Public Safety and Community Well Being

Everyone should be able to enjoy Boulder’s public spaces.

When we first considered moving to Boulder in 2010, we took our two-year-old son to Boulder Creek and the Pearl Street Mall. Those special moments showed us what life could be here. Everyone should be able to enjoy those same experiences.

Our parks, paths, libraries and commercial districts should be safe and welcoming. City government has a responsibility to protect those expectations and respond humanely to people experiencing homelessness, addiction and mental illness. Those responsibilities belong together.

I support the 2025 Clutch report’s recommendations, including access to behavioral health care, stronger coordination with county and state partners, and rapid exit assistance that helps people reconnect with family, support networks and safe housing in communities where they have ties. Boulder should also work with healthcare providers and nonprofits to improve access to shelter, treatment and stable housing. These challenges extend beyond city boundaries, and responsibility should be shared.

Support our first responders and earn the community’s trust

When someone calls for help, they need confidence that qualified people will arrive and know what to do. Our police officers, firefighters and emergency dispatchers need the staffing, training, equipment and compensation to do their jobs well. Preserving essential frontline services should be a budget priority.

Police cannot be expected to resolve every problem involving homelessness, mental illness or addiction. Trained mental-health professionals and outreach workers should be available when they can respond safely, with police available when safety or a crime requires their involvement.

Effective policing also requires public trust. As an alternate to Boulder’s Police Oversight Panel, my goal is to help build trust between officers and historically excluded communities. Officers deserve clear expectations and support; residents deserve serious, impartial review of concerns about police conduct. My experience as a civil trial lawyer taught me to examine evidence, question assumptions and listen before reaching a conclusion. I will bring that approach to City Council.

Get people the help their circumstances require

When a situation can be handled safely by trained mental-health professionals or outreach workers, those responders should be available. Police must remain available when there is a threat to safety or a crime requiring their response. The city should support coordination among these services so that people receive appropriate help and responders understand their responsibilities.