 I'm Tala Salmatian, and I'm running for city council to be an advocate for local businesses, entrepreneurs, and the people who work tirelessly to make these businesses great. I started my first company in 2004. Since then, I've earned an MBA, I've taught business at the University of Colorado here in Boulder, published a book on business, and have helped dozens of businesses through my mentorship and through my involvement in Energize Colorado. I believe small and growing businesses are the engine of our local economy. Longmont has a lot of great things going for it. We've got great nonprofits like the R Center, we've got super fast internet thanks to NextLight, and we've got higher education in front-range community college. And the generosity of our community members never ceases to amaze me. Being someone who's action-minded, I didn't want to wait until I was elected to start making positive change in our community. Right now, I'm working with front-range community colleges, advanced manufacturing programs, and the R Center to offer skills training to those who want to learn new skills for tomorrow's jobs. The more people who gain new skills like advanced manufacturing, the more businesses will provide good jobs in our community. Whether it's manufacturing in terms of breweries or electronics, I see production as an important component in providing a wide range of good jobs to our community. I'm a big advocate for finding market solutions to our attainable housing shortage, so members of our community who want to buy have an opportunity to do so. Best way for people to grow wealth is through home ownership. I believe adding more stock of attainable housing would reduce stress on our housing market. Additionally, when we allow people to live and own property in the community that they work, businesses thrive. Staff turnover decreases as well as pollution and congestion. At the same time, productivity and quality of life improved dramatically. On the topic of quality of life, I believe that people are happier when they have access to open spaces and nature. I believe that it's critical that we protect our environment, and that means we take outdoor spaces and conservation seriously. While I know many city employees and elected officials would agree with that statement, the fact that there are no permits or guidelines for great water usage and the lack of a serious effort to make Longmont more bike-friendly shows me that there is either blockers preventing this from happening or there's lack of motivation to implement change. My experience in business and entrepreneurship has taught me the best way to accomplish something is to iterate. The first approach, they may not work, but the key is finding new solutions and not stopping until a solution is found. Finally, to reiterate, when I'm elected, I'm committing to helping businesses thrive in Longmont, finding market solutions for workforce attainable housing, supporting education and rescaling programs, and prioritizing conservation and protecting of our outdoor and green spaces. I'm committed to working with you and my fellow elected officials in government to find these solutions. Vote for me, TALIS on November 2nd. Thank you.