2021 Boulder Voting Guide

These are voting recommendations based on information provided in non-partisan guides (e.g. Colorado Blue Book, BallotPedia), voting guides provided by progressive organizations (e.g. Progress Now Colorado, New Era Colorado, Sierra Club), as well as recommendations provided by former Boulder Mayor Suzanne Jones and former Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones. Upon these, I have made some changes based on my personal knowledge on these issues, and my fundamental belief that it's our responsibility to build an equitable future with a stable climate. If you agree with that fundamental belief, and do not have a ton of time to do your own research, this guide may help.

This year's Boulder City Council race is, once again, anchored on the growth and density issue. In order to accommodate population growth, combat climate change, provide equitable housing, and preserve nature and wildlife, we have to change how we build and how we live. The status quo of pushing people as far out as possible just isn't feasible any more.  According to a report created by the Frontier Group in 2019, "Boulder’s positive contributions to the environment are undermined by housing policies that contribute to regional sprawl and increase global warming pollution." It's a world view shared by Progress Now Colorado, New Era Colorado, Sierra Club, Boulder Progressives, and everybody else I work with in the climate space. This leads to my recommendations for the five seats on the council:

• Vote for Mark Wallach:  Mark is the only incumbent running for re-election. He has been endorsed by all of the returning council members despite their different policy stances. That alone should speak volumes: Mark is a thoughtful and open-minded council member and will continue to serve the city well.

• Vote for Laurent Folkerts: Lauren is an architect, president-elect of the CO Green Building Guild, and chair of Boulder’s Design Advisory Board. Her experience will help guide the city on the path of sustainability. Endorsed by Boulder Progressives. 

• Vote for Matt Benjamin: Matt is an astronomer and photographer with a passion for science. He has been very engaged in community and environmental work. Endorsed by Boulder Progressives. 

• Vote for Nicole Speer: Nicole is a neuroscientist deeply engaged in community work through church, school and non-profit organizations. She is a recent graduate of Emerge Colorado (Emerge trains amazing women  to run for office). Endorsed by Boulder Progressives. 

• Vote for Dan Williams: Dan is a practicing attorney and also does pro bono civil rights cases. He worked previously for the  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on welfare policy and community development programs. He has a track record of community involvement and volunteerism, and is eager to help address the climate emergency. Endorsed by Boulder Progressives. 

• District B - Vote for Nicole Rajpal: Nicole has served for six years on Boulder Valley’s District Accountability Committee, including two as a chair, and is endorsed by the Boulder Valley Education Association and a number of state and local elected officials.

• District E - Vote for Deann E. Bucher: Unfortunately, among the three candidates running for this office, there're two progressives and a third candidate who is connected with the sham BVSD School Board recall petitions. The two progressives are Deann Bucher - a retired social studies teacher from Monach High School, and Beth Niznik - a special education regional facilitator at the Colorado Department of Education. Vote splitting between the two progressives is a real concern. Our top priority is to ensure that one of the two will have enough votes to win. Since Deann has been endorsed by Boulder Valley Education Association, Colorado Education Association, and SEIU, she is more likely to win enough votes to protect the seat. So, even though I do like Beth as well, I urge you to cast your vote for Deann.

• District F - Vote for Kitty Sargent:  Incumbent running unopposed.

• Amendment 78 — Require legislative approval for all "outside" state spending: Vote No. This amendment would mandate that all state spending from “outside funds” — such as federal money or private donations — would need to be determined and approved by the Colorado Legislature. At a time when Colorado is still rebounding from several disasters, this amendment would effectively paralyze our state in times of future emergencies, when our government needs more flexibility and responsiveness, not less.

• Proposition 119 — Marijuana tax and state funding for out-of-school enrichment programs: Vote No. This would raise sales tax on marijuana purchases from 15% to 20% over three years to fund out-of-school educational programs for children ages 5-17, with a priority for providing programs for low-income households. However, it will also take $20 million away from public schools annually and another $20 million away from state general fund annually to run the program. At a time when there's a desperate need for more investment in public schools, taking money away from them to support private out-of-school programs is just not the right thing to do.

• Proposition 120 — Property tax reduction : Vote No. This would lower the property tax assessment rate for non-residential property from 29% to 26.4%, and lower the property tax assessment rate for residential property from 7.1% to 6.5%. This will lead to a reduction of public funding for education, public services, and infrastructure. This conservative backed measure is another attempt in Colorado to defund the government for the benefit of wealthier home/landowners.

• Ballot Issue 2I — Community, Culture, Resilience & Safety Tax Extension: Vote Yes. This measure would continue a current 0.3 percent sales tax to fund additional city capital improvement projects such as: multi-modal roads and paths, improving the Boulder Creek Path Corridor, Central Park, and East Boulder Recreation Center; relocating/improving several fire stations; and refreshing the Pearl Street Mall – among other things. This is a good investment in our community and the things we love about Boulder.

• Ballot Issue 2J —Bond Issuance for the above Community, Culture & Safety Tax Extension: Vote Yes. This companion measure to 2I allows the City to issue bonds to accelerate the funding and completion of the capital projects funded by Ballot Measure 2I. 

• Ballot Question 2K — Council Subcommittees: Vote Yes. This measure would formalize rules for forming subcommittees, mainly making explicit the Council’s right to appoint council committees with no more than two council members, and cleans up expired language related to the ability of council members to meet in executive session to discuss municipalization litigation. 

• Ballot Question 2L — Clarification of Signatures for Petitions: Vote Yes. This clean-up measure clarifies rules regarding gathering signatures for referendum petitions, specifically requiring that the number of signatures must be at least ten percent of the average number of voters in the previous two municipal candidate elections.

• Ballot Question 2M — Council Pay Schedule: Vote Yes. This measure merely allows City Council members, who are currently paid per each Council meeting they attend, to be compensated on the same schedule as other city employees, reducing administrative burdens and making it easier for council members trying to utilize city health benefits. It does not change the amount of compensation that Council members receive.

• Ballot Question 300 — Bedrooms are for People: Vote Yes. This measure would expand access to housing by allowing all housing units to be occupied by a number of people equal to the number of legal bedrooms, plus one additional person per home, provided that relevant health and safety codes are met. The intention of the bill is to create more affordable housing in Boulder for students and lower income folks. There's a concern that this may make Boulder even less affordable for families, however, it'll be able to accommodate more people in Boulder who work or study here and reduce regional Vehicle Mile Travelled and cut overall carbon emissions, and provide legal accommodations for individuals who can otherwise not afford to live here. Overall, it's a good thing for climate and equity, and is in fact quite overdue.

• Ballot Question 301 — Fur product Ban: Vote Yes. This measure would ban the sale and manufacture for sale of fur and fur products, with exemptions for indigenous people, used fur products, and others. It's great for Boulder to stand up against animal cruelty and join a few states and cities that have already done so. Even with the exemptions, there's a concern that the ban may be too broad but that can be fixed by the City Council after the bill passes.

• Ballot Question 302 — Let the Voters Decide on Annexation of CU South: Vote No.  This measure would require the voter approval for any annexation agreement with the University of Colorado for CU South. The annexation of CU South has been negotiated for decades through multiple city councils. Millions have been spent for a study that took almost a decade. The current council has reached an agreement that will create new housing units for CU students as well as Boulder residents, set aside 80 acres for flood control (which needs to commence ASAP), make 110 acres available for open space purchase, provide multimodal transportation hub, provide environmental protection and put limit on future development, maintain public recreational access, etc. Some residents want to see more concessions from CU, including capping school enrollment, setting aside more land for flood control, swapping lands, etc. Should we ask voters to decide on the terms of annexation? Direct democracy is good for some things, but not for everything, including 1) raising taxes - we have all seen how detrimental TABOR is to Colorado, and 2) approving development plans in or near neighborhoods - we have seen how hard neighborhood groups fight against development of any kind. When there's a conflict between personal interest and public good, sometimes we have to entrust an intermediary whom we have elected to make these tough decisions. In this case, the intermediary is the Boulder City Council.