provide jobs for residents.

Renewables: Does not support.

Final Remarks: I wish our elected representatives would carry on conversations about these issues in public, and they don’t. They should be able to justify the positions they hold and persuade the people who oppose them. I will lower the water rates.

Nick Dyer – with reservation

Bio: Colorado native, grew up in Arvada. First time running for office can be leveraged as a positive for the community.

Platform: Address outrageously high water rates. Best road map for Westminster’s strategic growth and development.

Ed: We have some of the highest paid teachers and that needs to continue to maintain some high quality education staff.

SRO’s: Supports

Transit: Long term plans include alternative transportation modes. We need to get single occupancy vehicles off the road. Develop a more robust bike friendly route throughout the city.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: We need more specific denotation on where we need funding.

O&G/Climate: We need to exhaust alternative energy methods. We need to honor the O&G industry but we can not cut out setbacks. If we can find the balance where they are at the least intrusive locations.

Renewables: Leans support.

Housing: I am personally experiencing this. I think it needs to start on a national level with a national initiative.

Michele Haney

Bio: Resident since 1993, military brat. Was on the Parks and Rec Board, Inclusivity Task Force, the Police Complaint Board; once voted Woman of the Year for Westminster. Former President of Red Rocks Community College. Appointed to the Westminster City Council in January of 2019.

Platform: Teamwork, bring visions together, and collaborate. The main issues are growth and development, density and traffic, affordable housing, public safety, and preserving neighborhood character.

Ed: We need to continue to create ladders for students, providing options for technical education, trade school, the military, or four-year universities.

SRO’s: Support.

Transportation: We need to work with RTD and look at private-public partnerships. Need to make sure roads can support new developments.

Housing: We need both affordable housing and low-income housing, spread throughout the city, that fits the character of the neighborhood. I’m in favor of rentals for young people We need to build smaller homes on smaller lots

Prop CC: Support.

Budget & Revenue: The new downtown area will make a difference. The city needs small and unique businesses that provide excitement, jobs, and revenue.

O&G/Climate: I stand right in the middle. I want to be sure that the environment, water issues, climate change, and wetlands are all preserved for generations to come. I think we will continue to have oil and gas, but we need the rules and regulations to protect the environment as much as we can.

Renewables: Support.

Final Remarks: Hopefully people will look at the issues, educate themselves, and I can’t promise to solve all of the issues but I want to listen to everybody and be part of the solution.

Sheela Mahkne

Bio: 17 years as a pediatrician, raised family here. Non-profit clinic work. MS in Biology. Open space volunteer, environmental advisory board volunteer, and school volunteer. Appointed to a vacated council seat, appointed in December 2018.

Platform: Affordable housing, growth management, economy, environment, and public safety.

Ed: Mental health is a major issue for students. Making sure our families are provided for (stable housing, structures for families to succeed).

SRO’s: They are wonderful to have…for safety, to help with the epidemic of vaping, a great role model for the students, kids can go to SRO’s for help.

Transit: Looking at different ways to incrementally improve transit to downtown. Will take regional cooperation, working with RTD, being innovative about finding grants and funding sources.

Prop CC: Support. The funding will be..so important to us and our children.

Budget & Revenue: Increase sales tax revenue, keep our economy strong. We can improve our budget by being responsible.

O&G/Climate:  We don’t have the same O&G development as our neighbors, but I support putting health & public safety first, against drilling open and public spaces. Westminster is putting in ordinances re: O&G.

Renewables: I’m very in favor of transitioning to 100% renewable. We have to be mindful of those affected in the O&G industry, to help them transition to other meaningful job opportunities.

Housing: We have made affordable housing a priority. Prioritizing affordable housing development. Converting units in downtown to AH.

Final Remarks: It’s been an honor to serve the people of Westminster and I hope to continue to serve going forward.

Patricia Moore

Bio: 30 year resident of Westminster. Accountant. Community Activist. PTA & Headstart.

Platform: Water is important. Housing and traffic. Solve the homeless problem by providing meaningful work & community integration.

Ed: The schools need more money. Support music, art and other life skills. Develop critical thinking skills.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: We need better train, bus, and public transit systems, need to repair and improve our roads. We need to widen the roads and add more lanes to make transportation. Support  tax policies that go to transportation.

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue & Budget: More smaller businesses.

Housing: Opposed to high-density housing. More actual housing, and affordable housing.  Support financial assistance.

O&G/Climate: Support set-backs. Concerned about injecting hazardous material into the ground that could infiltrate our water supply.

Renewables: Unclear answer.

Anita Seitz

Bio: Appointed  to City Council in 2013, elected in 2015, Mayor Pro Tem in 2018. VP of sales and marketing for a small employee benefits firm, Gates Family Fellowship to attend the Harvard Community School of Government.

Platform: Sustainability, including economic, social and environmental long-term health and resilience when making policy decisions.

Ed: Collaboration with our school districts. Created free and reduced lunch programs at our rec center in the summer, provide scholarships for high-quality summer camp programs, connected businesses with schools for technical training, and we meet with school districts once a year.

SROs: Support.

Transportation: Address this regionally and within our budget.  I’ve testified to pressure RTD about Fast Tracks. We’re structuring fees so we have a sustainable revenue source.     

Prop CC: Support.

Revenue and Budget: Create a fiscal strategy for the city to diversify our revenue streams, know when to bond, when to use certificates, and when to use the right financing vehicles to limit exposure to the city and to maximize our ability to invest in the city.

Housing: Helped form an affordable housing plan that had 900 units put in throughout the city. Our housing plan should help improve social conditions, educational outcomes, and economic vibrancy.

O&G/Climate: Former president of Colorado communities for climate action, work to pass legislation to promote public health and human safety over economic benefit.

Renewables: Support.

Rich Seymour

Bio: I’m a 48-year resident. My wife and I have raised our family here. I’ve worked for insurance associations for 25 years. Volunteering as a boy scout leader, PTA member, youth baseball coach, and a career and technical educator at local schools.

Platform: We need to decide if we want to be the next urban center along the Colorado front range, or if our residents want us to remain the suburb that they moved to. Regarding sub-issues, we have to define our budget priorities, address our water rates.

Ed: Get out of the way of school districts being able to generate revenue. No taxes on schools when they’re generating revenue and making purchases. Send initiatives to our voters to waive taxation on school districts so they can flourish.

SRO’s: Support.

Transit: Our biggest transportation issue is that our population is growing. What we can address is the type of density that we put in and balance that density with the traffic in that area. We also have to work with CDOT to create safe zones and to eliminate bottlenecks.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: Our city depends almost entirely on retail sales tax, and right now we have an extremely wealthy city. We need to increase our reserves.

Housing: Westminster can fill up the remaining parcels that we have to build in our city with affordable housing; our regional neighbors to help out also. We need to continue to fix the sizable entry level housing gap in our housing market.

O&G/Climate: I was glad that prop 112 failed, but I’m glad SB 181passed because local governments now have more control and oversight.

Renewables: Does not support.

Final Remarks: As a city councilor, my goal is to protect the Westminster I moved to. We can’t build a fence around our city so we need to adapt; we have to be thoughtful and we need to listen to the residents because those are the people whose voice we represent on the council. So it’s your voice, your future.

Lindsey Smith

Bio: My way to give back to the community I grew up in. In 2017 became part of city council. MB and a BA in Communication.

Platform: Communicating with residents, true representation. No districts or wards, believes the community would like to add this to the ballot. Reducing costs wherever possible (no more increases in costs of living – like recent water rate increase).

Ed: Facilitate partnerships with our local schools, providing resources for teachers, utilizing a workforce initiative.

SRO’s: Yes, in this day and age it is needed. Looking at the bigger picture, what else would work. The value of having someone on site is irreplaceable.

Transit: We need to find innovative ways to help the community and increase some RTD routes and services in certain areas.

Prop CC: Does not support.

Revenue & Budget: We have a budget and it should work for the community. I don’t think there needs to be continued increases in revenue and budgets. We need to work with what we have.

O&G/Climate: I understand quality of life and preserving open spaces but we do need those resources for heating our homes and driving our cars.

Renewables: Does not support.

Housing: We need to be providing all types of housing, a well balanced housing market. I have a high priority on affordable housing but we should be looking at other priorities as well.

Ballot Propositions and Measures

Statewide

Prop CC: For

Prop DD: Against

Boulder County Measures

1A: For

City of Boulder Measures

2G: For

2H: For

2I: For

City of Lafayette Measures

2A: For

2B: neutral

2C: For

City of Longmont Measures

3B: Against

3C: For

3D: For

3E: Neutral

City of Louisville Measures

2D: For

2E: For

2F: For

Louisville Fire Protection District*

6A: For

Four Mile Fire Protection District*

6B: For

 

*Climate Change means increasingly severe fire seasons, necessitating continued investment.

EDITOR’S Note #DeLaVacasDesk

Vote Accordingly

Every year, for the last few years, we’ve said the same thing: this election is the most important of your lifetime. Every year it is. As Donald Trump ratchets up criminality in the highest office in the land – and indeed world – to the point of being the first GOP president facing impeachment since Richard Nixon in 1973 nearly 50 years ago, we know now is the time to stand on the right side of history. History, as we know, is cyclical.

It falls, therefore, to civil servants from his own administration all the way down to our local mayors, council members, and trustees to maintain the rule of law – with firm and considered understanding that law rooted anywhere but justice is unjust – and act in accordance with the spirit that inspires so many around the world to see America as a bastion of freedom, even while we cage children, erode our health and safety, defend gun rights over human rights, and deny housing to so many.

There is much to do between now and the Presidential election. There is no time for slacking off or hoping the future will get better on its own. Hope without action is as futile as thoughts and prayers in times of illness or accident. The state of America is no accident. Recovery means intervention, means action.

That’s why your votes in 2019 mean so much. Staunch the bleeding. Elect those who see a future that’s livable, that has room for all of us, that cares for even the least among us.

I hate to say the same thing, but this is the most important election.

Vote accordingly.