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I think when the Sierra Club made their endorsements, they had it absolutely right. Brian Bagley, Joan Peck and Susie Hidalgo-Fahring are
absolutely the right choices for Longmont. This isn’t just because of the environment, but also education, housing, and keeping the government focused on real issues, as well as experience and policy knowledge.
The mayor has been a delightful surprise so far. I voted for Sarah Levison in 2017, and I was honestly warry of Bagley at first, but he has been an
excellent mayor. He, voted in favor of our 100% clean energy transition, supported SB 181, and has fought to get fracking out of Longmont. He has
also increased our connection with the Native American community, fought for making sure everyone can afford preschool for their children, and supported our Constitutional freedoms on a consistent basis. He has supported our 12.5% affordable housing requirement, and at multiple debates has said that he does not support deportation for anybody except serious
violent criminals. Yet despite these seemingly progressive votes, he has also done a great job of keeping moderates and Republicans included, and
has focused on running a city that works for everyone. These are the types of values that make a great leader, and so far Bagley has definitely earned
my vote.
It’s tough to start with Susie Hidalgo-Fahring, because I agree with her on virtually everything. Her expertise on the issues is stellar, backed up by
decades of advocacy on behalf of teachers, immigrants and disabled people.
She will always put poor and disadvantaged people first, and wants to make sure working people are treated fairly in our city. She will always support
our open space and our endangered species, and is looking to fight climate change and other forms of environmental destruction. She wants to get our
spending priorities in check while also realizing we have an obligation to make sure everyone can have a roof over their heads and well-paved roads to
travel on. She wants to get the city council off of arguing about relatively unimportant issues so that we can focus on what needs to be done here. She wants to support small businesses while also recognizing that it’s not fair to give big businesses extra privileges that hard working Longmonters don’t get, even though they work just as hard as anybody else.
I put Joan Peck last because I already endorsed her in the Times-Call and on my campaign Facebook page, but it is worth discussing her again. She is
an incumbent, meaning she already knows how to navigate city council. She knows how to deal with RTD more than anybody running or already on council. What this means is that if and when we start taking action against RTD, she will keep us from getting taking advantage of again. Her wealth of
experience and knowledge make her an even better advocate for the values which she has staunchly supported throughout her career. She wants to make
sure our environment is protected and that the poor have somewhere to go. She stood up for endangered species even when it wasn’t the politically strategic thing to do, and she stood up for poor people even when big businesses were telling her not to. Not only has she been intelligently fighting for these values for a long time, she’s been doing it even before
she was elected.
Bheema Bachus
Longmont, CO, 80501
