Candidate: Waylon Lewis
Office: Boulder City Council
Website: https://www.waylonlewis.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? No
Do you believe there’s a need for more housing? Yes
Do you believe the City should spend more money on homelessness services? Yes
Longform Questions – Please limit responses to 300 words or less.
Why do you want to be a council member?
“It’s a hard job. Everyone’s mad at you on any given week, including your own friends. It’s about 35 hours a week, at $12K/ish a year. So the only reason to want to do this, I would hope, is because we care. I care. I deeply care about Boulder and would like to help us move past conflict culture to pragmatic, compassionate, commonsense coalitions and solutions. I’ve done that on the boards I’ve served on, with my 22–year-and-going-strong business, and my deep and wide relationships in this community will empower me to do so, with your help.”
When was the last time you paid rent, and where was that?
“I’ve paid rent as a local business owner 5 years ago, and it was downtown off Pearl, where Suti is. I last rented an apartment 16 years ago, and it was on Broadway and Maxwell.”
Boulder County has experienced extreme natural disasters over the last decade, including flooding and wildfire. How do you plan to address these challenges?
“We need to prepare for another fire. It’s coming. Boulder will burn, and flood, and repeatedly—and insurance companies will leave, fracturing our economy—unless we mitigate, and subsidize preparedness, every single home in Boulder. We can do this. We’ve done it before, banning wooden shingled roofs. We can help folks change out their 8-foot dry wood fencing, or move to heat pumps, or put in flood protections, and bury our Xcel power lines—it’ll cost money now, or then, and it’ll be less now, and less suffering then if we treat this urgently. I am fired up about this one. I was active in flood recovery 10 years ago, and understand the fire danger that we are living in every single windy day.”
How do you think you stand out from other candidates?
“I’m the only leading candidate independent from the big “slates”—the sides or teams in Boulder that focus on name-calling or beating the other side instead of listening, coalitions, and solutions. Don’t take it from me: look at the lack of progress on homeless, or fire mitigation, or even affordability. We can move forward and make Boulder fun, safe, and inspiring again. And we can do so quickly if we’re willing to work together. That’s the secret sauce, and that’s who I am.”
What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?
“It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of emotional duress. Are you read for the stress. Are you ready to take care of yourself, to process, to read 800-page packets weekly and go beyond what’s asked to listen to the citizens of Boulder? This job is largely thankless. Do you care enough to actually enjoy and succeed at this?”
What are your solutions for the growing population of people experiencing homelessness?
“What’s worked elsewhere is important to look at. In Houston, or closer to home in Denver with S.O.S, we’ve seen homelessness reduced by focusing on mental health, addiction care, services, in a transitional campground that enables us to clean up our Creek Path and parks. We can do this—if we’re willing to listen to experts, avoid the mistakes of other cities, lead with pragmatism and caring, and actually execute progress.”
What’s your plan for creating more affordable housing in Boulder?
“What we’re doing works…but we’re not doing enough of it. We need to double our affordable housing. To get there, empower developers who want to built missing middle income housing for teachers, parents, police, firefighters, employees, healthcare workers…and let’s support folks like BHP so they can do twice as much affordable housing. Want our schools to survive? We have to focus on this. Want Boulder to be boring? Then continue to shut down affordability.”
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?
“I’m one of the too-few candidates focused on climate. I’ve interviewed experts for 22 years, know many of them personally, and have written and spoken nationally on climate solutions. We can transform our transportation so it’s as easy to get anywhere by bus, or, yes, train/trolley, or bike, or walking, than driving. That’ll mean less traffic for those who need to drive. In terms of our infrastructure, we need to press Xcel to care, which they barely do, and transform our homes and offices through electrification and green power. Urgently. When I met with form mayor Will Toor, who’s endorsing me, and asked him his solutions, he said one word: electrification.”
What are your goals for transportation and how will you achieve them?
“I will work with TAB and Community Cycles and other stakeholders to make getting around Boulder cleaner, greener, quicker, more convenient, and more fun. That sounds nice, but it’ll take a transformation of culture. The good news? When we get there, it’ll be great for local businesses. It’ll be easier to get downtown, or anywhere else. It’ll be easier to work in Boulder if you live in Golden or an L-town. This will take focus and caring and listening and execution, and as a daily cyclist and environmentalist who had asthma as a child, I’m passionate about this.”
How do you plan to engage with non-English speaking constituents?
“This is honestly a weakness of mine. Genuine connection begins with dialogue. I’ve studied Spanish for several years, and have good, lifelong or longtime friends in the Latino community. But I need to do more, and that includes my walking through neighborhoods meeting my Latino neighbors. In terms of the immigrant communities, I have emceed and served our local Tibetan community fundraisers for many years.”
How does diversity factor into your policy making?
“My role, if elected, is to serve. I am here to platform, listen, and support diversity not just through nice words but through actions: building more affordable housing, centering our indigenous communities, and creating a real sense of safety for our queer, and trans communities, our communities of color, and by doing my part to protect the women’s right to make decisions for her own body.”
How will you reach residents who have different lived experiences than you?
“I love listening. Diversity—whether age, class, religion, ethnicity, race, gender…is what makes Boulder truly rich and truly strong. We need more, not less. I will always care, ask questions, and work to self-educate and serve as an ally.”
Rank your top 5 issues in priority.
“Preparing for Climate Emergency Doubling Affordability Actually working toward Homeless/Public Safety solutions Making Boulder an inspiring, non-toxic town with a culture of community and political action, not just talk Transportation: protected bike lanes, traffic reduction, parking reform.”
