Serving on a city or county board or commission is one way to give back to your community and participate in some tough decision making.

For the City of Boulder, the 2012 annual recruitment period opened January 4 and will close on February 16.  Application information is available on the city’s website.  The city is recruiting residents for the following boards and commissions:

• Arts Commission
• Beverage Licensing Authority
• Board of Zoning Adjustment
• Boulder Design Advisory Board
• Boulder Urban Renewal Authority
• Colorado Chautauqua Association
• Downtown Management Commission
• Environmental Advisory Board
• Housing Authority
• Human Relations Commission
• Landmarks Board
• Library Commission
• Open Space Board of Trustees
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
• Planning Board
• Transportation Advisory Board
• University Hill Commercial Area Management Commission
• Water Resources Advisory Board

Boulder County is also recruiting residents for positions on advisory boards and commissions.  To view descriptions of the various boards and commissions or to download an application, visit the Advisory Boards and Commissions page of the Boulder County website. The deadline to submit applications is 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31.  For more information, call the Boulder County Commissioners’ Office at 303-441-1688.  The following county boards and commissions have open positions:

• Adult Protection Review Team
• Aging Advisory Council
• Board of Adjustment
• Board of Health
• Board of Review
• Citizen Review Panel
• Community Action Programs Administering Board
• Community Corrections Board
• Core Services Board
• Eldorado Springs LID Advisory Committee
• Extension Advisory Committee
• Fire Code Review Committee
• Historic Preservation Advisory Board
• Mosquito Control Advisory Board
• Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee
• Planning Commission
• Resource Conservation Advisory Board
• WorkForce Development Board

2011 election yard signs (Pat Shanks)

Election night 2011 was full of surprises.  The fact that some of the outcomes were surprising suggests many factors influenced voter behavior, and without detailed post-election polling, explanations have been at best speculative and at worst self-serving and emotional.  But with the certification of election results by the ad hoc City of Boulder canvassing board on Tuesday, November 15, we now have the final numbers to analyze.  This opinion article is intended to provide a fair analysis and interpretation of this important election.  It is based on the election outcome, first-hand observations, websites and election materials, council candidate forums, and long-term study of Boulder elections and politics.

Surprise number one in this election was the top-polling overall victory of Boulder City Council candidate Suzanne (Zan) Jones. Political veteran Jones (Environmental Advisory Board, Blue Ribbon Commission II on Revenue Stabilization, PLAN-Boulder County board member, Regional Director for The Wilderness Society) ran an excellent campaign with a strong focus on the issues, but it is still unusual for a first-time-candidate to gather the most votes for council.  The most logical explanation is that Jones is an engaging candidate and that her positions on the issues strongly appealed to the people of Boulder.  Her positions (zanjonesforcouncil.com) emphasize preserving what’s best about Boulder, creating a sustainable energy future, improving local and regional transportation, creatively enhancing our downtown area, and investing in our infrastructure.

Lisa Morzel, who is completing her twelfth year on council, finished strongly in second-place and now will serve another four years with a huge affirmation from the people of Boulder.  Morzel’s positions on the issues (lisamorzel.com) highlight progressive and environmental values, with strong emphasis on exploring municipalization as a pathway to clean reliable energy, creating new bikeways and crosswalks, developing our civic space at the St. Julien, acquiring and carefully managing open space, preserving “Section 16” to complete the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge, and creating the long-awaited north Boulder library branch.

Tim Plass, Planning Board member, former Landmarks Board member, and community activist finished in third place.  Plass supports many of the positions advocated by Jones and Morzel (plassforcouncil.org – now taken down).  All three of the top winners were endorsed by PLAN-Boulder County, the Sierra Club, the Daily Camera, and the Boulder Weekly.  All three are strong environmentalists, advocates of careful land-use planning, supporters of the Boulder municipalization issues (ballot measures 2B and 2C), and strong advocates for the Move to Amend ballot measure 2H (opposing corporate personhood).

Final election outcome

The second surprise of election night was the relatively weak showing of incumbents George Karakehian and Ken Wilson, who trailed Jones and Morzel by 2400-2900 votes (22-23%; see chart and table).  Incumbents are usually golden in Boulder and, whereas both retained their seats, it is striking that they were displaced from the top of the ticket by two newcomers with relatively low name recognition.  This is important.  Both Karakehian and Wilson have served well and are competent councilmembers, but both opposed 2B/2C as did the conservative groups who endorsed them (Boulder Area Realtors Association, Boulder Outdoor Coalition, and Boulder Chamber of Commerce).

Finishing significantly behind the electeds (1336 votes behind Wilson), Dan King’s campaign started strongly but faded in the end, perhaps due to his close ties with the Chamber, his opposition to the 2H issue, his opposition to dedicated taxes (like open space, recycling, and climate action), or his seeming ambiguity on 2B/2C.  Or perhaps Dan’s thin knowledge of city issues other than the budget came through in the long stream of forums and questionnaires.  Daniel Ziskin and Jonathan Hondorf came next, finishing ahead of 2-time candidate Fenno Hoffman.  King, Ziskin, and Hondorf are likely to be strong candidates in the next council election, if they choose to run again in two years.

It’s tempting to speculate that the 2B/2C victories lifted Jones, Morzel, and Plass to decisive victory, but the narrow margins of the municipalization issues suggests other factors were at play.  Rather, the high vote tallies of Jones/Morzel/Plass seem to be a confirmation of the vision of the current council, which includes supporting strong environmental action and open space conservation, careful development when it provides a distinct community benefit, a strong social services network, and encouraging innovative and locally-grown businesses.

Some have speculated that anti-incumbent sentiments influenced this Boulder election (Daily Camera, Nov. 3), but two outcomes argue against this hypothesis. The very strong showing by incumbent Lisa Morzel suggests the results are related more to the issues and positions championed by Morzel as opposed to the more conservative positions of the other incumbents, Wilson and Karakehian.  Further, the very weak showings by Mark Gelband and Thomas Johnston, both of whom were relentlessly critical of the current pathways chosen by Boulder leadership, shows that anti-incumbent sentiment is not important in Boulder at this time.

Boulder Clean Energy Business Coalition poster

The third surprise was the narrow victory and last minute surge of support for 2B (50.40%) and 2C (51.93%), which will enable further study and consideration of municipalization of our electrical energy supply.  These issues pitted liberals and environmentalists who believe in clean energy and local government against conservatives and others who argued that they have a better chance of influencing Xcel or the PUC (Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Xcel in Colorado) than their own elected officials.  As the campaign progressed, many voters were offended by the steady stream of distortions and half-truths that Xcel and its proxy (Boulder Smart Energy Coalition) produced. The anti-2B/2C groups spent at least $900,000 to protect the current regulated monopoly, about ten times the amount spent by the pro-2B/2C groups.

The Xcel message did not seem to resonate strongly in Boulder, but did accomplish its mission of scaring or confusing some voters, resulting in a very close final tally.  Even after the election was decided, representatives like Xcel-hired point-man David Miller stayed on message. “It looks to me like the voters are not endorsing municipalization,” he said. “It was presented as the passport to clean energy, and I don’t think there’s any sort of resounding endorsement of that.”

Perhaps a primer on how democracy works is in order, but I guess Xcel has already received that.  The election outcome, with both 2B and 2C passing, and 2H passing by an overwhelming margin (73.79%), shows that Boulder residents still possess highly functional BS detectors.

Significant credit needs to be given to our local newspapers (Boulder Weekly, Daily Camera, and Denver Post), who stood up to intense pressure and endorsed the municipalization ballot measures.  The narrow passage of 2B/2C with a strong surge at the end was clearly lubricated by incredibly intense and effective campaigning all the way to the end.  This effort was led by New Era Colorado and the Boulder Clean Energy Business Coalition.  Volunteers from RenewablesYes and the Sierra Club participated in a massive and successful get-out-the-vote campaign at the end, which produced a last minute surge that carried 2B/2C over the top.  The challenge of the municipalization issues was educating the voters, and the margin would probably have been larger if the clean energy campaign had had the resources to reach more voters.

The most important take-home message of this election is that Boulder voters are happy with the city and support the direction the City Council has taken us in the last four years.  Boulder citizens want our city to be a national and international leader in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and they believe that municipalization may be our best chance to achieve that goal.  But issues of Open Space conservation and environmental preservation, and a careful, measured approach to development should not be underestimated as issues that propelled the top 3 vote-getters.

New Boulder City Council (photo by Pat Shanks)

At a 10:00 am special City Council meeting today, newly elected council members Suzanne Jones, Lisa Morzel, Tim Plass, George Karakehian, and Ken Wilson were sworn in at City Council chambers.

Once the new council was seated, sitting Deputy Mayor Ken Wilson presided over deliberations for new leadership through a nomination and voting process.  For Mayor, George Karakehian nominated Suzy Ageton and Macon Cowles nominated Matt Appelbaum.  Appelbaum was elected on a 5-4 vote with support from Macon Cowles, Tim Plass, Suzanne Jones, Matt Appelbaum, and Lisa Morzel.  For Deputy Mayor, Suzy Ageton nominated George Karakehian and Macon Cowles nominated Lisa Morzel, who won on a 5-4 vote with the same supporters as Appelbaum.

Following the leadership elections, new Mayor Appelbaum made some conciliatory remarks about the great new council and the need to work together following a difficult and contentious process.  Suzy Ageton then read a prepared statement claiming that the process has resulted in a loss of trust on the council.  She complained that her quest to be mayor was hampered because she did not support the municipalization issues 2B and 2C.  She stated, “I am troubled that a single issue could disqualify a strong candidate…. We’ve never had a litmus test for mayor.”  Macon Cowles disagreed with the litmus test comment, stating that other issues were also considered in choosing the mayor.  Deputy Mayor Lisa Morzel closed the comments by stating that she is proud of the new council. “This community expects us to have a united front,” she said. “We will go forward and we will continue to serve the whole community.”

The first meeting of the new council is at 6 pm tonight (Tuesday 11/15/11).

On Tuesday, November 15 at 10:00 a.m., the new Boulder City Council will elect a mayor.  Outgoing Mayor Susan Osborne is going to be a tough act to follow — she figured out how to nudge, cajole and inspire her colleagues toward resolution and, ultimately, votes on dozens of tough issues.  She will be missed by many in this community.

If you were on council, who would you choose to be the next mayor? Some considerations that might figure into your decision include:

• Can he/she run a meeting?
• Do you perceive him/her to be fair?
• Will he/she support the city’s energy efforts?
• Does he/she already own a gavel?

Pick one of the nine council members shown in the poll on the right.  You don’t need to register to vote.  Your vote is anonymous, but please, just one vote per person. 

Outgoing City Council member Crystal Gray

My beautiful, good friend Crystal leaves stylish council shoes that will be very hard to fill. She is a fierce activist and a neighborhood-loving downtown denizen. She is indomitable, optimistic and a force of nature. I’ve often joked to people that like Oprah or Marcelee, Crystal doesn’t need a last name.

Crystal, first and foremost, speaks for Boulder’s neighborhoods – and has for decades.  As a landscape architect with a keen eye for design, she recognizes and advocates for regulations and public and private projects that benefit our town’s neighborhoods. Trees, trees, trees and the maintenance of public spaces are her passion. But know that this passion is based on a landscape architect’s credo that shade and beautiful public spaces are really surrogates for a vibrant and caring community.  Historic preservation has the same meaning and importance to her.

She served a term on the Open Space Board of Trustees and knows our open space lands as well as anyone. Before Crystal was on council but after her term on the OSBT, she would show slides during Open Comment of open space properties that had been recently purchased.  She rightly believed that each acquisition was cause to celebrate, and that both the council and the larger community should be aware of each new piece of our common ownership.

Crystal has been a staunch supporter of open government. When a majority on the City Council (including me) voted to put a charter change on the ballot that would allow for council executive sessions, she spoke eloquently against this change. Her view prevailed with the voters. She has been a watchdog for breeches of council rules and for the right of all citizens to see open and honest council deliberation, not pre-cooked decisions.

Crystal almost always walks to our council meetings, while I drive. Our unspoken tradition has become that I drop her off at home after council. It’s always dark, often late. At Crystal’s direction, we’ll often drive through downtown, marveling at the people out on the mall or the beauty of our town.  We talk over the evening’s topics and decisions, often giddy with happiness at the way the night has gone. I will miss these times terribly.

Election Day is here!  Tuesday, November 1 at 7:00 pm is the deadline for dropping off your mail ballot. Drop off locations in Boulder include

• County Clerk & Recorder Office, 1750 33rd Street
• Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl Street
• University of Colorado Recreation Center

Check the county website for drive-by drop off times.

If you have not received a ballot, contact the Boulder County Clerk at 303-413-7740. You can check to see that your ballot was received at the County Clerk’s website.

If you’re still wondering who to vote for, check out the candidates’ responses to the Blue Line’s Community Questionnaire. In collaboration with dozens of local organizations, the Blue Line developed a questionnaire for City Council candidates and has made their responses available to the public. Wondering what the candidates’ priorities are? Select the topic General Information in the response select box. How about their views on development? Try Land Use. You can find out how a single candidate or All Candidates responded. Just play around with it and get to know the candidates. Background on the questionnaire, the full set of questions, and the list of organizations that submitted the questions are all available on our Election 2011 page.

Candidate Mark Gelband (photo by Zane Selvans)

Mark Gelband, a 46-year-old father of a blended family, is running for a seat on the Boulder City Council. He feels strongly that the City Council needs a major overhaul.

“I feel as though as though there’s been a small, vocal group of community activists who in my estimation control way too much of the political discussion in Boulder. We need a greater diversity of voices. Eight of nine of our current council are almost 60 or older. And out of my tax bracket. And I feel like we need a voice for young families, young professionals, and the more working class of Boulder,” said Gelband.

At the top of Gelband’s list of issues to address, if elected, is the way the council runs meetings. He said, “The council has not really effectively been able to manage meetings. And their way of addressing that issue is to suggest cutting off public input, which I think is a travesty.”

Another of Gelband’s goals is to confront Boulder’s homeless problem. He thinks it is important to distinguish between the “working poor and transitionally homeless” who are from Boulder, and “the chronic vagrants” that come here from the region, who he feels have no intention of contributing to our community. He says that people with a local I.D. should get priority access to services (such as a night’s stay at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless). He also feels that we need to enforce our already existing ordinances more strictly.

As for Boulder’s housing issues, Gelband feels it’s time to step up. “We need to have a larger push towards a more flexible and inclusionary zoning that allows for a variety of housing types. And I think would help with some of the affordability issues in town.” He also wants to see more enforcement of rental conditions on the Hill and other student housing, where the laws (such as not allowing more than three unrelated people living together) are rarely enforced.

An important issue in this upcoming election is Boulder’s open space and how it should be managed. Gelband wants to have open space and a trail system that’s environmentally sensitive but also allows for shared recreational uses, “not just for someone who walks.” Gelband is not a mountain biker himself, but says, “We’re supposed to be the smartest city in America but we can’t figure out how to build one mountain bike trail from Chautauqua to Eldorado Springs? To me that seems absurd.”

Gelband has not had any previous political experience, but feels his employment as the State Director of Human Communications for the State of Colorado and as well as the same job at CU qualify him. “I’m not a politician, but I’ve worked in communicating large policy decisions over the state’s two largest and diversified work forces: the State of Colorado and the University of Colorado. These have given me diverse experience with different populations and an understanding of how to get things done.”

For additional information, see his website: http://www.markgelband.com/

Candidate Tim Plass (photo by Zane Selvans)

What started out as simply speaking up for his neighborhood turned into speaking up for his entire community. Tim Plass started getting involved with the community when he went to a City Council meeting to try to save a historic house from getting demolished. Things did not turn out so well for that house but Plass was inspired to get involved.

Plass, who has lived in Boulder for 26 years, has served a term on the city’s Landmarks Board and for the last year and a half has been on the city’s Planning Board.  After coming up just a little bit short in the City Council elections two years ago, he said he decided this year he would give it another shot.

“I have a passion for Boulder and want to be part of a group of people who decide where we go for our future,” said Plass.

There are a few things in particular Plass said he would like to accomplish if he is elected to City Council. One of them is to focus on keeping Boulder’s local companies as they grow. Here in Boulder we have a community full of entrepreneurs and small businesses but as soon as they become successful and grow larger they move on to other cities because Boulder just doesn’t have room for them. Plass wants to change that. He also says he wants bring more amenities to east Boulder, specifically around the 55^th and Arapahoe area.

Another important aspect about Boulder that Plass wants to emphasize is to continue to fund non-profits to provide for those who are in need.  Boulder’s Housing and Human Services Department supports and funds several non-profits that look out for those who are struggling, and Plass says he feels strongly about supporting that system.

“We need to look out for those who are less fortunate,” said Plass.

The third thing Plass said he wants to focus on is the neighborhoods. He says that he knows there are many problems with the University Hill area when it comes to loud parties and alcohol related issues. He says he wants to try to get the neighbors, the university, and student government to come together so everyone can agree on the best way to deal with these things.

“I want to make sure the city tries its best to have a strong neighborhood program and to make sure there’s funding,” said Plass. “Maybe a website where neighbors can all be hosted so we can have a central place where their voices can be heard.”

The thing that struck him initially about Boulder is its beautiful setting – the Flatirons, the open space, and the campus – but what he has grown to love most about this town is the people here. He said he really admires their creativity and the chances they are willing to take, like paying taxes to preserve our open spaces, or the emphasis on reducing greenhouse gases by creating bike paths and public transportation systems.

Plass also says that he believes understanding other cultures is very important when it comes to understanding a community and helping it grow. People from all different cultures and backgrounds bring richness and diversity to the community.

“It is such an important part to be able to appreciate other cultures. You need to be welcoming and inclusive and open and I think you get to see the value of other cultures.”

Candidate Dan King (photo by Zane Selvans)

The “Ambassador of Cool,” otherwise known as Dan King, is running for City Council because he says he brings financial skills that will be useful in planning the city’s budget.  Originally from upstate New York, he is now the co-owner of the Boulder Outlook Hotel where they have given him his nickname the “Ambassador of Cool.” King said his primary focus is to work on long-term budgeting for Boulder.

“We have an opportunity to show others how to do it and how to do it right,” said King. “Government has to measure from results and start reporting those out.”

Before running the Outlook hotel, King managed a diverse range of businesses including restaurants, consulting and appraisal firms, banks and numerous hotels until he landed in Boulder and decided to stay a while. His website www.dankingforcouncil.org describes how the Boulder Outlook was chosen for the 2006 small business of the year award by Eco-Cycle for “Going for Zero Waste.” The hotel’s environmentally friendly practices have recently been written about in a book on teaching businesses how to “go green.”

“Save our planet, drink free beer,” read the sign posted outside the Outlook Hotel. When the original sign, “Ask us how you can offset your carbon footprint?” failed to make people interested, they devised a new plan to get people to reduce waste. Guests would get one free drink if they agreed to conserve energy.

“Sales of carbon offsets increased 5,000% and guests became engaged,” said King in the blog Business Leaders in Action for Sustainability Today.

When asked about how he feels about the recent “Occupy Boulder” uprising, he says he can understand the level of frustration that has come out which is why he says it is important to look at the issues from a long term view. He said that he thinks the protests are interesting and hopes they inspire some kind of change.

“If I didn’t have a day job I’d be out there with them,” said King.

King speaks highly of the other candidates and he said he really admires how so many people are willing to step forward and put themselves out for such a huge job. Although he says that he stands out because he’s open minded about issues, he’d rather listen than talk, and he brings financial skills.

His work with the Boulder Outlook Hotel, especially their environmental practices, is what King says he wants to represent him and what he stands for. “It’s time for the community to step up, we need community action more than we need government regulations,” he said.

Boulder is an innovative and unique setting especially when it comes to the surrounding environment. It’s the natural beauty here in Boulder that initially brought King to Colorado.

“I mean you have to love the environmental setting. I love our values, we try to be different and be a leader.”

Chamber of Commerce (photo by the author)

With 16 days remaining until the votes are counted in Boulder’s 2011 municipal election, the newspapers and major groups are mostly done with their much-anticipated endorsements of candidates and ballot issues.

Each year, the talk among Boulder’s politically charged activists runs the gamut from the obvious questions of who will endorse whom and when the endorsements will land, to pondering how each group makes their decisions and which alliances will play out with the voters.  Guesses are made all around and there are always some surprises.

This year, for the first time ever, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce issued endorsements in City Council elections. They endorsed a slate of four male business candidates: two incumbents, one repeat candidate, and a newcomer to politics.  No surprise there except this happens to be a year when two women, Susan Osborne and Crystal Gray, who have each brought incredible depth and decades of knowledge to the council, have chosen not to run again.

Employing a well-used move of not endorsing candidates for all five open seats, the Chamber flubbed by ignoring two capable women running for city council this year.  The Chamber’s failure to endorse even one woman seems particularly mystifying when you take a closer look at the two women running for council:

• Lisa Morzel, running for re-election, is a research geologist first elected to council after providing years of leadership to the community during the formation of the North Boulder Sub-Community Plan.  Now having served on council for three terms she is a proven leader and effective policy maker.
• Suzanne Jones, Regional Director of the Wilderness Society, has served on Boulder’s Environmental Advisory Board and the Blue Ribbon Commission II. She brings wide experience working with diverse groups on the national, state and local levels in finding long-term sustainable solutions that make good policy.

In their first attempt at the endorsement game in Boulder, the Boulder Chamber of Commerce managed to lose the membership of the City of Boulder and some other businesses offended by their taking action in a local election.

Additionally, four business-leaning groups chose the same exact four candidates out of the field of thirteen candidates.  Mimicking the Boulder Chamber of Commerce in their endorsements were:

• BARA, Boulder Area Board of Realtors;
• BOC, Boulder Outdoor Coalition;
• FIDOS, Friends Interested In Dogs and Open Space (members of BOC);
• and BMA, Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance (also members of BOC).

Ignoring Morzel and Jones didn’t make these candidates go away.  Both women were endorsed by the Boulder Weekly, PLAN-Boulder County, the Sierra Club-Indian Peaks Group, Save Open Space Boulder, and the Daily Camera.  Lisa Morzel is running for her fourth term and is likely to be the largest vote getter on November 1.  Suzanne Jones has been widely recognized as a high-quality leader causing the Daily Camera to say today, “Suzanne Jones has a wealth of legislative and environmental knowledge…she can understand the positions of a substantial chunk of the constituency.”

In a little over two weeks we will know how the majority voted and that’s what really counts.