Vote Gary for Longmont
City Council At-Large
SPECIAL ELECTION 8 Nov 2022
ABOUT THE SPECIAL ELECTION
This seat was vacated by Longmont Mayor Joan Peck when she won the 2021 Mayoral race. The winner of this Special Election will serve the remainder of her previous council term through November 2023.
The Special Election will be held in conjunction with the 8 November 2022 General Election.
To be eligible to vote in the Special Election, voters must live within Longmont city limits.
WATCH: Gary speaks at City Council meeting to request a candidate debate - 3 minutes.
Get to Know Gary in 10 Minutes
Gary Hodges has been a resident of Longmont for 25 years, and served 7 years on Longmont’s Transportation Advisory Board.
He is a Senior Associate Scientist with the University of Colorado — Boulder, in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, and works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Gary was motivated to run for City Council to tackle issues surrounding vagrancy in Longmont, which is adversely affecting a growing number of businesses and residents.
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Unchecked vagrancy is, without question, the foremost problem facing Longmont today. Our businesses and residents are suffering from the current permissive stance toward street living. Difficult decisions need to be made, while also recognizing the intrinsic dignity of each person.
The scope of the Main Street development vision should be reconsidered. Pike Rd to Hwy 66 is about 4 miles. This stretch of U.S. Route 287 is a prominent road through Longmont, with a wide diversity of businesses. The city’s discussions to arbitrarily exclude some business types from future development over the entire 4 miles is short-sighted, and tramples on fundamental property rights.
Boulder County and the City of Longmont are, and have been, collaborating to terminate inherently perpetual conservation easements for development purposes. The former Lane Farms easement is one example, and an effort is now underway to terminate the Kanemoto conservation easement. These actions appear to conflict with the guiding principles of Boulder County’s and Longmont’s Comprehensive Plans, and clearly violate the long-held general public belief these lands would be forever protected. Let's preserve our conservation easements in perpetuity as they were originally intended.
WATCH: Candidate Forums
LISTEN: Candidate Interviews
Gary is a guest on Andy Eppler's Boulder County Tonight: Pre-Election Special (15 minutes)
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Hodges, who is a senior associate scientist with the University of Colorado Boulder in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said vagrancy in Longmont was one of the main reasons that propelled him to run for Council.
“The permissive street living our city has fostered is having very real negative impacts on our businesses, the lifeblood of Longmont, and on the residents themselves,” Hodges said in an email Monday evening.
“Decisions that were likely made in the name of compassion have turned into abject cruelty for everyone impacted. We must consider different approaches that will appear harsh at first blush, but in the end will be seen as true compassion.”
Read the full article HERE.
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Hodges said he decided to run for city council to tackle issues surrounding vagrancy in Longmont, which is affecting a growing number of businesses and residents.
“I thought it was a big problem, but I’m learning a lot more,” Hodges said via email. “It is a much bigger problem than I had believed. Many businesses, and sadly many residents, are suffering significant negative impacts resulting from the city’s permissive stance and/or policies on street living.”
Hodges said he is impressed that Longmont’s “founding fathers” were able to secure ample water rights and to start the Longmont Power Company. The city’s NextLight internet service is another outstanding innovation, Hodges said.
“Following in these footsteps I would like to be an active participant in other innovative accomplishments,” Hodges said.
His tenure on the transportation advisory board prompted him to consider unique and creative ways to manage traffic.
“I’d like Longmont to be viewed by other Front Range cities as an example to follow. While on TAB, and even while watching more recent Council meetings, we so often arrive at decisions based on what neighboring cities have done,” Hodges said. “This has always driven me a bit crazy. How can Longmont ever truly break-out if we’re too often checking to see what others have done first? By doing so we’ll merely be an average of other communities.”
Read the full article HERE.
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