Candidate: Tara Winer
Office: Boulder City Council
Website: https://www.taraforboulder.com/
QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES:
Yes/No Questions – Please answer only with yes/no.
Are you a homeowner? Yes
Do you think your City should add more beds to the homeless shelter? Yes
If the City police force was fully staffed, would you advocate for adding more officers? Maybe
Do you believe there’s a need for more housing? Yes
Do you believe the City should spend more money on homelessness services? No
Longform Questions – Please limit responses to 300 words or less.
Why do you want to be a council member?
“I am the one incumbent running for re-election. I want to continue working on the issues that our community members say are most important to them. What I like the about city council is being a positive member of a group of 9 people who are trying to solve some of our biggest problems: housing, public safety, homelessness, mental health and drug addiction disorders, bike safety, and fire and flood mitigation/ climate action, rising property crime for example. But I also like solving the easier-to-solve problems. For instance, fixing lighting in our bike underpasses, adding more protected bike lanes, reducing bike theft with new creative methods like a bike valet downtown, and fixing potholes.
I am an across-the-aisle city council member. We get things done when we collaborate with each other. I focus on solutions, not rhetoric. I study each week, and get input from people I wouldn’t necessarily agree with so I can see all sides of the subject material.
This type of across-the-aisle thinking is sorely lacking in national politics. As a person that has always wanted to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem, I am dedicated to this.
I want to bring in all voices, especially to open comment at a city council meeting. I have personally asked people to speak that are from our affordable housing communities, for example. Hearing perspectives, not just in an email to council, but in person or virtually has a large impact on my decision making. I have many phone meetings per day with any community member that requests one.
This is my way of making sure people feel heard and that they are a part of the local government decision making process, whether we agree in the end or not.”
When was the last time you paid rent, and where was that?
“I paid rent post-college and in my twenties. I bought a house for $159,000 in Philadelphia in my late twenties and lived in it for a very long time until I moved to Boulder 12 years ago. I would like the same housing ownership opportunities for young people as I had. Housing costs have skyrocketed so we need to come up with creative ways to provide housing options for people.
Because over 50% of our community are renters, we need to make sure we represent them in an equitable way. This comes back to community engagement, listening to all sides, and considering those that are under-represented.”
Boulder County has experienced extreme natural disasters over the last decade, including flooding and wildfire. How do you plan to address these challenges?
“I spent the last two years working on that very issue with my council colleagues. Our Comprehensive Flood and Stormwater Master Plan was approved in September 2022. Here you can find updated flood mapping and flood mitigation plans for the city’s 16 drainageways. Some of the key points are: Make an infrastructure resilient to climate change, prepare for extreme weather and flooding, and to do it equitably so no community is left out.
Boulder is now working on our CWPP, Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Its core objectives revolve around risk management, resilient landscapes, fire adapted communities, and post-fire recovery.
We have some great wildfire risk reduction programs like our Wildfire Home Assessment Program for both homeowners and renters. We work with local ranchers and use cattle to help our ecosystem by grazing. Grazing removes invasive weed species like tall oat grass, which can be fuel for wildfires on the WUI, the Wildland Urban Interface.
We have cut back some of the overgrown urban forest, so when fire does occur, flames don’t jump easily from treetop to treetop.
There is more to be done.
The most important thing is to keep fully funding these important initiatives as well as our fire and stormwater infrastructure.”
How do you think you stand out from other candidates?
“I am the one incumbent running for re-election. I want to continue working on the issues our constituents say are most important. I am a positive member of city council, trying to solve some of our biggest problems: housing, public safety, homelessness, mental health and drug addiction disorders, road safety, fire and flood mitigation, climate action, and rising property crime for example. But I also like solving the easier-to-solve problems. For instance, adding social services programs that will make a difference in people’s lives, fixing lighting in our bike underpasses, adding more protected bike lanes, reducing bike theft with new creative methods like a bike valet downtown, and fixing potholes for example.
I am an across-the-aisle city council member because get things done when we collaborate with each other. I focus on solutions, not rhetoric. Each week prior to a city council meeting, I get input from people I wouldn’t necessarily agree with so I can see all sides of the subject material.
This type of across-the-aisle thinking is sorely lacking in national politics. As a person that has always wanted to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem, I am dedicated to this.
I want to bring in all voices, especially to open comment at a city council meeting. I have personally asked people to speak that are from our affordable housing communities, for example. Hearing perspectives, not just in an email to council, but in person or virtually has a large impact on my decision making. I have many phone meetings per day with any community member that requests one.
This is my way of making sure people feel heard and that they are a part of the local government decision-making process, whether we agree in the end or not.”
What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?
“Question #6: What are your solutions for the growing population of people experiencing homelessness?
And question #7: What’s your plan for creating more affordable housing in Boulder?
And question #4- how do you stand out.
You have some good questions!”
What are your solutions for the growing population of people experiencing homelessness?
“I support a new day shelter. Our Homeless Shelter is available for people at 5 PM but people must leave the next morning. We need a place for unhoused people to go during the day. Our day shelter will provide people’s basic needs: bathrooms, showers, lockers, and food as well as connections to services.
To lead a productive and stable life, people need housing. We need everything from pallet homes to tiny homes to sober living homes. Because so many people suffer from mental health issues and drug addiction, we need housing with extensive supportive services.
Another gap is housing for people being released from jail or prison. Our recidivism rate in Colorado is about 50%. I believe we can greatly reduce this number if we provide them with temporary housing.
One of our biggest challenges in Boulder, and in Colorado, is providing options for people experiencing mental health and substance abuse disorders, especially options that take Medicaid. There is a shortage of mental health workers, and our providers are having trouble keeping up with the demand for services. We need a multi-pronged plan to affect change and alleviate people’s sufferings. We need more inpatient and outpatient services, something similar to Larimer County’s new mental health facility. We must work with our state and county partners to finance programs, hire staff, and build facilities.
Boulder has really stepped up with some great new programs. For instance, Building Home is a program which supports the newly housed through peer support and housing retention.
Another new program is Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE), which utilizes behavioral health workers, case managers and paramedics to respond to non-emergency calls when mental health professionals are more appropriate than the police.”
What’s your plan for creating more affordable housing in Boulder?
“We have a need for deed restricted permanently affordable housing, middle income housing, and attainable housing.
Boulder is doing well in its permanently affordable housing stock and there is much in the pipeline. However, many in our workforce do not qualify for Permanently Affordable Housing. There is a need for affordable middle-income housing. Due to funding restraints, this is hard to accomplish, but we need to find a way.
For attainable housing, we need more housing in the “under $1M category”. Condos would be a good options , but because of the condo defect law and other obstacles, we have not had much success in this category.
Prioritizing the Area III Planning Reserve is our best bet to provide middle income housing and affordable homeownership options, so people can own their own home and build equity. Since the city owns much of this land, it will reduce housing prices. We can also provide more affordable rentals here. This is our best opportunity to provide a diversity of housing types, like in the Holiday Neighborhood.
I support community land trusts. It is a way to offer homeownership opportunities to lower/middle income families. It may be a way to ameliorate our labor shortages, as having nowhere affordable for our city employees to live has taken a toll on our ability to hire staff.
Lastly, at the Sept 21, 2023 council meeting, we accomplished Phase 1 of amending the Land Use Code to “remove regulatory barriers to affordable or modest-sized housing through changes to the site review process, intensity, form and bulk, use, and parking concerning affordable and modest-sized housing.” We already lined up what Phase II will look like for next year, and I look forward to working on this.”
How will you address climate change? How do you plan to meet some of the City’s climate goals, like reducing emissions by 70% by 2030, becoming a net-zero City by 2035, and becoming a carbon-positive City by 2040?
“Pressuring Xcel to close the coal plant in Pueblo.
Working with the state on such initiatives as Community Choice Energy, which would allow cities and counties to choose alternative wholesale electricity suppliers.
Increasing our urban tree canopy to absorb more carbon, especially in the parts of our city that are lacking in a tree canopy- like 30th and Pearl and some of our light industrial areas.
Continue to drive businesses and residences to change from gas to electric with both legislation and incentives.
Reducing our VMTs (vehicle miles traveled) to reduce air pollution with e-bikes, electric vehicles, and an improved transportation system, and more housing closer to where people work.”
What are your goals for transportation and how will you achieve them?
“- increasing our community e-bike usage with innovative E-Bike incentives like the E-Bike Voucher Program and adding more B-Cycle stations in more locations.
– increasing lighting in our bike underpasses.
– adding more protected bike lanes as quickly as possible.
– finding ways to reduce bike theft so that more people choose biking when going downtown or going on errands. This would include bike valets downtown and new, innovative ways to lock up our bikes.
– improving our public transportation system. Public transportation should be fast, reliable, and inexpensive. Of particular interest to me is how to make our bus system faster to incentivize people to leave their cars at home and take the bus. Redesigning streets like Arapahoe Ave (CO-7) so buses have a separate lane is a way we can speed up public transport.
– pushing RTD to bring us light rail.
-pushing RTD to restore the all bus service we had pre-pandemic.”
How do you plan to engage with non-English speaking constituents?
“Our website and our communications materials should be available in Spanish.
Outreach to our non-English speaking constituents to speak at our peon comment and public hearings at city council meetings so we can get their perspectives. We should have interpreters available for public meetings.
Our community connector program does a great job in engaging our non-English speaking community.
We should increase the budgeting for that program.
We should continue appointing non-English speaking constituents to our boards and commissions and provide translators.”
How does diversity factor into your policy making?
“Whatever we can do to increase our diversity would be good for the health and well-being of our city. A diverse city is a happier city, a friendlier city, and a more tolerant city.
We can make a practical difference by increasing housing diversity, which will then bring more socioeconomic, racial, and income diversity. Right now we are limited in our stock of middle income housing, which means we have more and more constituents in the lower income category and high income category. I want intend to push forward middle income housing in my second term.
Our city has a racial equity tool that can ensure all programs/ legislation/ etc. runs through that racial equity tool. Equity and diversity need always to be prioritized.
Diversity in our city’s hiring practices, especially in our police force should be prioritized. We have already made inroads in our police department.”
How will you reach residents who have different lived experiences than you?
“I personally go door-to-door in different neighborhoods to have conversations with people. What are their experiences in Boulder, what are they happy with; what do they wish there was more of,; what are their biggest concerns. Listening is an important quality of an effective city council member, in my opinion.
I freely give all constituents my phone number 303-912-5960. I just got a call from someone in the Tibetan-American community today! Word gets around when you are available to all community members.
We have our community connectors that are leaders in their communities, and we rely heavily on them to give us perspective in regards to not only legislation but city programs as well. We have our Be Heard Boulder questionnaires.
City council meetings have options for people to speak directly to us: open comment and public hearings. I personally ask under-represented people to speak at these venues.
For me, learning from people that think differently than me and having different lived experiences is the way that I learn and grown as a person. It helps my perspectives and helps me be a better council member.”
Rank your top 5 issues in priority.
- Homelessness- providing options for people experiencing homelessness: transitional housing, a day center, treatment services for mental health and drug addiction disorders.
- Improving the safety of our public spaces.
- Bike safety: protected bike lanes, improved lighting in our underpasses and on our multi-use paths.
- Increase affordable and middle-income housing.
- Climate action: Fire and flood resilience, bringing down our VMT’s.
