City Council meetings are held in the municipal building on Broadway. (Ken Lund/Flickr)
Boulder City Council elections will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7. This year, 14 candidates are running for five available seats on City Council. Boulder City Council elections are nonpartisan and all candidates are elected at large. Three candidates — Jan Burton, Sam Weaver and Mary Dolores Young — are running for re-election.
For more information on elections, visit:
https://bouldercolorado.gov/elections
https://bouldercolorado.gov/city-council
Bill Rigler:
Bill Rigler does not believe that Boulder should pursue municipal electric utility instead of Xcel Energy.
Rigler supports Boulder’s initiative to pursue a citywide broadband network in order to increase telecommuting and equality in information access.
Rigler wants to address the middle-income housing crisis in Boulder. He supports sensible housing policies that would make affordable housing more readily available.
Website: https://billforboulder.com
Mark McIntyre:
Mark McIntyre supports an increase in permanently affordable housing units, adjustments of Boulder’s parking system and making the transportation system more responsive to the needs of the community.
McIntyre wants Boulder to move away from acquiring more land. He does not see municipalization of energy as a goal, but as one way to reduce carbon emissions.
McIntyre wants the city of Boulder to look at getting homeless people into temporary housing and into Boulder’s social service network instead of jailing them.
Website: https://www.markforcouncil.com
Eric Budd:
Eric Budd wants Boulder to be a leader in climate action. He supports the use of public transportation and ride-sharing programs. Budd does not believe that Boulder should pursue municipal electric utility instead of Xcel Energy. He also believes that acquisition of open space is very important to preserving the land around Boulder.
Budd supports increased transparency between the local government and the Boulder community.
He also believes in increasing shelter and transportation options for homeless people in Boulder, stating that housing policies in Boulder increase inequality. Budd supports existing affordable housing programs and new housing solutions for middle-income families.
Website: https://www.electericbudd.org
Cindy Carlisle:
Cindy Carlisle believes that the most important human service issues facing Boulder are the safety net for low-income families, housing for low-income residents and mental and physical health options for disadvantaged members of the Boulder community.
Carlisle wants Boulder to be an economically diverse community and supports the creation of affordable housing options and small business spaces. She wants the public’s voice to be heard by the local government.
Her campaign also focuses on climate change and she believes that Boulder’s electric service should be municipalized.
Website: https://www.carlisleforcouncil.com
Jan Burton:
Jan Burton believes that Boulder should take action against climate change, embrace small businesses and entrepreneurship, make affordable housing more available for middle and low-income residents, improve sustainable transportation, encourage use of open spaces, involve young adults in government and community and support the arts.
Website: https://www.janforboulder.com
Mary Dolores Young:
Mary Dolores Young supports responsible growth in Boulder. She supports “people over profit.” She also supports affordable housing initiatives.
Young wants to keep small businesses in Boulder. She wants Boulder to have a “Formula Business Policy” like San Francisco.
Young also wants to fight climate change. She supports municipalization of energy, making public transportation more readily available and increasing funding for open spaces.
Website: https://youngforcouncil.org
Jill Adler Grano:
Jill Adler Grano wants Boulder to be accepting to people of all incomes. She wants to increase affordable housing by creating zoning overlays, giving people more power in low-density neighborhoods and building more affordable housing.
Adler Grano also supports small businesses. She wants to make owning a small business in Boulder more affordable and create more opportunities for small businesses in downtown Boulder.
Young supports municipalization of Boulder’s energy.
Website: https://www.jillforcitycouncil.com
Mirabai Nagle:
Mirabai Nagle’s campaign focuses on affordable housing, growth and development, transportation, open space, energy and climate change, public participation, neighborhood plans, urban design, human relations and services, homelessness, recycling and waste reduction, broadband and the arts.
Nagle supports acquisition of open space, wants to preserve existing affordable housing, increase public transportation and car-sharing options and supports municipalization of Boulder’s energy.
Website: http://nagleforcouncil.org
Matt Benjamin:
Matt Benjamin’s campaign focuses on effective governance, affordable housing, renewable energy, transportation and homelessness.
Benjamin wants to define the City Council’s priorities in order to increase efficiency, to create more inclusive and permanent affordable housing to increase opportunities for the middle class, to work with Xcel on renewable energy instead of pursuing municipalization, to make public transportation more efficient and available and to care for Boulder’s homeless population.
Website: https://www.mattbenjaminfuturefirst.com
Sam Weaver:
Sam Weaver wants to create a healthy business environment in Boulder, reduce carbon emissions and support a community that cares for those in need.
Weaver want Boulder to be a responsibly planned city in order to lower congestion and housing prices. He wants to fund affordable housing initiatives to make Boulder accessible to people of all incomes.
Weaver believes that municipalization is the only way for Boulder to reach its climate goals.
Website: https://sam4council.wordpress.com
Adam Swetlik:
Adam Swetlik’s campaign is focused on housing and transportation, human services, recreation and culture and business and entrepreneurship.
Swetlik wants to make low- and middle-class housing more readily available in Boulder, to create more programs for Boulder’s most vulnerable, to create more spaces for recreation and to promote small businesses.
Website: http://adamswetlikforboulder.com
John Gerstle:
John Gerstle supports Boulder’s open space plans, is a strong supporter of municipalization of Boulder’s energy, does not believe in changing Boulder’s zoning laws, supports better public transportation initiatives and wants to preserve existing affordable housing.
Gerstle wants to find a balance between conservation and recreation.
Gerstle also believes that instead of creating new affordable housing, Boulder should focus on not letting new employers into the city in an effort to decrease congestion in Boulder.
Website: http://johngerstle.ngpvanhost.com
Ed Byrne:
Ed Byrne believes that Boulder’s energy should not be municipalized. Instead he wants to work to improve Boulder’s relation with Xcel.
Byrne wants to increase development in Boulder and supports the “Yes In My Backyard” (YIMBY) movement to increase housing for new residents of Boulder.
Website: http://byrneforcouncil.com
Camilo Casas:
Camilo Casas believes in municipalization of Boulder’s energy. He wants to increase participation in government for lower-income residents of Boulder.
Website: boulder.parti.vote
Contact CU Independent news staff writer Sarah Olick at sarah.olick@colorado.edu.
