Town/Gown Relationship
As a council member, I will work cooperatively with CU—Boulder’s most important economic engine. The level of trust between these two bodies has deteriorated to such a state that they can barely communicate. For the good of our community we must seek compromise. I will advocate give and take on both sides of the “south campus” issue. If CU really needs expansion to “south campus” we have an opportunity to help them while helping the city to achieve some of its goals.
There are tradeoffs that can be made that will benefit the interests of both. In exchange for annexation, and providing city utilities and services, we can ask that incoming freshmen be required to leave their vehicles at home. We can request that student parking at south campus be provided and CU to run shuttles to campus. This will get more CU cars out of the congested parts of town. As the nation’s top “party school” I will encourage CU to get serious about making students act like the adults they are, take responsibility for their behavior and their impact on Boulder as a whole. I don’t know whether City Council and CU can achieve all these results, but I will bring a positive, can do attitude to the problem.