Same question, every candidate · Empower Our Future climate forum
Xcel says it will deliver 100% clean electricity by 2050, not Boulder's 2030 goal, and has presented no concrete plan under the 2020 franchise agreement. What remedies would you propose for Xcel's failures to deliver, at the city level, at the PUC, or at the state level? And would you be open to inviting cities that have gone to market for their electricity to come to Boulder to educate us about life after Xcel?
Asked at the Empower Hour: Climate and Energy Forum with Boulder Mayoral Candidates, October 6, 2026.
Each page shows one forum question and every candidate we quote on it, in ballot order. There are no scores. We mark yes or no only when the candidate said it outright. A blank means they didn't, so read the quote. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording.
| Candidate | In their words |
|---|---|
| Lisa Ann Jacobs | I do not expect that Excel will do better. Cities can own their own sources of power, which residents love, Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 27:45 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
| Taishya Adams | I think there needs to be a much stronger partnership and advocacy with our state representatives and the Public Utility Commission. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 29:27 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
| Aaron Brockett | the interactions with Excel over the last few years have been extremely disappointing. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 24:55 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) I would be absolutely interested in sitting down and talking to other cities Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 26:19 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
| Jameson Goldstein | I think it's very important that we take this issue to the state level. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 36:59 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
| Fred Smith | But I think you need to find benchmarks with Excel and say by 2033, you need to do this and this, or you get fined millions of dollars Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 35:11 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
| Aquiles La Grave | six years of disappointing meetings should absolutely change your strategy. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 31:46 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) So I believe one of those options is us absolutely going to market for energy. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 31:52 · Empower Hour 2026-10-06 Climate & Energy Forum with Boulder Boulder Mayoral Candidates. (Empower Our Future, YouTube) |
If a candidate isn't listed, we didn't quote them on this question. They may have been absent or not called on.