 Welcome to Longmont Public Media's conversations with the candidates. I'm Richard Lyons and I'm here today with candidate, one of the six candidates for the two at large positions on City Council, Shakita Yarborough. Welcome, Shakita. Thank you. Thank you for having me. So tell us a little about yourself so Longmont can get to know you better. Sure. Again, my name is Shakita Yarborough and I have been living here in Longmont for over nine years. I am originally from the city of Chicago. I have two boys, two girls. I'm a single mom. My oldest daughter is adopted. My ex-husband is an immigrant from Ethiopia, so my kids are Ethiopian. My oldest son graduated from CU. I know you said talk about me, but my kids are me. So he graduated from CU Boulder in 2015 as one of the tri-execs and he was the one of the African-American tri-execs. Second, after Jonah Goose, who is now. He, my son now is in his last year of law school, and so my second son graduated from Fairview, who is now a real estate agent in Tennessee, and my youngest is in Panama. And she's a student at University of Denver. So that's a little bit about me. And she graduated from NYWAT High School in the IB program. And she's studying abroad in Panama right now. So when I moved to Longmont, it's beautiful. It's gorgeous. Colorado itself is. And then I noticed I felt like it was a lack of community here. I moved from Austin, Texas. And as a single parent, I felt like the community just filled those voids for me. I had two boys in football, a daughter in soccer, and it was only one of me. So parents would jump in and say, don't worry about it. My son is also on the same team as your son. I can drop them off or things like that. And so I kind of got spoiled. And so when I moved to Longmont, not only were there not enough people that looked like me here, but I felt like I was a little siloed to myself a lot. And then I couldn't find the resources for single parents. So I had the opportunity to host a show on public radio, KGNU for single parents. And it was called Victoria's Single Parents. And so I did that for a few years right before 2020, my last show. And it was successful. Provided resources had accountants and also had nutritionists on just providing single parents resources that that would be relevant to them living here in Colorado. I am on several boards and committees always have been, I believe, in giving back to my community. And that's the easiest way to immerse yourself in a community is hop on the board and learn more about what the needs are of a community. Of course, more than, you know, more so than not, I will be the person of color on these boards. And it was a little challenging at times to be the only person because a lot of times my voice I felt like my voice is my voice wasn't heard. But I didn't give up because I felt it was very important that I will be on these boards and representation matters, right? So I have been on several boards, worked two jobs to live in Colorado, you know, it's very expensive to live here. I started off with employment agency. So I worked all over Boulder County with an employment agency. I've worked for the government working at to give you your license plate stickers. Work for title industry fidelity title company work for Boulder farmers market. I have worked community foundation Boulder County. And now I work for YWCA in a Boulder County. And I also have a consulting business small consulting business where I provide racial equity retreats. So I'm new to politics but I'm not new to Long mind. I'm not new to Colorado. You know, I'm out there. I've been on the program committee for FA, legal women voters board, the board of KGNU Longmont human housing advisory board. So yeah, that's good. That's a little bit about me. Very good. Yes. So I think you alluded to it. But let me just ask the question. What brought you to Longmont? My kids, my oldest son, actually, when I was in Austin, Texas, I was the property manager. And before I was a property manager, I was a case manager for the evacuees of Katrina. Yes. And so they were in that program when FEMA ended that program, I transitioned into a property manager position. So I worked there for years with the housing authority. And then we, our executive director retired. And we got a new executive director, I believe, from Kentucky. And so I lost my job. And I felt like, oh yeah, I get another property management job. But I was living on unemployment for over a year. And so it was really difficult to get another job. And so my son was at CU and my ex-husband and I were paying out-of-state tuition. And so I thought it would be beneficial to move here and help with the tuition. Ironically enough, I started coming to bring my kids to Colorado because I wanted to break the stereotype that black people don't ski or snowboard. And so when we had spring break, I would drive from Texas to El Dora because at that time, the lessons were cheaper or inexpensive at El Dora. So I would drive my kids and we would go up. And of course it was true that we would always be the only one in the lounge or the kids skiing or snowboarding, but it was okay. My kids, all my kids know how, besides my oldest daughter, either ski or snowboard. And so we would stop through the campus and my oldest son fell in love with CU Boulder. And he said, I will be attending this school. And sure enough, he did and became one of the tri-execs. Isn't that great? Yes. That's marvelous. Yes. So what one thing do you want the Longmont voters to know about you? One thing. One thing that I am them. Okay. That I am the community. That's what I want them to know. Very good. That's a good answer. So what do you especially like and don't like about Longmont? What I especially like about Longmont is that the community, the input of the community, so it's a beautiful city. And it's not about, I hear a lot of people say, oh, Longmont has so much potential. We are at that potential, I believe. And I'm looking forward to seeing it be greater. And I'm so appreciative of people like you who have instilled and put your hard work and investment into this community and all the community members who have been here longer than I have. And so that's what I love. And the open-mindedness of our community now who are willing to look for change, who are willing to see greater things. But if we were a community where people are just stagnant and don't want growth, then I don't know if I would love it so much. But I just love the open-mindedness of people and willing for change. And so that's what I love about it. And I guess what I would say, what I kind of don't like is that there's not enough of, there's not enough of culture, culture here. I would love to see more exposure to different cultures in Longmont because we have it. We have it. There are several different cultures here. And we're not exposing it. So I would love to see more of that. Very good. So I'm going to give you a hypothetical. So if the city of Longmont received a $1 million No Strings Attached grant to use by the city council in any way that the council determined, what would you do with it and why? I would invest in our youth. And I would have an intern program, an internship program for senior high school students and probably front-range students to who are willing to or who want to learn more about government. And this will be a paid internship. And I would want them to be on boards and that would be, they would be paid to be on boards to learn about nonprofits in our community. And the reason why I say that is because I feel like if you know what the issues are in the community, then you feel like you can be a part of resolving those issues. And we need their perspectives. And I would also love to have a bank, a community wealth bank. So when they work on these boards, those hours that they put into the community will be in the bank like community dollars. And so when they're ready to come back and to purchase a home, they will have money. We can match that money for them for a down payment for a home. So that's what I would love to do with that money. That's an awful idea. So Shikida, did you have a person that was your mentor or that was very influential in your life so far? And if so, how did that person help or influence you? Oh my goodness. That's a really good question. I often think about, I wish as a young person I had a mentor. And I just, you know, I'm from Chicago and I just would, you know, immerse myself in the city and learn about the city. But, you know, when I moved to Colorado, that is where I received my mentors. And I've done Elvira Ramos and I love her so much. And she has been a great mentor to me because she believes in networking. And there's not one person larger than the other. She's like, you need to meet this person. You would be great for this, for this great opportunity. And she would tell me when I'm, you know, when I'm wrong or Shikida, I don't agree with that. And how about look at it from this way, from this perspective. And I would say I think that she is my greatest champion. She's the one who have told me for years that I should run for office. And I was like, are you serious? No way. I'm not a politician. But she groomed me and she motivated me and she inspired me. You know, a great mentor is one who sees something in you that you may not see, but help to pull it out of you. And that's what she has done. Oh, that's good. Yeah. So are you paying it forward? Are you mentoring or trying to influence a young person? Absolutely. Absolutely. Any young person, that's one of the reasons why I started my retreat is so that we all can understand that we all have our own backgrounds. We all have our own experiences. But once you learn about that person's experience, that means how can we, that means it's different. But how can we come together as a community and learn to live with one another? Yes. I have several mentees that I have that I love who are in this community who are doing awesome, wonderful things. Good. Yes. So Colorado and Longmont have lots of recreational opportunities. Which do you enjoy and how do you spend your leisure time? That's also a good question. I love to cook because let's admit, well, for me coming from Chicago, granola gets old, right? Chicago pizza, right? Chicago pizza is good. But just the variety of different culture, different cultural foods. So I love to cook. The mountains, of course, hiking is beautiful. But we need to have oxygen stations up there so I can breathe. I'm just saying, one way you put a quarter in the machine and let me get some oxygen, that's what we need. But no, I love it. It feels good. It feels really good. Good. Yeah. It looks like Longmont will be switching from the fourth U.S. congressional district to the second U.S. congressional district. The latest map came out just last week. How do you think that will impact, if any, Longmont? That's a good question. I'm not sure if it will impact. To be honest, I'm not sure. I don't know if it will impact us. Okay. Good enough answer. Okay. So, Shakida, how do you learn and stay informed about local state and national and even international issues? Yeah. Just, you know, reading, social media, I guess. And, well, I'm not on the board of League of Women Voters anymore because I am a candidate. But also, all the emails that I receive with the League of Women Voters nationally and also YWCA provide a lot of information as well. That's where I work my nine to five. And, but yeah, BBC, NPR, you know, so, yeah. Very good. Thank you. I think everyone agrees that the national politics are fairly divisive, both the federal and now the state level, although City Council is nonpartisan. Some people are saying it's becoming more political. What would you do to keep that divisiveness from occurring in Longmont City Council? I think we have to constantly remind ourselves why are we serving? And the objective is our community, our community voices. And we have to remember that we are here to hear their voices and their concerns. Like, so when people ask me, Shakita, what do you think about the small businesses on May? You know, what do you think? Do you think we should have a union? What are the businesses saying? It shouldn't be my own personal agenda or how I personally feel. If this regarding our businesses, that's what we should ask. And I think we have to bring that back into our government. Instead of going off our own personal agenda, we need to make sure that our community is being heard. Very good. And so if you are elected, how do you plan on involving the residents of Longmont in the decision making process of the City Council? Going out into the community. We have to go back to grassroots, go out into the community. You know, I want to hear from you. I don't want to just say, oh, well, what are some of your challenges in the community? What are some of your challenges with government? And then they never hear anything. They spill out their heart to us and then nothing ever changed, right? And so we have to inform them. We have to inform the community. A lot of people are sitting at City Council meeting and when young people are in there, they have no clue what the heck is going on during a City Council meeting. We need to educate our people. We need to educate our community. Government is very intimidating because if you don't know it, the ins and out of it, then you feel, I don't know, I'm ignorant, right? And so how do we educate our community as to what it looks like and what does that mean? What are the Robert rules of order? You know, people don't know what that means. It's crazy. But it's important that we inform our community. Education is power. That's true. So, Shikita, if you could change one thing in the current municipal code, what would it be? Oh, one thing. Just one? Just one. Just one. Well, oh, just one. One of the things I feel that we need to really work on is being more equitable within our meetings. We shouldn't be going to 11 o'clock at night every night, on Tuesday nights, every week. We have to think about our community members. Those are the people that's who we're serving. And we have to have some type of structure, a better structure, create a better structure so that we can be more equitable for our community. So that would be the one. That would be it. That would be it. So, our last question. Okay. Between affordable housing and attainable housing, which do you prioritize as being the greater need for the city of Longmont? That's a really excellent question. So, it can't be equal? Well, I guess it could. Okay. It is important that we have affordable housing because it's hard to live here in Longmont. I mean, I work two jobs and I will work overnight in a hotel and then get up and get off and go straight to my other job, lay my head down 30 minutes before that shift started, just so I can try to thrive and pay my bills, you know? So, knowing that most, a lot of people here are not making a livable wage, it would be really nice to have housing that's affordable for people that they can own and gain equity in and pass it down and have wealth for their kids and pass it along to their family members. So, something that they can afford and gain equity and have that equity, that gains wealth, right? So, I would say affordable is very important because we are not at livable wage here. So, affordable will be first. But other than that, equally. Okay. Very good. Well, Shakidia, that concludes our conversation today and I want to thank you very much for coming. Thank you for having me. You're certainly welcome.