Guest Column – A Boulder Optimist: Restoring Opportunity

The opinions, beliefs, and points of view expressed by our guest columnists do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and points of view of this publication.

Aquiles LaGrave

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I’m a Boulder optimist because I grew up in Boulder — Boulder High, Naropa, delivering the Daily Camera and furniture for Boulder Furniture Arts. On July 5, 1995, my mom, sister, and I arrived with little. Boulder took a family facing food and housing insecurity and gave us a path that couldn’t have happened elsewhere. Within a generation, we found safety, prosperity, and a home for our kids.

Boulder doesn’t lack ambition. We have climate goals that lead the country, a commitment to housing people who work here, and a history of voting to invest. The problem is what happens after the vote. We rank in the 97th percentile for wildfire risk, yet our readiness plan sat on a shelf for over a year. Two neighboring cities each won close to $10M in grants. Boulder didn’t even apply.

Not a failure of values. A failure of follow-through. We want families here, yet our non-student population is declining. We value local business, yet downtown vacancy is near 30% — six times Fort Collins — and a restaurant waits 180 days for permits, twice the average. We care about the next generation, yet we spent $366M on a luxury office while carrying $400M+ in deferred maintenance.

Management, Capacity, and Oversight

We’ve confused holding values with delivering them. We don’t need lower sights. We need management, capacity, and oversight — decide, assign, deliver, and report. Longmont and Fort Collins share the same laws and economy. Last year, Boulder averaged 630 minutes without power. Longmont: 19. My family spent nearly a week huddled at home in winter.

Voters see it. In June, 82% said delaying maintenance raises costs, but fewer than half trust City Hall with more money. Measure 2K heads toward a historic defeat while defended by our mayor. When we elected the mayor, we raised the bar. It’s one vote of nine, but accountable for overall direction. The mayor chairs Council, sets the agenda, brings city, university, schools, and county together, and speaks for the city.

It starts with taking responsibility. Every priority needs an owner and a date. Day one, I’ll ask the city manager for both and publish them within 30 days. Within 100 days, a scoreboard, then quarterly updates on what slipped and why. An independent auditor reporting to Council. Maintain what we already own before taking on more. When stuck, put it on the ballot.

A Game and a Message for Offline Residents

We’re campaigning how we want to govern. We built a game where we put ourselves to the test with other candidates and seek to get everyone involved. We also designed and distributed Stranger Times to reach residents offline. Let’s apply that to our shared goals. Opportunity: a 30-day clock for permits and an Office of Yes, with auto-approval if not done in 30 days.

Partner with the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) to keep families near schools at risk of closing. Safety: an owner and a deadline for the wildfire plan I helped write, measuring reliability against our neighbors. Most of these goals take discipline, not money. When it takes money, show the cost before asking to pay. I declined city matching funds.

A city that can’t keep Spruce Pool open shouldn’t pay for my campaign. I’ve built things here: a tech company, BVSD Bond Oversight, and organizing neighbors who saved Iris Fields.

I’m still an optimist. Would a family landing today get the same chances mine did? I’m not sure. Boulder has the values, talent, and resources to say yes. What we need is follow-through.

That’s the job I’m asking to do.