Determining these endorsements is hard. With the exception of a couple of candidates, most have put their heart and soul into running. They care and they're put themselves on the line publicly where everyone Wednesday morning will then see what the voters thought of them. It's rough.
And in my case, where I am looking for a diversity of views on the council, it means passing over candidates I respect and agree with for others I disagree with. I really dislike doing that.
Ok, the primary goal here is a council made up of open minded members with diverse viewpoints. It is also essential to have members who have the time and ability to research issues on their own so the city staff does not frame the debate for the council. If we get a council that meets these criteria, then they can successfully find solutions to the major issues Boulder faces.
And I don't know if my list is the best 7 for Boulder. I have put a lot of thought into who I picked, but I am by no means perfect or even an expert. Use your own judgment. The one thing I strongly encourage is that you select a diverse range of views.
And so using the above criteria, here is my list. And remember, this means there are people on this list I disagree with.
Update: Eugene makes some very valid points in his comment below and therefore I have moved him up to Backup Votes.
Shawn Coleman - Very smart independently minded candidate who clearly does a lot of his own research into issues. He has been heavily involved in City issues for the last several years. And he works for a private company as an employee - very rare for a council member but this is what most residents of Boulder do for a living.
Angelique Espinoza - Another smart and independently minded candidate who has spent a lot of time on Democratic party work here in Boulder. Very very smart and very very good at finding solutions that work. She will be at the forefront of how do we address the Aspenization of Boulder.
Ken Wilson - I disagree with Ken Wilson a lot. The two of us have had a number of email exchanges on various issues. And in those Ken lays out why he thinks I am wrong, and does so in a way that attempts to get me on board with his position, or at least to understand it. This is absolutely the approach needed to find innovative solutions among a diverse council - Ken will argue rationally for his approach, listen to others, and work to craft a solution.
Alan O'Hashi - Alan is another I disagree with a lot. Alan's background is years and years of working for equity for everyone - and he is arguably the most experienced person in Boulder on these issues. With Alan we will have someone on the council who is working for those outside the well-off life is going fine majority. And he's a passionate supporter of the arts. These are both key constituencies for where we are taking Boulder.
Tom Riley - Tom is a very smart open-minded candidate and he works helping the less fortunate in Boulder. I continue to be impressed with the depth of knowledge he brings to almost every issue. Tom will think through every issue.
CrystalSusan - Crystal Gray & Susan Osborne are almost clones. They have the same stance on virtually every issue, are endorsed the same by virtually everyone, and appear to have the same priorities. They represent the Boulder environmental groups and those groups must have a seat at the table, both for their point of view which legitimately deserves representation and because any solutions will need at least the acquiesce of those groups. As to which one to vote for - I'm voting for Crystal because she participated in the online debate and Susan did not.
Eric Rutherford - Ok, I will disagree with most of the 6 above at times. Some of them quite a few times. With Eric I will probably disagree on most everything. Yes he is a strong advocate for the real estate and development community here in Boulder. But here's the key - they're the ones we need to build anything we want to have built. It's all fine to want affordable carbon neutral housing, but if the developers aren't on board, it won't get built. Eric, like CrystalSusan, represents a key constituency that we must have involved in any solution.
Backup Votes
Larry Quilling - Larry is a one trick pony (see below) but unlike the others he comes at it from his own work on the environment and not regurgitating the talking points that the others all seem to work from. If you want another environmental voice on the council, that is not a clone of the others, Larry is an excellent choice.
Eugene Pearson - I really like Eugene, he's passionate, committed, and very smart. A lot of what he speaks about is the environment, but his answers in the online debate showed a focus on helping the less fortunate. Tom and Alan on my list above also have that same focus but if that is not enough, Eugene brings that point of view also. (Alan, Tom, & Eugene are all very nice people too - I think that goes hand in hand with helping the less fortunate.)
Matt Applebaum - Matt has a boatload of experience both on council and lobbing hand grenades at them while writing the column for the Daily Camera. And he clearly is independently minded. But independent and original are two different things - if you want a council that is a bit more "normal", Matt is a good choice.
Honorable Mention
Kathy Kramer - Kathy cares a lot about Boulder and has good instincts. But she didn't show the ability to dive in beyond what she presently knows. I hope (please Kathy please) that she starts writing a blog on Boulder politics too.
Phil Hernandez - Phil clearly cares and has some good ideas. He never resonated in my opinion, but that may have just been me. Again, I hope he considers blogging about local issues for the retired community which he is very impassioned about.
One Trick Ponies
We have a number of candidates that would be the perfect choice if the election was for an environmental council. They are all strong intelligent advocates for the environment. The problem is that the council faces a raft of issues, many having nothing to do with the environment and many others having numerous facets, only some of which are the environment. We do need one voice like this on the council - CrystalSusan. But multiple identical voices do not serve us well.
CrystalSusan - Yes to one of them but no to both. We gain no value in having two identical voices on the council.
Susan Peterson - Probably the nicest candidate running. But again, environment only.
Lisa Morzel - A really nice person but again, environment only.
NO, NO, NO
Macon Cowles - Macon is a one trick pony. But in addition I have found him both thin skinned and close minded. Neither of those is traits conducive to working with those that have different views to forge an effective compromise. And politics is the art of the possible.
Rob Smoke - Rob knows he is righteous and that anyone who disagrees with him is clearly in the pocket of "them." He's not too sure about those that agree with him either. Rob would be totally ineffective because his stridency and intolerance would make the others ignore him.
Adam Massey - We live in a democracy and an election is where candidates sell themselves to the public. Yes it's imperfect and campaigns can revolve around the dumbest things. But the basic contract is the candidates tell us why we should vote for them. Adam is trying to coast to a win on a couple of endorsements and no real effort. Would he even bother to show up for council meetings?
Philip Bradley - I never got a strong sense from Philip as to why he was running. And I definitely did not see a deep understanding of the issues the council faces.
Seth Brigham - Seth appears to be running because of channel 54 and aside from that I did not see a deep understanding of the main issues the council faces.
Nabil Karkamaz - Nabil is not putting in much effort and also does not appear to have a deep understanding of the main issues.
Andrew Harrison - I'm not sure Andrew remembers that he's running. No effort put in at all.
And there you go. I pinged many of the groups endorsing candidates for not listing what their criteria were and why some did not make their list. So in the above I gave you a short answer on every single candidate. I hope in the future that all groups will do this.
