1. As the City Budget tightens in response to the economic downturn, and in response to a projected long-term revenue gap, which programs and services should receive the highest priority?
Public safety is a top priority. After that the services that maintain our quality of life in Boulder should receive the highest priority ¬ senior services, the public library system that has many programs like Boulder Reads (a literacy program), and internet skills classes that help a population with the greatest need. The non–profits need to be funded as they are part of our social safety net. We can find creative ways of funding these program such as the Dream Machine recently acquired by Special Transit and funded in cooperation with the City of Lafayette.
2. The current City Council has identified as one of its priorities creating a welcoming, inclusive and safe community for all. How can our police department best support this vision?
Minority hiring in the police department should be increased. A good relationship between the police department and the community can nip problems in the bud. On going engagement would prevent targeting of any community by the police department.
3. The City has made many fine efforts to solicit input from underrepresented communities, such as the “Meetings-in-a-Box” component of the last community survey. Participants often feel, however, that they do not know what happens as a result. How can the City do a better job of following up with those underrepresented communities on their input?
The City needs to show continued concern for underrepresented communities. Perhaps need to follow up “Meetings–in–a–Box” with “Results–in–a–Box” to see what has been done, to address the concerns raised in the survey and show respondents that they have been listened to and their ideas respected. The Orchard Grove community is a good example of a case where citizens concerns were identified and then addressed, and the residents of this community treated with respect.
4. What is your position relative to the City’s diversity initiative and what more can or should the City do to support expanded leadership representation for underrepresented communities on Boards and Commissions and on City staff? Would you, for example, support a City Charter amendment to allow resident non-citizens to serve on Boards and Commissions?
The City’s diversity initiative should be continued. Members of underrepresented communities should be mentored and encouraged to carry their civic participation to the next level. I myself have received such encouragement and that is how I gained the confidence to run for a seat on the Boulder City Council. Sometimes all it takes is a nudge to make a community leader see the possibility of continuing their activism at a more visible level.
I would not support a City Charter amendment to allow resident non–citizens to serve on Boards and Commissions. Citizenship should be the base requirement for participation in our democracy.
5. Mobile homes provide some of the most affordable housing in Boulder, but mobile home residents are quite vulnerable because landlords control pad rent and park management. What should the City's role be in preserving this form of housing and protecting mobile home residents?
In Boulder mobile homes are sometimes the most affordable housing available. The City should work to establish zoning especially for this type of housing, so that the land cannot be arbitrarily sold for redevelopment. Mobile home owners can form cooperatives and buy the land on which their homes sit, with help from the City in negotiating such an agreement. Resident Boards should be formed in such communities to prevent the landlord from hiking fees for charging for cable, water etc. without any agreement with the mobile home owners. The State should consider legislation that protects the rights of mobile home owners, who are vulnerable to the whims of the land owners of mobile home parks.
6. Many in the community feel that the contamination issue at Valmont Butte, a sacred Arapaho site and home to an historic settler’s cemetery, remains unresolved. How would you propose to address this issue?
The contamination on the site is going to be quite expensive to clean up. With our present fiscal constraint this cannot be an immediate priority but the issue should remain something we address when it is possible to do so. The liable parties need to participate in the solution.
7. Would you consider ensuring access to recreational and sports activities for children and youth of all backgrounds a priority? If so, how would you accomplish this?
Access to recreational and sports activities for children is an investment in their future. The City should work with the Parks Department to expand programs that serve our youth. These programs should not function as an exclusive club but be accessible to all., with fees being set on a sliding scale, with no charge below a certain income level.
