Tensions Flare at 2025 Boulder City Council Forum Over Gaza

Correction (Oct. 13, 2025): This article previously stated that the City of Lafayette had approved a plan to annex the Waneka property. The City Council has only approved the first two procedural steps in the annexation process; a final ordinance vote would be required to complete annexation.

The feature photo is by Karen Norback / Preserve Lafayette.

On a stormy night in Northern Colorado, residents crowded into New Vista High School for the 2025 Boulder City Council Forum. Before filing into the auditorium, neighbors mingled in the halls, shaking hands with candidates and eyeing each other’s shirts and signs. Dozens wore “Free Palestine” T-shirts, a pointed reminder of Boulder City Council’s recent refusal to divest from companies tied to Israel.

Once the room settled, moderator Jonathan Singer opened the evening by reading aloud the Code of Conduct posted at the entrance.

“It’s a tribute to the civic values of Boulder citizens,” Singer said, “that we draw such a crowd for this first chance to hear from the candidates who seek to represent their voices on the City Council.”

Each candidate then took a turn introducing themselves. Some stuck to résumés and housing platforms. Others, like Robert Smoke, centered their remarks on Gaza, urging the city to cut financial ties with Israel.

The forum quickly shifted from routine to volatile. During a question directed at Councilmember Mark Wallach, protester Laura Gonzalez walked to the front of the stage and denounced the council’s investments.

“I am condemning this Council who have investments of $35 million a year to companies that perpetuate the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people in the West Bank,” Gonzalez declared. “You are contributing to war crimes […] with that $35 million.”

Singer tried to calm the room but eventually asked Gonzalez to leave. Candidate Jennifer Robins stepped off stage to summon police.

“If you’re not going to leave,” Singer told Gonzalez, “I’m going to have to have security escort you out.”

Audience reactions split sharply, some shouted for Gonzalez’s removal, others hurled insults as she was escorted out without incident. The interruption prompted Singer to again remind the crowd of the Code of Conduct. Robins addressed the disruption directly:

“I don’t even want to give oxygen for this, but, [when something like this happens] I will always walk off the stage and signal to the police. No one up on this stage deserves to be spoken to like that.”

The tension did not subside. A woman in the audience accused Robins of being a Zionist, sparking another exchange with Singer, who pressed her to either respect the rules or leave. She stayed seated, and the forum moved on.

By the time the event ended, the storm outside mirrored the atmosphere inside. Attendees streamed into the rain carrying arguments, applause, and anger with them. The night underscored how Boulder’s local politics remain entangled in global conflicts. Just last week, a City Council meeting was consumed by a brief but tense discussion over divestment, and those divisions were on full display again in the high school auditorium.

As the 2025 election nears, Boulder voters face more than the usual questions of housing, growth, or sustainability. The race is becoming a referendum on how a city known for progressivism grapples with war abroad, dissent at home, and the fault lines in between.

Democracy needs journalism more than ever. We’ve been telling the truth for 24 years. Your support helps us keep telling it for at least the next four years.