Update: I have re-written a lot of the below post because, while my intent was to pound PLAN Boulder for their selection, a number of the candidates took it as a personal attack not on their platform and policies, but on them individually. It was not intended that way and I apologize.
Rather than show what was written, what was intended, and new wording - which would be a complete mess in this case, I am just re-writing the post. And I will strive for clarity this time.
Why did PLAN Boulder even bother to have their forums? They've come up with their endorsements and clearly this was all decided way in advance. This unimaginative selection by PBC will continue Boulder on its path to be unaffordable for any but the very rich and restricting more and more of our open space to be look but don't touch.
I am not upset with PBC itself. Yes it's a small calcified group working to continue imposing its vision of Boulder on everyone. But that is not just the right, but the duty of special interest groups in a Democracy. I do think it's cruel of them to have "candidate forums" when their minds were made up long before that. Some of the candidates actually thought they would approach this with an open mind (yes I know - foolish them).
And special interest groups almost by definition are short-sighted and over time stay locked in to old approaches that not only don't work, but don't even fit the new circumstances that we now find ourselves facing. So yes, PBC is unimaginative, out of date, and obsolete. But they will not go quietly into the good night as long as they have influence. In fact, the one thing that could get them to wake up, re-assess what Boulder needs, and evolve to become a constructive force once again, would be for their endorsed candidates to lose.
Ok, this election matters! With 7 seats this decides if Boulder will go down the tired failed trail that gave us Crossroads sitting empty for years, a declining sales tax base, limited library hours, more and more open space being closed off, and millions (that is not an exaggeration) spent on prairie dogs while libraries got reduced hours.
We do live in a democracy and it does come down to our votes. That requires that we, the citizens of Boulder, step up and vote for the future we want to see in Boulder. There are good quality candidates in this election. Candidates that do want to see Boulder remain a place where middle class families with children can continue to live here (we priced out the poor long ago). A place where businesses (I'm not talking real estate developers or expensive clothing stores here - the rest of us) can continue to operate here. A place where we can actually walk on the open space we have all paid so much for.
The 7 candidates endorsed by PBC are nice people. They care about Boulder. They're intelligent. But their policies are all very similiar (which is why PBC endorsed them) and those policies (not the candidates - the policies), if they hold a majority on the council, are very bad news for Boulder.
Getting a diverse set of opinions on council is not finding the widest range you can amoung a group of white upper middle class liberals for whom the environment is the key political issue. A diverse council is getting conservatives who value the environment. It's getting people focused on affordable housing or a welcoming business environment who value the environment. It's getting people who bring a true wide range of backgrounds and interests - who also value the environment. After all, it's the City Council, not the Environmental Council.
With their blinders that looked at only people who fit a very narrow range of qualifications, PBC made a mediocre choice. The mediocrity stems not from any individual endorsed, but from the extremly narrow range of philosophies in the total selection. And the real sad thing is, many in Boulder view this narrow range as diverse - it's not.
We need to get a diverse council now, who with a varied set of ideas between them start coming up with real solutions Otherwise we are going to go down another 10 years of just making things worse. This should include 1 or 2 of the candidates on the PBC list. Their view does need a voice at the table - it just shouldn't be the only voice.
And don't get me started on how with all of the quality candidates of color we have, everyone endorsed just happened to be white. Yeah right - B.O.C. and FIDOS mamanged to do better with just 4 & 5 endorsements repsectively.
- Macon Cowles
- Crystal Gray
- Lisa Morzel
- Susan Osborne
- Eugene Pearson
- Susan Peterson
- Ken Wilson.
