 Welcome to another installment of Rational Politics. I'm joined at the table today by Mitzi Nicoletti, who has come in to talk about why she wants to run as councillor-at-large. Mitzi, welcome to the table. Thank you, Nigel. I'm happy to be here and thanks for asking me. It's a pleasure having you here. Let us first, before we get into the nitty-gritty, could you explain the difference between a councillor-at-large and a councillor? Absolutely. A councillor is with different wards within the city, so it just covers a certain amount. A councillor-at-large is the entire city, which Lamont now is about 100,000. Let's talk a little bit first about your background, because you've had a very, very interesting life up until this point. So give us a little bit of a background about where you came from, why you're here in Colorado. I've been here for 20 years. I was born in Dallas, Texas. Almost all my family is still there. I went to school at North Texas State University and Texas Women's University. And I started my career working for the city of Plano, Texas in managing facilities and programs. And that actually led me to be the operation manager for the Tom Landry Sports Medicine Center and Fitness Center. And then after that, I actually went back to the public sector and worked for the city of Duncanville in Texas and managed their Convention and Visitors Bureau. I was then able to get back into the private sector and worked for the History Channel Great Race, which was a wonderful opportunity. I used to really enjoy that show. Oh, it's great. And they were wonderful to work with. And I got to work with about 30 states across the U.S., working with boards, city council, businesses, and bringing an event to the city that took negotiations, contracts, event planning. I moved to Laumont and I married Carl Nicoletti, a Colorado native. And like I said, I've been here 20 years and have really enjoyed it. So you've touched a little bit about my next question. But what qualifications do you believe you have that will help you so much in becoming a counselor at Laumont? Well, I think that's a great question. Since I've been here, I've served on various boards, committees, organizations. I was on the Art Walk Board for several years, and then I was on the Board for Sustainable Resilient Laumont. And last year I chaired the Renewable Energy Committee. And then also was instrumental in starting the Laumont Climate Community Group. So through those different organizations, I feel like it's provided me with great experience of what's going on in the community, how to serve the community. As far as success, most recently, I've worked with a team, including the mayor, that has focused on the unhoused population to be able to provide living solutions other than parks and greenways, which I think is critical. And I'm enjoying being part of that team. I've also been, I believe, instrumental in getting our air quality monitoring system here, which is managed by Dr. Detlev Helmick. And we have two stations in Laumont. I believe the community should know what's in the air they breathe 24-7. I think that's really important. I know. I look at it every day. And I also tell other people about it. I've served on the Board of Sustainable Resilient Laumont. I think I mentioned that. Yes. And when I was on the Board, one of my key roles was to help raise money so we could create programs for the entire community. That focused on equity and sustainable solutions. So those are a few things, I believe, help qualify me to serve on City Council. The air quality. Let's talk about that a little bit. I know air quality here in Colorado is typically reasonably good. Denver obviously has a lot of issues. But what about here in Laumont? What triggered actually having the monitoring stations put in place? Was there an issue with air quality at one time? Yes. And actually, we still have an issue with air quality. So one of the things that I think is kind of an unknown, you know, you talked about Denver and you've got the Suncore refinery. And there's an air monitoring system there. There have been days where the air here is worse than the air there. Oh, wow. And for one day this year, Laumont had the worst air in the United States. I am stunned and amazed. So it's a great opportunity to use the information to make corrections. But we still do have an issue, not just in Laumont, in the Front Range in general. Do you know what triggered it? The things that triggered the air quality would be cars. Yeah, obviously. Wildfires, the extraction industry, oil and gas, if regulations are not being followed. Exactly. So, you know, all those things created, and then we've got climate change. Right. So it's a combination. A combination of everything that can come into effect. Yes. I hadn't considered the fires. And of course, last year we suffered badly from that. Yes, and then I think we're seeing a little bit of that in the last four or five days. And that's coming in from California. Yes. You probably noticed you can't see the mountains. That's right. So your particulates on the air monitoring are up. Are up. Absolutely. I think I know the answer to this next question. I'm pretty sure I do. If elected, what would be your absolute priorities in what needs to get looked at, fixed? What would be your agenda? I would continue to work on the solution we're addressing for the unhoused. I think that's a critical piece that needs to be taken to completion. Yes. In an equitable, fair way. The interesting thing, I've been out canvassing, talking to people. I have found that people are really concerned we're not going to have enough water. Laumann has done an excellent job in providing us with quality of water. As the city grows and as climate change accelerates, it might be a good idea, which I would like to be a part of, to look at making sure we're prepared for the future, that we have enough resources, one being water. Right. So I'd say that is a top priority. I mean, all the water that we have basically in all of Colorado is rainfall. Exactly. And it has to be rainfall in the mountains. Well, and I think the water rights system in the way water flows all over the country is very complicated. I don't totally all understand it. Okay. Would that be another word? And we all know recently the federal government has said to seven states, one of them being in Colorado, you've got to reduce your water consumption by 15% due to what's happening with the Colorado River. Even though Colorado was one of the states that actually did a better at managing water resources, we still have to cut back. And someone, I can't remember who it was now, actually said that the city is planning for 120,000 and it would be covered okay with water because I brought up the big drought that we had and that infuriated me that drought because I'm not allowed to water my gardens but every time I saw the cemeteries being watered. Things like that really upset me because I'm sorry the amount of water they were using was ridiculous. Oh, and watering the sides of the roads. Yes. The streets. Well, and two things though the city has done is the turf removal program, which I think is great. I think it's perfect. And I've kind of heard they may expand that and then also access to restore where you can get the garden in the box. Right. Which requires less water. They're more drought tolerant. So there's many things that can be done to protect our natural resources for the future. You know, and as the climate or the earth heats what's that going to do to water is, you know. Exactly. So that is something I would like to be involved in and address. Makes a lot of sense. And then another thing is to continue to support local businesses. Absolutely. Because they're vital to our community. I mean, I may be wrong here, but I think that the water quality especially here in Longmont is outstanding. And when people come here to visit, they just, they can't get over how great our water tastes. That's right. Let's change the subject just a little bit. Okay. Okay, because you're wanting... Just a little. Just a little. You're wanting to become a politician. So what do you think about all these politicians that go on television and spout nothing but nonsense? Well, one of my core beliefs is that truth matters. It's like at my foundation. So in this country, we have got to have truth for democracy to survive. Mitzi, is there anything that you would like to actually say about why someone should vote for you? Sure. Do it. I've got humor. That's true. I feel like I would be an asset to the council because I'd bring to it my ability to pull together different groups and people of different backgrounds to work together. That's probably my biggest strength. And also the ability to de-escalate situations if needed. And then at the same time, be able to compromise in situations if that's what it calls for. Right. Because sometimes we've got to compromise. And then lastly, one of my pet peeves is take a project from start to finish. Complete it. So those are the different things I believe. That's why people should vote for me. And I'm a good listener. And I also like to look at the other side. Right. Why someone feels this way. You have to look at both sides of the argument. You really do. It's no good just looking at one side. You have to look everywhere. Get as much information as you can. Absolutely. And utilize resources that already exist. Right. In conversations. Right. And of course with your background that we talked about, I mean traveling all over the country, working with towns, et cetera, for filming. You are very used to dealing with people. Yes. And one of the things I discovered when I used to travel a lot with work, what we see on the news about America is not what I experienced. Right. I mean people are very generous. We have more in common than we don't. And it was just a great experience. Working with different communities from the East Coast to the West Coast. When it gets down to it, everybody in this world has the same fears, the same worries, the same everything. As Red Green used to say, we're all in this together. We are. We're on the same planet. Absolutely. You've got to make it work. Absolutely. Mitzi, thank you so much for coming in today to have this little chat. I wish you all the best. And I hope to see your name in the local paper sometime in the very near future, councillor at large. Thank you, Nigel. Thank you once again for joining us. I'm Nigel Aves, your host. This was another Rational Politics coming to you from the Captain's Lounge. Thank you and goodbye.