BAGLEY FOR MAYOR 2019

Where does Mayor Bagley stand on the issues?

The experience and knowledge necessary to deal with Longmont’s issues and opportunities.

Having spent several years teaching at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business as well as with CU’s prestigious President’s Leadership Class, I have a solid grasp on basic economics.  I was the senior researcher on the project which culminated in the New York Times Bestseller, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don’t.  Moreover, I run my own business, the Bagley Law Firm, LLC, which has multiple offices and dozens of employees located throughout the front range.  When faced with an economic situation, I have the requisite knowledge to find a solution that will treat people, profit and our planet fairly and responsibly.

Foster a thriving economy.

Since being elected to City Council in November of 2011, Longmont’s local economy has continued to improve and thrive.  Success has come in the form of our new movie theatre, attracting strong places of employment such as Smucker’s, convincing our primary employers to remain in Longmont, doing away with the old turkey plant, renovating other decrepit commercial properties to create sustainable sources of taxable revenue, developing sorely needed multi-residential apartment units as well as single-family housing, developing an affordable housing ordinance that will help accomplish Longmont’s goal of having 12% of its housing stock be permanently affordable without killing development, bringing a Sam’s Club and Whole Foods to Longmont, and a plethora of other commercial and residential projects that have driven our city’s economic engine for nearly a decade.  Better than anything I can write, take a drive around town and look at the progress we have made lately.  It’s impressive.

100% renewable energy by 2030.

One of my first acts as mayor, after being sworn into office in November of 2017, was to issue a mayoral proclamation – and a subsequent council-approved resolution – setting the goal of 100% noncarbon-based energy for our city by 2030.  As mayor, I have sat on the board of directors for our local power utility, Platte River Power Authority (PRPA).  Working closely with the mayors of Estes Park, Fort Collins, and Loveland, our partners in PRPA, together we established a regional wide goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030.  While a lofty goal, we are on track to achieve this goal while keeping our energy reliable and our rates affordable.

Protect residential neighborhoods from heavy industry such as fracking.

After serving on Governor Hickenlooper’s Oil & Gas Task Force in 2012, it was clear to me that the oil and gas industry had little interest in giving local control of mineral extraction to local municipalities.  Not agreeing with this stance, I led Longmont’s efforts to establish the strongest Oil & Gas Regulations in the state; Longmont established a ban on ALL heavy industry within our residentially zoned areas which, when combined with the state-mandated setbacks, essentially placed a ban on fracking within the city of Longmont, but for Union Reservoir.  As mayor, Longmont can say that we are now “frack free,” as all oil and gas surface extraction has been pushed beyond our borders.  We accomplished this through city ordinance, as well as working with local drillers to contractually agree that all wells sites will be placed outside of Longmont city limits.  It took a creative approach to find a solution, and it will take determination and fortitude to keep heavy industry out of Longmont.

Solve our emergent homeless and transient problem.

Depending on who you speak with, Longmont has between 300 and 1,000 individuals who are living on the streets, oftentimes camping in our public parks or along our waterways.  These homeless individuals include Longmont families recently displaced, individuals and families (including young children) living in their cars, those who have suffered recent financial setbacks, people struggling to overcome substance abuse and addiction, or those who suffer from untreated mental illness.  There is not a simple “one size fits all” solution to our homeless epidemic.  Fortunately, Longmont has strong, well-intentioned charities, such as HOPE, the OURS Center, and local churches who advocate and provide support for the homeless.  However, we must make certain that we teach and provide opportunities for these homeless individuals to be accountable, making certain that we give them a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.”  It is a difficult balance to serve and give to the “lowest among us” yet still make certain not to attract more transients (and crime) from surrounding cities.  As yet, homelessness is a problem that no community has been able to resolve.  Here in Longmont, we have focused on – and must continue to focus on – not encouraging transients to come to our city for the services we provide, eliminating the criminal element that often accompanies transients and drug use (or drug distribution), while still caring for those most vulnerable in our community family, such as the elderly and children.

Safeguard our water.

Luckily, Longmont’s forefathers had the prescience and foresight to see that Longmont would someday need the water it uses.  Over the past several decades, we have purchased sufficient water rights to secure that our water needs would be met upon our city’s “build-out” (e.g., a population of approximately 120,000).  As we purchase surrounding open space and prevent neighboring cities from developing on our borders – both policies which I advocated for – we are likely not going to experience a water shortage.  Nevertheless, in order to make certain that our water needs remain met, Longmont has become a partner in the Windy Gap Firming Project, a project that will allow us to store our water from the Colorado-Big Thompson river in the “wet” years in order to be available for use in “dry” years.  I have been an advocate for Longmont’s continued participation in Windy Gap as 1) we need the water to meet our future needs, 2) if we do not participate in Windy Gap then other communities will buy up our shares in the project, developing in areas that Longmont would no longer control, and 3) it is, by far, the cheapest source of water presently available and the investment alone makes participation worthwhile.

Early-childhood education.

According to the data, the biggest impact we can make on our community would be to provide every child with high-quality preschool education.  Early childhood education translates into higher high school graduation rates, higher wages, fewer unwanted pregnancies, less mental health issues, reduced homelessness, etc.  It is the one thing a community can do to assure that ALL areas improve over the next several decades.  Unfortunately, politicians rarely have the political wherewithal to dedicate resources to a project that won’t show results for decades.  I advocate that we should be assuring that the 500 children in Longmont without access to a high-quality early childhood education be given the opportunity.  While some might argue that it is not the job of the government to provide preschool, I would argue that it is the city of Longmont that will receive the biggest economic and social benefit if we can find a way to provide these few forgotten children with this opportunity.  And the solution can be creative; the solution does not have to be that the city pays for it, but we can and should enlist the help of local non-profits and businesses to create a cost-effective solution.

Transportation.

Longmont is being forced to spend $4,500,000 each year on a train that the voters approved in 2004.  This RTD “Fast Track” is anything but.  Having spent more than $65,000,000 and received NOTHING for it, it is time for RTD to figure out a way to provide Longmont with its train and to stop using Longmont funds to subsidize the metro area’s light rail network.  Or, if not, give us our money back!  At the very least, stop taking our annual $4,500,000.  The projected completion date is now beyond 2050, which is an insulting way of saying that the train will never be provided.  The honest thing to do is just admit that RTD has no viable plan for providing what the voters approved in 2004.  RTD, Stop with the smiles and empty promises already.  Better yet, just stop taking our money.

New city facilities like the Aquatics & Performing Arts Center ideas.

I am an advocate for the new recreation center.  I want it to have traditional rec center amenities such as cardio machines and weights, as well as a 50-meter “Olympic-size” swimming pool and ice rink.  All other towns with a population the size of Longmont (approximately 100,000) have adequate aquatic facilities for their communities.  Longmont has one pool, Centennial, that has only two or three years left before it must be retired.  An “Olympic-size” pool, when turned to its side will provide TWENTY 25-yard lanes, all available for use by the public.  This includes competitive swim teams, Masters swimmers, Silver Sneakers, swim lessons, scuba classes, and a host of other aquatic activities.  This is a facility that Longmont can and should afford.  All of Longmont will be able to use it, and all of Longmont deserves it.  And to those who say we should look to private enterprise to meet our needs – baseball parks, tennis courts, football fields, trails and greenways, golf courses and SWIMMING POOLS are all amenities provided by local municipalities because they do not generate enough dollars to pay for themselves.  Other cities have done this.  Longmont needs the pool space.  And everyone will enjoy the facility as they increase their joy and health.

Sustainability/Growth/Development, especially the St. Vrain corridor.

I am a proponent of protecting the Saint Vrain River Corridor by discouraging encroachment upon our riparian areas.  This should be done by enforcing a 150-foot setback.  The development could still occur, but away from and in a manner that protects and preserves Longmont’s wildlife corridor and natural beauty.  Sustainable development AND responsible stewardship of our local natural environment is not only possible, but it is profitable and morally the right thing to do.