All three candidates vying to become Longmont’s mayor said Monday night the city needs all kinds of housing for different income levels of its residents. Two of the candidates — city council incumbents Tim Waters and Joan Peck — also said as mayor they would work with other entities to bring commuter rail to Longmont.
Waters said he and other area mayors would pressure the Regional Transportation District “to get their act together” and usher in rail to Boulder County. Longmont should also work with the private sector to vie for federal infrastructure funding for a rail project, Waters said.
Peck pointed to her work over the past few years on the city council on securing rail as proof of its importance to her and Longmont. She also said there are new opportunities for local rail through partnerships with Amtrak and the Front Range Commuter Rail group.
“We can’t stop fighting,” Peck said.
Peck and Waters spoke Monday at an online candidate forum sponsored by Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Chamber of Commerce. Absent was the other mayoral candidate Gregory Harris.
Harris’s campaign manager — Doug Barnert — spoke on behalf of Harris. Ricardo Cabrera, of the Latino Chamber, posed questions to the mayoral field as well as to candidates for the two at-large seats on the council.
Barnert, speaking for Harris, said Longmont is not projected to get any portion of the Regional Transportation District's FasTracks plan until at least 2050. The city should focus on local projects and not rely on RTD for commuter rail. “I don’t think we should be linking transportation goals to (FasTracks) right now,” Barnert said.
Barnert also said Harris would demand quarterly reports from the city to determine if attainable housing projects are being built on time.
“The need is now,” Barnert said.
Waters said Longmont currently has 300 attainable housing units under construction and the city has an ordinance that already supports “mid-tier” housing.
Peck said the city is already pushing for updates on local housing construction. “For me, it is just filling the housing needs of all those income brackets in Longmont,” Peck said.
