Riegan Sage has announced her candidacy for the Longmont City Council at-large seat, with a campaign focused on issues surrounding affordable housing, tourism, agriculture, transportation, energy, and adopting new metrics to determine success.
“My campaign is focused on representing the people who live here in Longmont, preserving what we love about it (green space, agriculture, history, and diverse thinking) and planning for the future,” Sage said. “When I started this campaign I felt that the biggest issues for Longmont were what everyone else said they were — traffic, cost of living, unaffordable housing, houselessness, etcetera.”
Sage explained that many members of the community have lost trust in government officials and pointed to the Distel-Tull landswap issue and the possible annexation of Kanemoto Estates. “These are just a couple of examples where promises were made that are now in danger of not being kept,” Sage explained. “I believe that elected representatives can only govern with the support of the public’s trust, and without it we become merely bureaucrats, or worse.”
Helping local businesses, tourism, and agriculture thrive are components of Sage’s message, as well as creating an environment for small business owners to thrive. She said that agriculture is an underutilized resource and the city currently has 1,000 acres that are rented. On the campaign website, Sage suggests partnering with innovative farmers to steward the land and make Longmont an agrotourism destination.
Sage stressed that while she has some ideas she would like to explore, she is here to work on behalf of her constituents rather than using the position as an opportunity to push her own pet projects. “I want to make sure that I'm really representing other people, not not just my own interests,” she said. “I'm here to represent the people here. I want to preserve what we find really special and meaningful in Longmont and I want to be smart and incremental as we move forward.”
Sage believes that building smaller homes in Longmont can help solve some of the housing affordability issues that exist within the city, as well as reduce energy usage. She is interested in “creative” ideas like offering incentives and removing fees for homeowners who want to build accessory dwelling units (ADU) for long-term rentals.
“What I bring to this race is the desire and ability to listen, to ask hard questions and to act with both empathy and rationality,” Sage said. “I have no ulterior motives or external affiliations pushing for me to win this race. I'm not looking to build a resume or kick off a political career. I want our decisions to benefit the people who live here. I want to make Longmont the best place to live and a great place to visit.”
Two at-large city council seats are up for election this November. Jake Marsing, Alex Kalkhofer, Crystal Prieto, John Lembke, and Jennifer “JJ” Jeffery have also announced their candidacies.
