This is my grades for the candidates answers on the subject of supporting business in Boulder. Unfortunately all too often "business" in Boulder is equated with the interests of real estate developers and/or retail shops. But that is a small part of the business environment here in Boulder and we will grade here based on the full business community.
And a personal note about the economic viability grants. I'm the founder of a local software company and a) I had no idea these things even existed before today, and b) $850,000.00 is nothing - most software startups generally get around $3,000,000.00 for their first round. It is also generally a bad idea for the city to place bets on which companies will be successful as they will tend to be wrong.
This is not to say the city should not spend money on economic viability, but that it should be for things other than direct payments to companies. Making broadband ubiquitous, providing advice and mentoring to startups, encouraging affordable appropriate office space - these are all things that could help a lot.
Ken Wilson A- : Very good answer explaining why we need business here and then discussing attracting & retaining businesses. And the concentration on green businesses is a good one. I would prefer a focus on high-tech industries too but that may be my own self-interest speaking here. (However, this city does have a large number of vibrant high-tech startups.)
Rob Smoke C- : The big concern with this answer is that payoffs that Rob cannot intuitively see he is unlikely to support. Results should be measured but it's many times not as easy as Rob wants. With that said, he does question if the economic viability grants do any good and that is a good question to ask.
Eric Rutherford C : A bunch of good generalities... And that's it. Eric talks about his experience being an asset in bringing business here - but again doesn't say how.
Tom Riley B : Some innovative ideas about how to fund and use the economic viability grants. Unfortunately he wants to spend a lot of it on direct payments to businesses. And struggling businesses are generally struggling not because of a lack of money but because there is a problem in what they are doing (at least that is what I have always found).
Larry Quilling F- : no answer.
Susan Peterson D : empty platitudes.
Eugene Pearson A- : Good sensible ideas such as reducing the regulatory maze (which fortunately does not touch software companies) and touches on affordable leases which could be a big boost for high-tech startups.
Susan Osborne F- : no answer.
Alan O'Hashi C+ : Pretty general generic answers. Good points on making sure the money spent on this is getting a good ROI and excellent point on including non-profits and arts/cultural businesses in what constitutes the business sector.
Lisa Morzel F- : no answer.
Adam Massey B+ : Adam brings up a number of important things to concentrate on and making sure we continue to improve how we approach this. He also brings up how the University and federal labs are key to Boulder's economy.
Kathy Kramer A+ : Wow - I was going to ding Kathy for a long (10 paragraph) answer but short, concise, intelligent point after point. Lists issues, approaches to solve them, etc. (And she mentions broadband!)
Nabil Karkamaz F- : no answer.
Philip Hernandez C : Generic list of the common complaints of real estate and retail businesses. He does touch on the lack of space for companies as they get too large for any facilities in the city although that generally is more a dollar than availability issue.
Andrew Harrison F- : no answer.
Crystal Gray F- : no answer.
Angelique Espinoza C+ : Pretty general comments but she does cover the full breadth of the business community (it helps that she is a principal in a high-tech company).
Macon Cowles F- : no answer.
Shawn Coleman B : A number of good points and things to consider. And Shawn definitely has a good understanding of the interdependency between various businesses. But a bit short on what specific steps we should take next.
Seth Brigham F+ : Seth wins the Joe Biden award this time for the longest answer. And in this long answer Seth talks about most everything except what can be done directly to improve the business environment. (Yes making Boulder prettier helps, but it's a very small indirect effect.)
Philip Bradley C : According to Philip my company doesn't exist. Businesses are small retail operations (regulatory hurdles), real estate developers, and large companies/federal labs. After listing the general issues he lists what he is against - a head tax (which would be a bad idea). But not much in the way of specifics.
Matthew Applebaum A- : Matt touches on all the right points. I'd like more detail but if he provided it I would probably complain that his response was too long so I'll leave this as very good answer.
