Boulder Weekly sent candidate questionnaires to all state primary candidates. These are their written responses, edited for length and clarity. Find a full list of candidates and questionnaires here
Office: Boulder County Commissioner, District 2 (incumbent)
Campaign website: marta4boco.org
Relevant experience:
Boulder County Commissioner, 2020-present
My professional background is in banking, finance, real estate, teaching and consulting on predatory lending, disaster recovery and equity training
Priorities
- Implementation of co-created guidance to move Boulder County from land acknowledgment to meaningful action with American Indian, Native American and Indigenous communities, with a concrete action plan.
- Equitable and transparent distribution of the 2023 Affordable and Attainable Housing Tax to begin January 2025
- Leading development and implementation of a Community Engagement framework with our partner Once and Future Green
Lightning round
Yes/no answers only
Do you support the state’s elimination of local occupancy limits? Yes
Do you support implementation of rent control locally? No
Do you support requiring more density in Boulder County as a way to address the affordable housing crisis? Yes
Do you support the Front Range train as the state’s highest priority for passenger rail? Yes
When was the last time you paid rent? How much was it?
2012, $1,000/month
What are your proudest accomplishments from your first term?
- Building a framework for Community Engagement to determine the $63.3M COVID relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
- Leading environmental justice work in our climate action work in collaboration with our Office of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience (OSCAR)
- Leading racial equity work for outcomes in Budgeting for Equity, General Procurement process and Proposal for the 2022 opened Office of Racial Equity
What would you say are the top issues facing Boulder County, and what are your plans to address them in a way that differs from the current approach?
Boulder County continues to hear about the need for housing. I believe that our current approach and work I am leading now is a new approach and crucial for us to get to better outcomes. We recently announced the development of a Housing Department at Boulder County — separating housing and human service work.
Unhoused populations/Homelessness is a large regional issue that we hear more about from our larger cities in the county. In 2023, I led work with the Metro Area County Commissioners to bring elected officials into discussion and working sessions to determine a regional approach in that work using the Federal “All In” Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. In Boulder County, we have discussed the potential for this work, and we are starting that in Q2 of 2024. A regional approach especially given limited resources and reduced state and federal funding for program and service needs is critical.
Climate/Environment is a continued concern in Boulder County. Our opportunity moving through the next four years is significant with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding. As our Justice 40 Commissioner Lead, I am working on using a new method, connected to the Federal guidance of Justice 40, to distribute all of the received climate action funds to those most impacted by the climate crisis.
Workforce is a significant issue that requires continued efforts since 2020. A focus of mine will continue to be around our internal policies and compensation and looking at additional ways to support employees after raising our internal minimum wage to $22.00/hour.
What do you believe the county’s role should be in addressing and/or leading the response to regional crises such as housing and homelessness? What, if anything, would you like to change about the current role the county plays?
See note above on Metro Area County Commissioners work — happy to provide more information as needed.
What is the ideal balance of local action on transportation vs. continued reliance on RTD? What should the county’s role be in providing local transit and/or transportation solutions?
I got an opportunity to join in with a statewide group of elected officials and transportation experts a couple of months ago to talk about local action and possibilities around Front Range Passenger Rail. I feel more optimistic about commuting due to work on Highway 119 at the county level, regional support on the county transportation plan and the state 2024 session legislation on transit oriented development. I do believe we need to work with RTD and also support municipalities and towns who want to do their own local transportation work to fit the variety of needs that we do have in Boulder County.
Given the realities of a changing climate and limited government resources, how do you plan on balancing mitigation and adaptation for already-impacted populations in Boulder County?
The focus on Justice 40 and ability to look at how we use that federal policy in all of our environmental,climate action, oil and gas work, regenerative agriculture and other work requires us to look at the folks most impacted by all of these issues. Justice 40 creates a framework that will allow us to formulate policies, procedures and practices to formalize these goals.
How does JEDI factor into your policy making?
As a person of color on the Board of County Commissioners, I have the ability to lead all the work — all the issues — all the opportunity connections through my lived and professional experience to create policies that will create equitable outcomes. We use a few curriculums that I am trained in and participate with to ensure we create opportunities for all of our employees to work within Courageous Conversations About Race (CCAR) and Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). The shared terminology, protocol and growth opportunity help lead in our department management, with other elected officials in all the organizations I am part of representing the county and our staff development.
What efforts do you make in your daily life to consider and understand people with different lived experiences from your own?
I continue to work to connect county resources, programs and opportunities with community members who need those services. Focusing on what we do, in the large breadth of work countywide as well as my diverse work appointments allow me to see and work in different spaces. The work appointments span from youth and education focus with businesses in areas of workforce to reviewing our procurement processes to eliminate barriers of access and create opportunities for Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) and others to obtain contracts at Boulder County. All of my work begins with the questions of who will benefit and who will be burdened — it keeps me grounded in outreach, engagement and learning from folks throughout our county.
When’s the last time you changed your mind about something, and what was it?
I was going to wear a dress today and then realized my calendar was scheduled for 11 hours of meetings, so I changed into slacks, work shirt, blazer and tennis shoes.
What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?
What does the support system that you had or created to be able to sustain the difficult challenges of being an elected official look like?
