Racial Equity
Welcome back everyone!
A Help request:
Boulder City Council will be revisiting the Racial Equity Plan this coming Tuesday, the 16th. As we mentioned in our last newsletter the first look at this document was not well received by some members of the conservative faction of Council, notably Councilors Wallach, Yates, and Young. Thankfully staff heard those complaints, ignored them, and came back with a document that reaffirms the original draft AND adds recognition of additional points of harm such as Boulder's protracted development process, climate goals and impact fees as all contributing to an environment that exclude or push out people of color. Let your voice be heard and tell council to adopt the Racial Equity Plan. If you're not sure what to say, we've built a communicating with council email tool that will assist you with ideas for subject lines and body topics. Additionally here is some great content from our friends at SURJ.
Awesome:
(more like passing as acceptable 😒) The Severe Weather Shelter increasing the allowed number of nights per year from 30 to 60. We applaud the work of advocacy groups that moved some council members and shelter staff to increase the cap. While this is heartening to see we'll continue to press for more permanent solutions to housing our most vulnerable community members.
Additionally, we are very excited for our allies over at Bedrooms Are For People and the launch of their digital petition campaign. We are excited for the work they are doing to get this ballot measure approved and even more excited for the housing security the passage of this measure would bring to many. You can help them out by hoping on over to their site and signing the petition.
Not Awesome:
Transportation equity. The RTD board recently hosted a discussion on the The B Line commuter rail. In the middle Governor Polis stopped by, emphasizing the importance of this line. Board Member Shontel Lewis rightfully pointed out that the Governor was accommodated to weigh in but other, less powerful, constituents were not. The COVID grants for service restoration that Polis wishes to raid in order to fund the train are earmarked for continuing basic services, so we echo Shontel when she asks "who will bear that cost?" That will be the poor and people of color, and we will not stand by passively and allow that to happen. If you feel similar, you can contact our representative, Lynn Gussinger, and ask that she put equity first.
Up Next:
Last year the City Manager stepped down after 12 years on the job. We've been vocal critics of her and her willingness to impede Progressive policies in the community (See The Tipton Report). However, we are hopeful that the new hire will work for the benefit of all residents and soon you too will have an opportunity to have a say in the matter. On February 25th the city is hosting a session on the finalists for the new role. You can sign up to attend here.
Interesting:
Construction will begin soon on a pair of tunnels underneath the 30th and Colorado intersection. This, along with the news from last month about a grant to fund multi modal improvements between Baseline and Arapahoe, has us very excited for the future of transit, cycling, and pedestrian opportunities on what has been a terrible stretch of road in town.
Till next time,
BP
