Wondering who to vote for in the Lafayette city council race?

Check out our homework

Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on Unsplash

Wondering who to vote for in the Lafayette city council race? Vicky Uhland, Grant Swift and I have done some homework for you. Here’s what we’ve collected about each candidate after watching the two candidate forums, doing records searches, consulting campaign financial info, and reading the candidate websites and Q&As published in local media.

The three of us collectively researched this material but it was all brought together and edited by the one and only Vicky Uhland. Luckily for all of us she has an amazing skill set and can turn a variety of email snippets and Word docs into a finely tuned piece which you will see when you scroll down the page.

Note: There are seven candidates running for four seats. We’re not profiling the two incumbents, Tim Barnes and JD Mangat, as they have been councilmembers for at least four years each and there is plenty of publicly available info on their voting record and stances.

In alphabetical order, the non-incumbent candidates include:

DAVID FRIDLAND

Boulder County records show he owns the home listed as his address on his candidate petition. He has lived in Lafayette 4.5 years.

City and volunteer experience: Volunteer member of the city’s Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee (SRAC) and Waste Reduction Advisory Committee. President of the nonprofit Recycle Colorado. Ultimate Frisbee coach at a Lafayette high school.

Oct. 17 Contributions and Expenditures filing with the city:

Contributions: None listed

Expenditures: $1,301.05

Campaign website:

Attended the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (LYAC) Forum: yes

Attended the League of Woman Voters (LWV) Forum: yes

Priorities:

1. Climate action. Fridland is the sustainability manager at Denver International Airport, overseeing air quality, climate action and waste diversion. He also led the successful effort for curbside composting in Lafayette. On council, he wants to be a city leader on climate action. “In a lot of ways, a lot of the issues for our community are based on climate, so we have to think in that way,” he said at the LWV forum. As a member of SRAC, Fridland has worked on the city goals of 100% renewable energy use by 2030 (he says we’re “super close” now) and 80% greenhouse gas reduction by 2050. He said we need to educate our population about things like carbon footprint; transitioning to electric vehicles, bikes and buses; and energy-efficient houses and buildings. He believes in the future, Lafayette needs to transition from focusing primarily on sustainability and instead focus on climate impact mitigation and resiliency. He would like to see the city develop a Community Resiliency Plan to accompany the Climate Action Plan, which is scheduled to be presented to city council this winter.

2. Responsible growth. At the forums, Fridland said maintaining Lafayette’s small-town character doesn’t necessarily have to be at odds with growth. He said growth should address diversity of housing stock and making sure we have adequate infrastructure, water and sustainability. He said the 2023 state law restricting cities from having managed growth laws has “dramatically impacted our ability to have that control over our community and how we grow.” He said the city projects we will have a population of 45,000 to 50,000 people by 2040, “but at the end of the day, the key words are responsible growth” that reflects city values. He noted that the city is currently updating its zoning codes to help make that happen.

3. Affordable housing. At the LWV forum, Fridland said the city already has a strong affordable housing strategic plan; now it just needs to be implemented. He said while building new affordable housing units is great, one key aspect of the plan is preserving our existing affordable housing. “It’s easier to keep what we have rather than build new.” He also said it’s important that all people have accessibility to services, healthy food, transit and jobs, and this needs to be kept in mind when building affordable housing. He supports inclusionary zoning, which would require developers to make a certain percentage of new housing projects affordable. He pointed out that Lafayette is a leader in building affordable housing in the county, and other communities need to “take that lead with us.”

Other notes: More than any other candidate, Fridland has consistently pledged to listen to the diverse points of view in the community and take public opinion into consideration on all of his council decisions.

CRYSTAL GALLEGOS

Boulder County records indicate she rents the home listed as her address on her candidate petition. She has lived in Lafayette 8 years.

City and volunteer experience: Gallegos says she’s a special education advocate and community volunteer.

Oct. 17 Contributions and Expenditures filing with the city:

Contributions: None listed

Expenditures: $154.46

Campaign website: Doesn’t appear to have one. Has a Facebook campaign page.

Attended the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (LYAC) Forum: yes

Attended the League of Woman Voters (LWV) Forum: no

Priorities:

1. Education and schools. Gallegos called herself a “mom on a mission” during the LYAC forum. She has worked in New York city schools, including seven years as a full-time teacher. She currently is a substitute teacher. She wants to create an education task force in the city to work with the Boulder Valley School District on things like building new schools or expanding the capacity of existing schools because more children are moving here.

2. Roads. At the LYAC forum, Gallegos said increased population means increased strain on our roads, and road repair is an important issue. She said she’s reached out to the city and CDOT about road issues she finds very dangerous and has had no response. She said she watched the Highway 287 virtual open house and was surprised to see no mention of repairing potholes, which she calls the biggest safety issue on the road due to people and bikes swerving to avoid them. She also said she noticed there were less cars on the roads when RTD bus rides were free in September, and the city could look into the financial feasibility of continuing that program long-term for schoolchildren.

3. Affordable housing. In response to a question at the LYAC forum about homelessness, Gallegos says she rents her home from a family member at a highly reduced rate and doesn’t know if she could afford it at market rates. She said as a teacher in New York City, some of her students were homeless. She thinks Lafayette should look at how New York City deals with homelessness, which includes offering homeless people discounted vouchers for hotels and connecting them with a social worker who helps them access resources. She said Lafayette has great resources for homeless people and if these organizations need money, the city needs to look at helping them by fundraising directly, grant writing or new propositions. It wasn’t clear what she meant by propositions.

4. Improving cellular service. She said she gets no cell service in her home, which is a big concern for her and her neighbors in the advent of an emergency. She didn’t say how she’d improve cell service as a councilor.  

Other notes:

In response to a yes-no question at the LYAC forum about whether she would allocate funding to build a restorative justice program in Lafayette, Gallegos was the only candidate who said no. She was also the only candidate who said fracking doesn’t remain a viable threat in Lafayette.

GALA ORBA

Boulder County records indicate she rents the home listed as her address on her candidate petition. She has lived in Lafayette 1.5 years.

City and volunteer experience: Orba ran what she calls an exploratory campaign in 2019 for the Boulder City Council, garnering 1.10% of the vote. She volunteers with Moms Demand Action.

Oct. 17 Contributions and Expenditures filing with the city:

No report posted by the city online

Campaign website: She has a personal website with a page titled Gala for Lafayette City Council which announces Summer 2023 and says to “check back soon for updates and a link to a campaign website.”

Attended the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (LYAC) Forum: no

Attended the League of Woman Voters (LWV) Forum: yes

Priorities:

1. Ending construction on South Boulder Road. In the LWV forum, she said this has been going on for 10 years. It actually began in 2021. She intends to get the construction plans from the contractor, Castle Rock, and then she and her master plumber friend will determine if there is a viable plan in place. She says she knows what “done” looks like. Note: According to public discussions during multiple city council meetings, this project was delayed due to the need to redesign the storm sewer and relocate existing third-party utilities that conflicted with the construction work. This led to contract disputes and ultimately required a mediator between the city and Castle Rock to come to new terms, which occurred in March 2023.

2. Building a homeless shelter in Lafayette. She didn’t say where funding for construction and staffing of the shelter should come from.

3. Gun safety. She would like to pass all of the gun safety measures Moms Demand Action pushed in nearby municipalities in 2020-23. Note: On June 7, 2022, the Lafayette city council voted 7-0 in favor of imploring the Colorado General Assembly to enact statewide laws to address gun violence and prevention, and expressing the council’s strong support for Colorado local governments enacting and enforcing local firearms regulations. Councilors voted 7-0 in favor of regulating the possession of unfinished frames and receivers and unserialized firearms, with the amendment that any person who voluntarily appears at the Lafayette police department to surrender a firearm shall not be subject to prosecution. Council also voted 7-0 in favor of prohibiting the open carrying of firearms in public places, and 5-2 in favor of prohibiting the carrying of firearms on city property (councilors Wong and Samson opposed).

4. Lower commercial rents on our main roads. She didn’t explain how she would accomplish this.

Other notes:

When asked during the LWV forum about local control in the scope of the recent action by the state to prohibit municipalities from enacting managed growth laws, she did not know what it meant.

During the forum she said she is not a fan of plans but prefers to focus on what works.

Currently, Lafayette has recently completed or is working on a variety of plans, including the Comprehensive Plan, the Multimodal Transportation Plan, the Wildlife Plan, a new plan for Accessory Dwelling Units and Short Term Rentals, an Economic Development and Housing Strategic Plan, a Sustainability Plan and the Major Drainageway Plan.

When asked about public safety, she said she is biking more than ever and feels safe. She would like to see barricades on the roads to separate bike lanes from vehicular traffic.

In September, there was a tour of the capital improvements projects for the city council and members of the public. When asked during the LWV forum if she took the tour and to name her top three most important projects, she indicated she didn’t attend and couldn’t provide a list, but mentioned a homeless shelter and funding for Sister Carmen.

Regarding our water issues, she said in a Daily Camera questionnaire: “We are also facing an issue (in which) a prior council decided to build a water holding facility for public use, but the economy is not great right now, so it’s hard for us to pay for it.” And “I will invite our wealthier residents to pay for the water holding facility.” Note: Council and staff have discussed water and facility issues at multiple public meetings over the years. These issues don’t have to do with the economy. Here are my past posts about water issues.

ERIC RYANT

Boulder County records indicate he rents the home listed as his address on his candidate petition.

He has lived in Lafayette 2 years.

City and volunteer experience: None listed

Oct. 17 Contributions and Expenditures filing with the city:

Contributions: None listed

Expenditures: It appears he filled out the form wrong; he has the recipient of the campaign spending as himself rather than who he paid.

Campaign website: ericryant.com

Attended the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (LYAC) Forum: yes

Attended the League of Woman Voters (LWV) Forum: yes

Priorities:

1. Homelessness. During the LYAC forum, Ryant said homelessness is a small problem in the city but needs to be addressed. He said the council should look to federal and state funding for homeless programs because “our city is very tight budgetwise.” He feels “pretty strongly” that the city needs to hire a full-time grant writer to search for this money.

2. Affordable housing. At the candidate forums, Ryant said the city is on the right track with affordable housing. He said Willoughby Corner, the 400-unit affordable housing project being built by the Boulder County Housing Authority and the city of Lafayette, is the first affordable housing project in the area. Note: It’s actually the second publicly funded one: Josephine Commons/Aspinwall, at 120th and Baseline, was built by BCHA and Lafayette between 2012-14. There are also two privately financed affordable housing complexes on the south end of the city. Ryant said in eight to 10 years, he expects to see more projects like Willoughby Corner in Lafayette. He also said the city needs to know the “requirements for people to afford to get into” Willoughby Corner and then see if those requirements work. Note: The Willoughby Corner rent and income requirements are set annually based on Colorado Housing Finance Authority regulations, and are published by BCHA at the beginning of each year.

3. Fiscal responsibility. At the candidate forums, Ryant said he’s been managing businesses in different industries, including construction, manufacturing, real estate and importing, for over 40 years. He said the city is “really a business—it’s not really Democrats or Republicans. It’s running fiscal responsibility, making sure we have a balanced budget, making sure money goes to the right places and doesn’t get wasted, and also following through with federal and state agencies.”

Other notes:

At the LYAC forum, Ryant said he’s been a business owner in Lafayette for 10 years. His campaign materials don’t mention which business, but in response to a question at the forum about marijuana, he said he owns two marijuana dispensaries in Lafayette. He said he’s stepped back from this business and his son currently runs it. During a yes-no Q&A at the LYAC forum, Ryant said he doesn’t support marijuana hospitality cafes, recreational marijuana delivery services or cannabis vending machines in Lafayette, and does support allocating a portion of pot taxes for substance-abuse recovery programs for youth.

In response to a question at the LWV forum about whether he attended the September city council and public tour of the city’s 14 capital improvement projects, Ryant said no. He didn’t answer the question of what his top three projects are. Instead, he said he’s visited community projects to see what their issues are, including Sister Carmen’s food bank, the Senior Center, the Lafayette fire department and Meals on Wheels.

In terms of growth, Ryant said at the forums that the city should step back and analyze growth and make sure we don’t have too much new growth, and also work on redevelopment. “There’s a lot of things we should do in Old Town. 50% of the commercial businesses are for lease; there’s stores that are open everywhere,” he said. He also said the city needs more growth so we can collect more sales tax revenue to ensure we have a balanced budget. He said he wants to protect “our community’s small-town, open-space feel.”

At the LYAC forum, Ryant was the only candidate who answered no to a yes-no question about whether all residents, including undocumented residents, should be eligible to serve on city boards and commissions.

JOHN WATSON

Boulder County records show he owns the home listed as his address on his candidate petition. He has lived in Lafayette 16 years.

City and volunteer experience: Ran in the 2017 Lafayette City Council election, garnering 1.85% of the vote.

Oct. 17 Contributions and Expenditures filing with the city:

Contributions: $350 (including $200 from himself)

Expenditures: $174.49

Campaign website: Doesn’t appear to have one

Attended the Lafayette Youth Advisory Commission (LYAC) Forum: no

Attended the League of Woman Voters (LWV) Forum: yes

Priorities:

1. Housing. When asked about affordable housing during the LWV forum, he mentioned tiny homes and a concern that our water supply should be considered, saying more housing equals more water use. He thinks we need to address the core issue of why people are becoming homeless instead of offering a Band-Aid approach. When asked during the forum about inclusionary zoning, which requires new developments to have a percentage of affordable units, he was unaware of what it meant.

2. Economic development. He thinks if we lose a business we should make every attempt to replace it with something that benefits the community. He mentioned the relocation of King Soopers in questionnaires and during the forum.

3. Climate change. He supports Lafayette’s climate goals and would like to find a way to speed them up.

4. Growth. He thinks we should be purposeful about growth. Regarding improving pedestrian safety, he thinks we should increase bike lanes, especially on Baseline, and look at other forms of transportation, as well as electric cars.

5. LGBTQ rights and nondiscrimination for all people. Safety for all is one of Watson’s priorities. He says: “Diversity is paramount in ALL of my decisions. I embrace diversity in my own life and feel that is what makes life worth living.”

Other notes:

In September there was a tour of the capital improvements projects for the city council and members of the public. When asked during the LVW forum if he took the tour, Watson said no, and was unable to name his top three most important projects.

In a Daily Camera questionnaire, he emphasized water, including implementing a policy where water is not wasted on our yards. “I would encourage us not to let HOAs require us to continue to require watering of our lawns, and incentive zero landscaping,” he said.