SPEAKER_10 0:00

The frequency works of frequency.

SPEAKER_04 0:09

Good morning, Boulder County. It's Wednesday, October 21st. I'm Shay Castle, and this is The Frequency. A weekly local podcast covering the news, events, and voices shaping the Boulder Valley. Today's episode is brought to you by Boulder Bookstore. Come visit Boulder's Community Bookstore on the Pearl Street Mall. Besides an amazing selection of books, they host author events every week. On Monday, November 2nd, see Carter Wilson, author of When They Find Me, starting at 6.30 p.m. Visit BoulderBookstore.com to buy tickets, see a full list of upcoming events, and support the store's Literacy Foundation and its mission to donate books to schools and students in need. That link, once again, is BoulderBookstore.com. Today we're teaching you all about ranked choice voting, then discussing candidates for Boulder Mayor and City Council. But first, the headlines. The Boulder Firebomber will change his plea in the federal case against him related to the June 1, 2025 attack on the Pearl Street Mall. Mohammed Sabri Solomon is already serving life in prison on state charges. He faces 12 federal counts, including one hate crime. Solomon targeted the March for Their Lives protest, a group advocating for release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. He injured more than a dozen people. One person and one dog later died from their injuries. As part of the plea deal, Solomon agreed to drop his efforts to keep his wife and five children from being deported while his case is ongoing. The family had been seeking asylum when Solomon was arrested and were kept in federal detention for ten months. They live and work in Colorado Springs. Solomon will enter his new plea at an October 29th proceeding, the Colorado Sun reports. Erie has hired a new town manager eight months after a split council fired the former manager. Kelly Johnson, Deputy City Manager of Greeley, will take over the job on January 4th. Learn more about Erie in our October 14th vote guide to all candidates and ballot issues in the town. Find the links in our show notes. As we prepped our election content, here's a story we missed last month. Boulder County has officially given up on its years-long quest to build a local composting facility. The most recent effort fell apart last year in Longmont when residents helped to kill a proposal to swap city open space land for potential compost site. Currently, curbside composting collected throughout Boulder County gets trucked to neighboring Weld County for processing. A local facility would have reduced cost and emissions and allowed the county to divert more waste from the landfill.

SPEAKER_08 2:58

The county staff has given up on this because at every single turn, they get turned away by people who would rather our trash go somewhere else than that we deal with it ourselves. And to me, that is not us taking responsibility for the environmental harms that we create as a community simply by existing. And I don't think that it advances the cause of environmental justice for us to say that it's okay for us to just send our trash somewhere else.

SPEAKER_04 3:22

That's Longmont resident Shaquille Dalal discussing the death of the compost facility. Shaquille will be back on the show Friday as we explore a related ballot measure in that city. And Longmont voters are deciding if they want to use ranked choice to elect the entire seven-member council. We'll talk more about Longmont on Friday's episode. For now, let's focus on how to rank your candidates. The most important thing to know, you can pick and rank as many candidates as you want, but you don't have to rank everyone. That's important because if you rank candidates you don't like, you could accidentally give them a boost. As Longmont-based ranked choice advocate Dylan Raken says, rank who you love, who you like, and who you can live with.

SPEAKER_07 4:16

If you really are just like, this is my candidate, and I really just could not care less who wins if they can't, ranking them number one and leaving the rest of your ballot blank is totally okay. There's nothing wrong with that. We know that from the data that voters do actually like having more choice. And I believe a majority of voters do all the rankings they're given in an average ranked choice voting election, which is cool. But if that's not you, that's okay. It's all about putting more power in the hands of the voter and not forcing them to make decisions they don't want to make.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

You can find more information about ranked choice voting and how it works at the links in our show notes. As a reminder, Boulder's mayor doesn't have any special powers that other council members don't. Their one vote counts just the same as their eight peers, but they are the face of Boulder, representing the city as a public figure during tragedies, celebrations, and other press coverage. And they do run council meetings and keep them on schedule and organized, so it can help having someone who knows what they're doing in that seat, or at least has a baseline level of competency. But of course, that's up to your personal priorities and values. There are two incumbents running. Mayor Aaron Brockett has been on council since late 2015 and has served as Boulder's mayor since 2023. If he wins again, this will be his last stint on council, as he is term-limited. His colleague Taisha Adams is challenging him for the spot. She's been on counsel since 2023. If either Aaron or Taisha lose, they will be off council. Taisha and Aaron have both been endorsed by Boulder progressives in the past and tend to align on most major issues. Aaron's stated priorities are housing, homelessness, mental health, climate change and resilience, wildfire prep, and cutting red tape for businesses.

SPEAKER_10 6:00

And I do think we're moving in the right direction in these areas, but we can do it more creatively and more quickly, and I commit to doing that if I am re-elected.

SPEAKER_04 6:08

Taisha's priorities fall under four categories of partnerships, affordability, transparency, and healthy systems, and include specific policies like increasing police oversight, changing city code to allow urban gardens in unused plots, allowing food-bearing native plants on public land, and exploring potential land-back agreements for the Area 3 planning reserve.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Community-led, community-driven decisions and approaches are what we need right now as we face the poly crisis of economic, climate, and culture wars.

SPEAKER_04 6:40

On council votes, Aaron and Taisha have diverged on things like minimum wage. Aaron wanted a higher wage, while Taisha joined the majority in voting for a smaller increase. Taisha tends to be a bit more critical of policing and more in favor of citizen oversight. She was one of the inaugural members on Boulder's first police oversight panel. She's also said she would get rid of flock and license plate reading cameras in Boulder, whereas Aaron favors safeguards and a community conversation before deciding to unilaterally stop using the controversial technology. Taisha's most notable diversion from her colleagues is her pro-Palestine beliefs. She has advocated for Boulder divesting from Israeli companies, which she believes are funding genocide, and has been heavily criticized for her pro-Palestinian stances and speech. The more conservative challenger to both Aaron and Taisha is Achiles Lagrave. He's running on an anti-incumbent platform. His campaign slogan is vote change. His top priorities are governance, safety, and economic renewal, and include goals like improving retention of police officers, ending the use of license plate reading cameras, cutting red tape for businesses, and hiring an auditor to look at city finances.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

We need a city auditor. We need an independent city auditor that uh reports directly to uh council and is looking at the performance of our programs and making sure that those programs are delivering on the funds that we are providing them and making the impact that we hope they have.

SPEAKER_04 8:02

How the city spends its money has become a major wedge issue in this election cycle. It's a worthy goal to be critical of government spending. I certainly have been over the years. Boulder is shrinking and in a budget deficit. And so much of their money is tied to specific causes that it makes it hard for the city to have the flexibility it needs. So I've watched Boulder's budget with a nervous eye for many, many years. But the group behind this year's push is largely wealthy, property, and business owners. It includes many former elected officials who directly contributed to Boulder's current budget was with their policy choices. So it rubs me a little bit the wrong way that they're only now concerned about spending when they funneled money into dedicated funds and pet projects for years. It's a bit of a right message, wrong messenger for me. We've also seen from history that austerity cuts coming from wealthier factions tend to leave intact the projects and programs rich people like while cutting social services and safety nets that ultimately harm the poor and middle class. Since Boulder's conservatives are Democrats, the cuts aren't typically as severe, but it's still worth keeping in mind who is advocating for less government spending, what's likely to get cut, and who it will impact. Speaking of money, Achiles is one of the wealthiest candidates in the race and is backed by tech millionaire Dan Caruso. You might remember him from a few election cycles ago. He promised to make big donations to area causes like the homeless shelter if the conservative slate of candidates he was backing won election to Boulder City Council. Achiles himself donated $10,000 to the campaign to add two commissioners in Boulder County. His city council campaign raised nearly $7,000 more than his next closest competitor and included an $8,000 personal loan from himself. Still, if you want a candidate for change and you don't care about the money, Achilles is probably the pick for you. Let's talk demographics for a minute. Taisha is the only renter running for mayor. She and Achilles are the only non-white candidates. Taisha is currently the only black member of council and the only renter. There is one young candidate running for mayor. Jameson J Mo Goldstein is a CU Boulder student studying finance and philosophy. He doesn't seem particularly engaged or well-informed on the issues, but if you really want to mix things up, you can find a link to his profile in the show notes, along with those of the two candidates I didn't discuss. Lisa Ann Jacobs and Grateful Fred instead. I'll share a couple clips to demonstrate why I don't find them to be viable or serious candidates.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

I have the highest IQ on the Wexler IQ score. I have been asked by the Colorado State Police to solve your problems. I've been asked by the Colorado Attorney General's office to write up the write-ups to remove all your judges. Kids' rights.

SPEAKER_10 10:40

If you come to school city of Boulder and pay all these taxes, I think you have the right to go into a bar.

SPEAKER_04 10:52

Okay, on to the main council race. There are five seats and 13 candidates. That includes three incumbents currently on city council: Tina Marquis, Tara Weiner, and Ryan Schuchard. Jill Grano previously served on city council. She left during her term to work for Senator Joe Nagoose. Benita Duran has previously run for council and has been heavily involved in government at the state and local level. There's a steep learning curve to council, and voters tend to favor incumbents. In weighing experience versus new faces, the one thing I consider is whether or not new to office folks are smart enough to figure out what's going on fairly quickly and strong-willed enough to not be led around by their veteran peers. Before we get into ideology, let's talk demographics. Boulder at City Council is and has been dominated by white professional class or retired homeowners. There are two renters running this time: Rachel Rose Isaacson, who lives in co-op housing, and Jamila Richmond, a resident of Boulder Housing Partners Affordable Housing. Jamila is also employed by BHP, working on programming for residents. I profiled her earlier this year before she launched her candidacy on an after-school art program she brought to Tantra Lake in South Boulder.

SPEAKER_09 12:04

There's so many barriers, so many barriers that nobody looks at or thinks about when in from a holistic perspective when it comes to creating resources to support families in a meaningful way.

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Rachel Rose Isaacson is also the only working class candidate. She's a barisa at Walnut Cafe. Here she is talking about that experience on a July 24th episode of The Frequency.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

I wish more people got to hear from workers directly. And so I'm grateful to be participating to this level to bring more awareness. I think that I hear at the cafe and just through the campaigning all these kitchen table conversations that I just don't think make it to city council chambers very often.

SPEAKER_04 12:45

As I mentioned in my segment on mayoral candidates, the major ideological divide of this campaign seems to be government spending. That's most easily seen in support for or opposition to 2K, the $400 million bond Boulder is asking voters to fund to pay for infrastructure like fire departments and rec centers.

SPEAKER_05 13:02

I think that's going to be the new conversation for city budget. Is do you want to add something new? What are we taking out? It's a half billion dollar business.

SPEAKER_10 13:11

I mean it's just frustrating.

SPEAKER_05 13:14

So let's make sure we're when we add all these programs, they're all good programs. But then how do we measure are they successful? What's the cost per delivery? I hope that's the only focus, the priority for the next council when they do the retreat.

SPEAKER_08 13:29

What is the problem?

SPEAKER_05 13:30

We need to make sure in today's world, which isn't probably going to change from a fiscal constraint. How do we deliver the most constraints?

SPEAKER_04 13:40

Scott Rendelman, Benita Duran, Ryan Jamison, Lynn Siegel, and Dave Martis all oppose the tax. That was Dave Martis you heard in the most recent clip. Of those candidates, Martis and Jamison picked up endorsements from Plan Boulder County, the historical powerhouse of Boulder politics, whose influence has waned over the years as a younger, more progressive cohort has taken control of council. Plan also endorsed all three incumbents. Common talking point of this campaign is whether or not the city should hire an independent financial auditor to make sure the city's spending is supported by measurable outcomes. That tends to be favored by conservative candidates like Martis, Jameson, and Rundelman, but it has some support across the aisle, with Rachel Rose Isaacson also favoring an audit. There's also an interesting split when it comes to use of license plate reading technology, which critics say and some courts have ruled is akin to warrantless searching and mass surveillance. Rachel Rose Isaacson, Lynn Siegel, Jamila Richmond, Jill Grano, Ryan Schuchard, Sam Fuqua, Benita Duran, Dave Martis, and Ryan Jameson all said they would remove the cameras, while Tina Marquis, Tara Weiner, and Scott Rendelman said they would not remove them or otherwise took a softer position. One note on Ryan Jamison, he works in cybersecurity, so his take on Flock is informed by his professional experience. It's worth noting that every single candidate said they would support Boulder hiring 15 more police officers, despite crime being at its lowest level since the pandemic. That's it for our very high-level, very quick rundown on candidates. I'm sorry we don't have more time to dive into each person's platform and priorities, but you can find much more information about all the candidates from other media outlets like Boulder Reporting Lab and the Daily Camera. Follow the links in our show notes. Join us Friday when we talk more about ranked choice voting and everything else on Longmont's ballots. As always, thanks for listening. Before you go, here's one more thing.

SPEAKER_06 15:42

The meaning of life is service to others. That's it. When you are a service to others, that will vanquish your own inadequacies, your anxieties, your depression. It brings you into the moment. And not only that, it makes the world a better place. And there's a lot of people that need a lot of service right now. So shifting humanity's entire focus from self-interest to other interest, self-ishness, other ishness was his entire thesis of the meaning of life. And I thought that was, I mean, it just so true, it doesn't get better than that.