 Hello, my name is Ginny Schuster, and this is an installment of Longmont Public Media's Candidate Interview Series. I'm here with Harrison Earl Challenger for Longmont City Council Ward 1. Hello and welcome, Harrison. Thank you, Ginny. Very nice to be here today. You'll have time for a summation at the end, but since our time is limited, I'm going to start right off with your first question. So, question number one, if you are elected, what is the biggest issue that you want to address? And is that issue actually within the control of City Council, or is it something that requires a ballot measure or state level action? I love that question. I love the limitation to what can City Council actually do. So, my biggest issue is affordability, and it specifically housing affordability in Longmont. There are things to that that City Council can do and should do that encourage us to build and develop more. So, things like changing our zoning rules so that we don't have projects that bounce from City Council to the Planning Commission and can forth continually over the course of a year without getting approved. Things like making it easier to build ADUs in the city. Those kind of things City Council can absolutely do. Some of it does require some other actions outside of the city, so I would really be in favor of building more condos, for example, but the construction defect law at the state level makes that very challenging. So, there is some of the advocacy that needs to happen at the state level to make that possible. That doesn't mean we should just give up from the City Council level. There are things we can do within our control. Some things to the ballot box as well. I would say things like raising taxes that we're seeing on this current ballot that really hurt affordability. And some of those kind of actions we really need to think very carefully about, but for the most part, there's a lot that City Council can do and should do to help make Longmont a more affordable city for people to live in. Can I ask you one other thing? What is ADU? ADU, so it's an auxiliary dwelling unit. So it's for a property that already has a primary house or dwelling, really, you're able to build a secondary unit on the property. And it's usually a lot smaller. Longmont's current rules require one of those two to be occupied by the owner so you can't rent both of them. And they put some pretty stringent zoning and permit fees on building the secondary unit. And so this is not trying to just completely densify every neighborhood in the community, but about where you have extra space to be able to put an extra unit in and actually open that up for additional housing would be really helpful. Okay, great. Let's move on to number two. There are several safety and crime reduction measures the public has asked for, such as vision zero restoration justice and increasing the police force. Which of these solutions do you think are effective and what else should the City Council do? So it's another good question. Very much in favor of vision zero. I think we're seeing way too much danger to pedestrians to bicyclists in the city. We've seen far too many collisions or near collisions. And so addressing that with better street design, better signage, better enforcement, I think is really important. I don't necessarily think we need to be growing our police force dramatically. I very much support the work the public safety department is doing. I love some of their programs like the co responder program where they're going with mental health clinicians, paramedics and a law enforcement officer to mental health calls. And I think that those are wonderful and we need to keep doing that. But I'm also not hearing when I talked to the public safety chief and the police chief that they think that they need additional staffing today. As the city grows, will we need to increase the budget and increase their staffing? Absolutely. And I think it's really critical that we are investing in our police department and we are increasing community policing. I just don't see a specific need today to be making that investment. Now, that may be in six months that there's an investment need and I'm wrong. And I'd love to be hearing that from the police department, from the people from the experts, because I'm not a public safety expert. But from what I'm understanding today, it isn't something that they need. Do you think that we could involve the community more so to help with crime prevention? Absolutely. So I think what's really important is having a police force that is trusted in the community that people are willing to call. That people will cooperate with and work with them. And so that means a community that is deeply involved in a partnership together. And that I think I really do think the police department has done a good job of that public safety chief is working on that. So I'm not trying to criticize or say that they're not today, but that is a core part of their job. And something I think we should prioritize them doing. And if that means City Council needs to give them some additional resources to do more of that, then I would support it. Super. Great. Great answer. Question three. What is your vision for the future of Longmont's transportation network of vehicles, streets, sidewalks and multi-use paths? Big question. A lot there. I think we really need to be looking at all of those aspects. So it's really important that we reimagine our bus network. We have having the free buses, the RTD buses and the connections that serve Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins are really important to us, but there are huge swaths of this community that are not connected to the bus network at all. And where I live in Ward 1, I would have to walk 15 minutes to get to a bus stop that runs every hour. Doesn't run on Sundays, doesn't run in the evenings. That doesn't work. And so I really support what the planning, the transportation planning group is trying to do right now with a microtransit system that would serve more of the city. I think that's absolutely the right direction for us to go. It's really important that we get RTD to actually support Longmont. And so that is rail. Mayor Peck's been very vocal about the rail connection, but it is a better bus rapid transit system on Highway 119 to Boulder on the diagonal. It is connectivity that actually hits evenings and weekends to Denver instead of only having commute hour buses that do that trip. Beyond transit, we do need roads that work for us. We absolutely, we're never going to be completely done with single passenger vehicles on the roads. I'm not trying to get rid of them, but having choices so that you don't have to get in your car for everything. You can get on a bus if you want to. You can walk if you want to. You can take a bike if you want to with better protected bike lanes and more greenways. I think all of that is really important and it makes Longmont a more livable place where you get to pick and choose what works for you. The city doesn't dictate, but we provide the options and we make it safe for you to choose between them. Nice. Very good. I like that. So let's move on to question number four. And that is the high cost of housing, which you talked about makes it difficult for service workers to afford to live in Longmont. Do you believe that they should be able to and how do you believe that would impact the lives of the current residents if they could? So I think it's an incredible crisis for the city right now that people can't afford to live and work in this community. And so that is that it is service workers as the question alluded to, but it's beyond that. Longmont needs to be able to have housing and just overall affordability so that our citizens, our residents can live here, can work here and can play here. This is an amazing community. We have great amenities. But if we're doing that such that we're pricing people out of the market, we're forcing folks to drive in that pushes up the costs for all the rest of us as well. It's just, it's kind of an, I think it's what you see in Boulder. And you see that the housing prices have gone up so much that therefore it's harder for small retailers to survive because they have to pay more. Their rent is going up all the rest of it. We're, we see that in Longmont. It's not like Boulder yet, but I'm concerned we go that same direction if we don't help balance this out. So that is, you know, I've talked about some changes on the housing side that I that I support. I do think it also is making sure that we're putting in affordable and attainable housing and things that make it more cost effective for people to live here and make it easier to live here, provide some community support. Keep our amenities like rec centers, our libraries accessible, affordable and make it so that people can live here want to live here. Well, we're also encouraging economic development on the corporate side. So you get more businesses and you get more of that development here that helps kind of helps everyone make more money so you can afford to live here as well. So do you have some solutions when you're thinking of housing? Solutions I think is tough. I really think it comes back to we have a supply and demand problem right now. And Longmont is a phenomenal place to be in so the demand is really high. We're not cutting demand doesn't work so how can we increase our supply which is it is going to be building. It is going to be things like building different types of housing so we have some single family duplex, triplex and departments and condos so that there's a wide range of options so that people can pick and choose what works best for them and their family. Very good. Okay, so the last question that we've got. I'm allowing seven minutes for there are going to be three questions. And these are pertaining to the three ballot questions. So you can split it up amongst each one because I'm going to mention that the different ballot items, and then would like your input whether you think the public should support each and why. So the first ballot question is 3C the new branch library and library funding. So, I would say broadly when we're looking at all three of these and I will address them individually. I really support the increase amenities and doing things that are great for the city. I'm very concerned my core issue is housing affordability and affordability in the city property taxes are already up dramatically and we're asking the community to step up even more for more support so I am. I'm reluctant to really push people to support that because I know what it does to the pocket books and to rent payments and everything else library. I am strongly in favor of the library. I love the services it provides and I really think that the library group does a phenomenal job today. Having a branch library expanding hours, the things that are in this initiative beyond just the physical building are really important and I think that the library serves the community probably more directly than a lot of long line services. So I actually do support this very strongly. I will be voting in favor of it. But I think it's a really hard time to go to the voters and ask for it and so I don't. I understand if voters are saying no I don't think it's saying no to a library I think it's saying no to increasing the taxes. Okay, and 3D that is arts and entertainment center. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of the arts. I grew up playing in band. I play the clarinet I played the piano. I love going to the Longwood Symphony Orchestra love going down to Denver for musicals. I will put my own money and donate to this cause to help bring an arts and entertainment center. The tax increase is very high. And so I really struggle with it again. I don't think it's the appropriate time for the city to be asking voters to approve it. I would I would encourage people to support arts in the community. I would encourage you to donate to the symphony. I would encourage you to donate to the actual building of this on the private side. I have a really hard time thinking that voters should support it. Okay. And then 3E recreation facilities. So I am running in Ward one, which is northeast Laudmont. So I would tell you I have a little bit of a bias against direct center on the other side of town to start with. But the way this measure has been set up is for a rec center in the southwest of Longmont and the land swap with the YMCA within Ward one. And so I really love the land swap that has been developed with the YMCA. There's there's some unanswered questions there. But the idea of paying $12 million to get a new rec center through the YMCA. So understands a little different admission and financing structure while also putting housing in both sites. I think is really important for the city. And I think that's a that's just a huge win for us. I absolutely and completely support that. And the tax obligation is a pretty limited time, very affordable for what we're getting investment. It's bundled with the other rec center. And again, I would really love to see that rec center, but the tax increase that they're asking for is on us to do that. I really wish the council had broken this into two measures so that I could without question enthusiastically support one of them and, you know, think we need to come back to the drawing board to come up with a different funding mechanism for increasing our rec site rec centers otherwise. So I again, I'm, this is what I will probably personally support because I feel so strongly about the YMCA. I'm not going to go out and advocate people support the overall measure because I know the cost for it. And I think this is, there is a core issue here of this is a growing city, and we, we are an amenity rich community, and it's wonderful that we have these amenities for the community. But we're not actually we're saying we need these things as we grow, we do, but we're not actually letting the growth pay for them themselves we're going back to all residents and saying well, we all need to step up and support this growing city not just the growth that's coming for itself and so I think there is the council needs to go back and this is something I would really be pushing to do should I be elected is rethink our overall funding and how can we use our tax revenue differently. So for some of these core services that we think are so important for long month, like a library like a rec center that we don't have to go to the voters to do a tax increase every time we want to make it a change to them. That feels like something we should be able to do within the normal budget process. I like your thinking. Here's my question to you. Yes, since we're running out of time on this, but it encompasses all. You're saying go back to the voters and talk to them, say if these don't pass. Yeah. How do you see getting people in the community more involved in what's happening with city council. Yeah. And having them more involved so that you hear them. I think it's a it's a really good question and it's, I don't think there's a simple answer. I do think the city council has done a pretty good job with surveys with trying to get the perspective. But I don't actually think you hear those voices reflected in the meetings and because the meetings all happen on Tuesday nights and run until 10 or 11pm. It's very difficult for people to participate. I mean, I am making the choice to run and do this and it's difficult for me to get to the meetings every single Tuesday in a work week and be able to be there and voice my opinion. So the council really needs to I'd like to look at varying meeting types. I'd like to look at more open forums. The coffee with council is a phenomenal thing that the council does. It's once a month council member should be out there regularly in front of people, all of the council members meeting with meeting with constituents and just having an open door. I would plan to have office hours just very simply. This is my published hour. Anyone can stop by and talk to me about any topic. If that time doesn't work for you, email me text me whatever it is. I really do want to hear from people. I can't promise that I'm going to act on 100% of what I hear but I promise I will listen and incorporate it into my own decision making process. That's super. Well, we've run out of time as far as the questions. I'll let you wrap it up and let people know what you stand for who you are and what a great job you would do as a city councilman. Well, Jenny, thank you very much for the questions. I appreciate it. And I think they're really important ones as we think about as we think about the future of law. So I've talked a little bit about housing affordability. There's two other parts of my campaign that I do want to talk about as well. And that is focusing on livability and sustainability. So on livability, we've touched on items like transportation on pedestrian safety, bicycling safety. I think it's really important that this community is one that people feel safe in whenever they're out about, however they're choosing to interact. And we have phenomenal parks, open spaces. I think it's critically important that we protect those. We maintain them, not just for those of us who live here today but the future generations coming. And so that means not trying to change and trying to actually grow our current portfolio. We have park areas that have not been developed, including in Ward 1 that are just sitting there today and it's beyond time that we actually make the investment to make them good park land. On sustainability, it is really important that we work towards a carbon zero future and follow a lot of what the council has been doing already. But it's equally important that we make sure that we're resilient and prepared for natural disasters. This is this month last month was the 10 year anniversary of the floods. And so we've heard all of this commemoration. We still don't have the infrastructure done from that. It's, I mean, the city's done an amazing job with it, but we need to do more. We look at the Marshall fire not very far away from us. And we need to be prepared for something similar in Longmont and be able to react and respond to it. I think those are critically important part of sustainability. And I also think it's really important that our finances are sustainable. You've heard me talk a lot about tax increases and kind of just the overall affordability crisis in this community. I think that's a part of sustainability as well and being able to make sure that our city government can be funded for the long term, knowing all these new investments we're going to have to make for a greener future. I've lived in this community for six years. I really love Longmont. This is a phenomenal place to live. I get to live here and work from home as a digital commuter. So things like next light, the investments the city has made are critically important in my quality of life. And I know it is to so many others here as well. I am out walking our trails every day with my dog Maximus, my wife, Elizabeth works in Longmont at Salute Family Health Centers. We are a part of this community. We love this community. I'm running because I do love this community and I want to be able to be a voice for everyone on City Council. I see all too often our City Council doesn't act with common sense. And so I'd like to be able to bring that common sense to Council, which is an uncommon idea, which really shouldn't be that uncommon. I'm not running as a Democrat. I'm not running as a Republican. I'm running as a Longmont resident and I pledge to stand up for everyone. And as I've said, have the office hours, have an open ear and really want to hear from people. I promise if I disagree with you, I'm going to disagree nicely and we're going to have a really good discussion about how we disagree. Really, Jenny, thank you for the interview today. Thank you everyone for watching and being able to learn a little bit more. If you'd like to learn more about me, my website's Harrison for Longmont.com. Feel free to reach out and I'd be happy to have a discussion. That's great. So thank you. So I want to thank you, Harrison, for all your input to these questions. I'm Ginny Schuster and I'd like to thank all of you for watching the Longmont Public Media's Candidate Interview Series. Thank you. My voters in War 3 will have me. I feel like I can come in, hit the ground running and pick up where we left off and really fill in those gaps that we weren't really, didn't have the capacity. Aside from COVID, we also what, and I really love this phrase. I heard it from our city manager, the Silver Tsunami. We had an overwhelming number of longtime directors and staff members who retired and who had been with the city for 30 plus years. And so it was recruiting new talent. And so that's something I want to move forward on. We've got the staff, now we're ready to get to work and just really fill in those gaps that our community is feeling that we have. And there's a lot of work to do. So I'm ready to move forward. Excellent. Well, thank you so much. Of course, of course. Speaking with me and the citizens of Longmont and Ward 3. Yes. This is Faith Halverson-Ramos with Susie Hidalgo-Fairing, running for re-election in Ward 3. And this was another episode of Longmont Public Media's Candidate Interview Series. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, and you can read more about me on Susie4ward3.com.