Forums · Same question, every candidate
2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture
September 15, 2026 · Boulder Chamber, 2440 Pearl St., Boulder
Hosted by Boulder County Arts Alliance, Boulder Chamber, Create Boulder.
Presented by Boulder County Arts Alliance, the Boulder Chamber and Create Boulder; moderated by Justin Veach, BCAA board president. Posted in five parts. Written lightning-round answers are linked from the video description and are not copied here.
Recordings
- (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
- (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
- (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
- (Pt 4/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance)
- (Pt 5/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance) (no quotes taken from this part)
Date: YouTube description: 'Event Date: Tuesday, September 15th 2026 / Venue: Boulder Chamber, 2440 Pearl St.'
Questions and answers, in speaking order
Each question, then the candidates we quote, in the order they spoke. These are short passages. Use the watch link to hear the whole answer. Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. If a candidate isn't listed under a question, we didn't quote them on it.
What is one action you would prioritize during your term to strengthen Boulder's creative ecosystem and keep Boulder competitive?
What I would do, and this is going to be, it might have a few heads turning, is bring back the DBA.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: 'DBA' = DDA (downtown development authority). Second of drawn names; Ryan Jamieson later says 'the DDA, as Tara mentioned'.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 11:42 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
You see a lot of these real estate companies, what they're doing is essentially leaving these areas vacant because it's more cost effective for them to keep prices high than to lower them
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 13:24 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
How should the city use these tools [tax increment financing, special districts, public-private partnerships, city-owned assets] to strengthen cultural infrastructure and create more vibrant commercial and civic areas?
So I would clearly look for monies that are available for doing art therapy.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: First of drawn names ('Lisa and ... Ryan Jameson'); speaker identifies as a medical doctor.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 16:48 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I think that kind of financing, bond financing, private sector partnering is what we need to look at to help accelerate some of the projects
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 18:19 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Colorado Springs threw a half million dollars from their DDA towards artist spaces. There's no reason that we shouldn't be able to do that.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Third of drawn names (Lisa, Benita, Ryan Jameson).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 19:29 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
What measures would you support to ensure future CCRS non-profit capital investments are transparent, guided by clear public priorities and evaluation criteria, and directed toward significant projects that create visible, lasting community value?
we need to have some hard conversations about how are we going to deal with the urgent and important, but also recognizing the long-term necessity to invest in the arts.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 24:21 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I would like for us to, in addition, find targeted opportunity to make larger investments in specific organizations to have more of those transformational effects.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 25:26 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I believe that we need an imitated performance monitor that measures our outcomes on our programs
Transcript note: Likely 'independent performance monitor' (Whisper).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 26:02 · (Pt 1/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
What would you do as a council member to make Boulder's budget, debt commitments, use of dedicated taxes, and major capital priorities more transparent and understandable to the public?
We need to have clear public dashboards that clearly illustrate exactly where money's going, why.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: First of drawn names ('... Rose Isaacson, Lynn Segal, and Ryan Schuchard').
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 1:37 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
The planning board is going to approve a density increase at Naropa University in about a half an hour.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Second of drawn names.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 2:41 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
we've got to strengthen our balance sheet. We need more predictable and flexible sources of funding.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 3:53 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
What changes would you support to make Boulder easier for creative activity and small cultural businesses to operate in?
The second would be to introduce a dashboard where if you're a creative, you're an artist, you can go there
Transcript note: Self-identified as 'Dave Morris' (Whisper).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 6:59 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I do support reviewing our permitting and land use regulations to make it simpler for artists and arts organizations to be in this town.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 7:44 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
The other thing I would focus on is creating more permanently affordable housing for everybody, including artists
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 7:54 · (Pt 2/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Final council-candidate arts question on implementing adopted plans/priorities (question wording partly lost at the Pt 2/Pt 3 video split)
I'm saying we need to work on the revenue stream, it's not the expense stream
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Pt 3 begins mid-answer; Fred Smith was first of the three named (Smith, Marquis, Richmond).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 1:11 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
making sure that we have a clear way of identifying our priorities for investment, which types of public private partnerships would we prioritize
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 1:51 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Most of the artists that I know don't live in Boulder and I think that that's important.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 3:03 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
If elected mayor, how would you use your leadership role to help ensure that adopted plans are translated into action and that major projects are delivered responsibly and within budget?
As we have a dashboard that tracks with each one of them how they're going, what percent are they complete and what steps are coming next. I'd like to see us do that with other major plans.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 5:56 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
we need to rethink in changing the measurement rubric for the city manager and we need a city auditor.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Moderator's announced order put La Grave second; intro garbled.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 7:24 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
We are going to have more extreme heat. We are going to have more wildfires. And arts plays a critical role in not only communication and education, but climate grief.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 8:27 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
That means firing city of Boulder workers who are slow, ineffective, and not doing their jobs.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 9:48 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I'm a super majority guy. I think in big decisions you should have a two-thirds majority for them to pass.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Fifth in moderator's announced order (after Jacobs); not re-named.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 10:37 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
It's a $350 million project that's going to house about 300 employees, so over a million dollars per employee.
Transcript note: Referring to Alpine-Balsam.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 11:59 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I think the best way that we can do this is by bringing in an independent auditor.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 12:22 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Final one-minute statement
So I want us to remain relevant and dynamic and reduce red tape
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 14:35 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
We say that we value the arts, but we make it hard to open up a gallery.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 15:30 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I would say that artists are a lot more important than businessmen because they create the culture that businessmen operate within.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Third of drawn names (Winer, Jamieson, Goldstein, Martus, Segal).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 16:34 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
fiscal transparency and good stewardship of capital. And why is that important to the arts? Because through that, I think we can make the pie bigger.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 17:35 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Every development that goes on here just increases the wealth disparity
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Fifth of drawn names.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 18:49 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
We need an implementation plan that relates to arts and cultural investment
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 20:04 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
If I'm reelected, I hope to continue to focus on how we prioritize funding
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Third of drawn names (Duran, Jacobs, Marquis, La Grave, Brockett).
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 22:34 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
I really do believe that the art holds the key for our economic recovery
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 23:21 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
In fact, in 2024 we granted $1.4 million and that's since gone up to $2 million as of 2026.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Fifth of drawn names; speaker describes joining council in 2015.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 24:36 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
Art funding should be transparent so that we can tell our community members when we spend on art funding that it was worthwhile and enriched the community.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 26:39 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
It is important that as we look forward, that we think about creating funding and supporting funding for the arts
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 27:38 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
the average income from being an artist in Boulder is under $19,000.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 28:21 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
another thing I will prioritize in addition to these common themes is access to the arts for everybody.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Fifth of last seven drawn names; speaker cites managing a children's arts nonprofit.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 30:56 · (Pt 3/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
if we build it tomorrow, it'd be the cheapest time to build it.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Sixth of drawn names; Pt 4 opens with this speaker.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 0:28 · (Pt 4/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)
We need to invest in our values, and our budget doesn't currently reflect that.
Speaker identified from speaking order; the moderator did not name them.
Transcript note: Last drawn name; speaker says 'as mayor'.
Quoted from an automatic transcript. Check the recording. Watch at 2:00 · (Pt 4/5) 2026 City Council Candidates Forum on Arts and Culture (Boulder County Arts Alliance, YouTube)