Arts and culture · 2026
2026 · Arts and culture. This issue in: 2026
People on the 2026 ballot who answered this cycle’s question. Answers from earlier years stay on those years' pages.
What is one action you would prioritize during your term to strengthen Boulder's creative ecosystem and keep Boulder competitive?
forum
Jameson Goldstein
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Tara Winer
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
17 on this ballot are not in the source for this question. Silence is not a no.
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?
forum
Lisa Ann Jacobs
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Benita Duran
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Ryan Jamieson
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
16 on this ballot are not in the source for this question. Silence is not a no.
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?
forum
Taishya Adams
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Aaron Brockett
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Scott Rendleman
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
16 on this ballot are not in the source for this question. Silence is not a no.
What changes would you support to make Boulder easier for creative activity and small cultural businesses to operate in?
forum
Sam Fuqua
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Sam Fuqua
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Dave Martus
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
17 on this ballot are not in the source for this question. Silence is not a no.
Final council-candidate arts question on implementing adopted plans/priorities (question wording partly lost at the Pt 2/Pt 3 video split)
forum
Fred Smith
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Jamillah Richmond
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
Tina Marquis
Arts and culture forum · September 15, 2026
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)
16 on this ballot are not in the source for this question. Silence is not a no.