Ryan Schuchard — 2023 Boulder City Council Candidate Questionnaire

Candidate: Ryan Schuchard

Office: Boulder City Council

Website: https://www.ryanforboulder.com/

QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES:

Yes/No Questions – Please answer only with yes/no.

Are you a homeowner? Yes

Do you think your City should add more beds to the homeless shelter? Yes

If the City police force was fully staffed, would you advocate for adding more officers? No

Do you believe there’s a need for more housing? Yes

Do you believe the City should spend more money on homelessness services? Yes

Longform Questions – Please limit responses to 300 words or less. 

Why do you want to be a council member?

“This is my first time running for office. I became inspired to do so recently while serving as a member of the Transportation Advisory Board, reflecting on three things. First, City Council can meaningfully make life better for current and future Boulder residents by modernizing the way we manage transportation, land use, and housing. Second, doing so requires being visionary and bold. And third, I have already become a change agent in my role as Board member working alongside current Council members and staff–and I’ve begun to see a future filled with possibilities.

I want to help Boulder become stronger in areas where I bring professional expertise. One of those is modernizing Boulder’s combined approach for housing and transportation towards creating a more integrated strategy to make our community walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich, while providing sufficient housing of the kind people want near where they need to go. In addition to my professional perspective, I bring a first-person perspective as the dad of two young girls who cannot ride their bikes safely around our neighborhood, and whose friends are moving away because their parents cannot make ends meet with housing.

The other area of expertise I aim to apply is to advance a more rigorous approach to climate action at the political and executive levels of our government. This is something we need to do to make our community stronger over the long term, as well as to grapple with more dangerous weather and other issues with us today.

More generally, I am focused on helping Boulder become more affordable, inclusive, and safe–areas where my professional expertise provides substantive help, as does my  approach to multidisciplinary, systems-oriented problem-solving.”

When was the last time you paid rent, and where was that?

“2012 in Oakland, California.”

Boulder County has experienced extreme natural disasters over the last decade, including flooding and wildfire. How do you plan to address these challenges?

“Our existing significant and growing number of environmental threats is one of our biggest challenges. Those threats include worsening wildfire and flooding danger fueled by an increasingly energetic atmosphere and oceans. They also include greater instances of prolonged droughts, more extreme temperature swings, more volatile precipitation, and other pattern changes like shorter winters, more intense snow and winter weather events, hotter summers, and warmer nights year-round, and more fires. These impacts are driving secondary and other cascading impacts, such higher insurance premiums and a higher cost of infrastructure and maintenance.

One of the most important things Boulder can do is develop a centralized function dedicated to understanding the emerging vulnerabilities and issues we’re being exposed to, including more dangerous wildfires and floods, more extreme temperatures, and changing sociopolitical dynamics, to establish a more holistic and dynamic plan for managing our current and emerging problems.

An outcome of such an effort would be a greater understanding of investments that would make the greatest impact towards building adaptive capacity, what issues of equity and justice are involved, and how the city internally can best coordinate between departments. Another outcome would likely be more partnerships with the field climate scientists and experts that live in our community as well as with other communities to more deeply  pool expertise,  information, and emergency resources.

Ideally, a new desk for climate risk would be part of an effort to establish a more widely comprehensive management of public safety that would be tasked to inform our City’s leadership and engage with the community on our new normal and what we need to do about it.”

How do you think you stand out from other candidates?

“I’m the dad of two young girls (kindergarten and second-grade) who I move around Boulder mostly on a bike, even in the winter. I am deeply invested in the success of our community, both in terms of accelerating progress we need to make now, and over the long term. 

I bring a significant depth of experience in the applied work of transportation, housing, and climate action focused on improving communities. I have done this since 2007, soon after becoming aware of the climate crisis as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Since then I have endeavored to advance climate action through science communication, public policy, business innovation, and cross-sector partnerships. Through that work I have been responsible for leading and supporting major legislative successes, forming influential new coalitions, and guiding major investments.

I have a track record of  getting things done in the city through the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). As a member of TAB, I’ve helped to launch the city’s next major upgrade of its bikeway system, a multiyear initiative called the Core Arterial Network that has recently gotten underway. I have played a key role in establishing the e-bike incentive program for residents as well as meaningfully moving forward the large process of reform for car parking that could have a major effect on reducing traffic. Through TAB I have established a framework of plans and opportunities for making things happen as a Council member and the relationships needed to realize them.

Finally, I have worked in a capacity that involves consulting and advocacy throughout my career, which gives me tools for managing some of the difficult challenges before our city leadership. Those include making sense of emerging issues, investing in the face of uncertainty, building creative coalitions and alliances, and dealing intelligently and directly with unwelcome surprises.”

What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?

“The topics of climate, transportation, and housing are fortunately receiving positive attention in this election season. I would be interested to hear more about candidates’ substantive ideas around them. Specifically, what can candidates do about the combined problems of climate, transportation, and housing, and what changes to the status quo will be necessary to achieve that? Some sub-questions to this:

1. What are your plans to unlock climate action — what stands in the way of decarbonizing Boulder to net zero by 2035?
2. How would you evaluate the way the current transportation system is serving the community?
3. How would you evaluate the way our current housing policy is serving the community?
4. What are your visions and plans for more transportation options?
5. How important is the problem of deaths and injury in our transportation system and what are your plans to address it?
6. How big of a problem is traffic and vehicle miles–and what are your plans if any to address it?
7. What are your visions and plans for more attainable and affordable housing?”

What are your solutions for the growing population of people experiencing homelessness?

“Far too many of our community members in Boulder are experiencing homelessness. For many of them, this condition is a result of being left out to begin with. And all who are experiencing homelessness are disproportionately vulnerable to violence, crime, and increasingly dangerous weather. Furthermore, those suffering mental health challenges or substance addiction face a steep climb out.

This situation is impacting the whole community. Encampments are encroaching on parks and multi-use paths and are near schools. 

Unfortunately, the problem is becoming even more complicated as the housing crisis continues, poverty increases, and the climate grows more hostile–all issues that are part of national trends with regional patterns.

I will work to advocate for a systematic approach to reducing the number of people experiencing and impacted by homelessness. Focus areas:

• Prevention: Renter protections and more housing options to turn down the growing trend of homelessness in the first place

• Places: Establish wider accessible networks of places for people to go being asked to decamp, day and overnight
• Police: Ensure the chief has what’s needed to keep sidewalks and multi-use paths clear, while increasing non-police responses to assist people in distress
• Programs: Invest more in critical social services including more caseworkers, attention to high system utilizers, creative transitions to permanent housing, and treatment services for mental health and addiction to everyone regardless of housing status 
• Public space: Build more public toilets and other amenities to foster hygienic care and to keep people healthy and parks clear”

What’s your plan for creating more affordable housing in Boulder?

“In order to create more affordable housing that is real, we need an engine for actually building–and specifically, building housing options in the “middle housing” category. This means duplexes and triplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings, cottage courts, co-ops, small houses on small lots, and multiple small houses on large lots. This category of housing tends to be more affordable because the units tend to be smaller and closer to where people need to go.

I will work to advance this category of housing by doing the following:

1. Reform zoning to make it easier to encourage infill development and build more middle housing options. 
2. Reduce and eliminate parking mandates which increase the cost of construction and reduce the amount of housing that can be built.
3. Get the most out of strategic development of large areas like the airport, Area III planning reserve, and CU South.
4. Reduce administrative burdens by simplifying planning and permitting through lowering requirements involved in the entitlements process, ensuring requirements for development are clear, reasonable, and well-enforced, and pursuing opportunities to remove bottlenecks identified by staff.

This includes housing specifically as well as strategies integrated with transportation that allow people to be able to live well with less reliance on a car.  

As for specific action, I will advocate that we provide maximum support for continuation as well as next phases of reforms that the current council has begun, such as those adopted on September 21, 2023, while playing a proactive role in advancing statewide housing reform. I will also advocate that we create a greater political focus on climate action which will help the cause of land use reform.”

 

How will you address climate change? How do you plan to meet some of the City’s climate goals, like reducing emissions by 70% by 2030, becoming a net-zero City by 2035, and becoming a carbon-positive City by 2040?

“The good news is Boulder has climate expertise. We are pioneering nature-based solutions, like the “Cool Climate” program building pollinator pathways, connected canopies, and absorbent landscapes. We’ve taken ExxonMobil and Suncor to court for misinforming the public about the climate crisis. 

Yet we are off track for reducing emissions to the extent needed. Meanwhile, flood and fire risk maps are having a hard time keeping up with our emerging understanding of reality. The future we’re headed for will require public investment and cooperation through paths that are uncharted.

Throughout my career, one thing I’ve seen repeatedly is that a top constraint to climate action tends to be found at the leadership level. Elected officials and executives are managing a large number of issues, and while they might be receptive to climate initiatives in principle, the reality of making and realizing significant strategic commitments often falls behind other priorities.

As a member of City Council I will advocate for the following to unlock climate action:

• Develop a centralized function dedicated to understanding the emerging vulnerabilities and issues we’re being exposed to and establish a more holistic and dynamic plan for managing them.

• Identify obstacles to achieving our incredibly ambitious 2021 Climate Action Plan, by asking our expert staff what political and executive barriers stand in the way of the transformations we need, and then pursue ordinances or other policy changes needed.

• Expand the coalitions we need for a just transition, more fully integrating the different strategies and different paces of urgent deep decarbonization, vulnerability reduction, and power-shifting to the people and groups who have been left out.

• Establish a process for Council to identify aspects of climate risk and opportunity in day-to-day work agendas, then rigorously evaluate work plan items to support the most beneficial climate action.”

What are your goals for transportation and how will you achieve them?

“Most Boulderites feel they have no real option but to get in their cars, both within the city and when traveling to and from nearby towns. The overall cost of transportation to most residents is high. And our transportation system is one of our top causes of injury and death.

As a member of Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), I have helped to not only launch new projects mentioned above, but gained a firm grasp of how to make effective and transformative transportation policy with the city’s leaders and experts.

As a member of City Council, I will build from that and advocate to:

• Codify the mission of a people-centered, transit-rich, car-optional, safe Boulder in our city code, public plans, and processes. Use the city’s full suite of resources to allocate rights, privileges, investments, and space towards these ends.

• Further develop and widen the use of programs that manage travel demand through economic, behavioral, and administrative carrots and sticks. At the same time, improve our use of behavioral science in these programs

• Reform land use to reduce distances between endpoints by letting people live near where they want to go and creating more flexible and integrated uses rather than housing-only vs. retail-only. As part of this, make our streets systematically safe so that people walking or otherwise outside vehicles can have safe passage, including for kids, seniors, and people with mobility challenges outside vehicles.

• Evolve our car-centric transportation system into an ecosystem of multiple interoperable modes. This means a plush network for bicycles and micro-mobility, which includes a more comprehensive grid of protected bikeways, secure parking and facilities to freshen up and stow things at destinations, and e-bikes accessible to all. It also means a high-frequency, comfortable system of public transit both within Boulder and to/from outlying locations.”

How do you plan to engage with non-English speaking constituents?

“Around 15% of our community speaks a language other than English at home, with about 4% of the community having proficiency in English that is considered limited. The largest populations of those with limited English proficiency are native speakers of Spanish, followed by Chinese and Korean.

In terms of my direct engagement, I aim to continue to expand the time I am spending with more kinds of people that have different lived experiences by attending community events, making myself available to everyone, and listening. That includes across generations, races and ethnicities, religions and belief systems, and lifestyles. 

As a leader of our government, I aim to support and look for ways to encourage the enrichment and expansion of our Language Access Plan, which is the city’s methodology for ensuring individuals with limited English proficiency have meaningful access to information, services, programs, activities, and decision-making processes.

I also want to elevate the excellent work of our professional staff in the Community Connectors program and racial equity instruments to every extent possible, with the goal of ensuring Council broadly and I specifically are listening to and reflecting on recommendations in decisions to the extent possible. I also seek to elevate the standing and use of our professional engagement staff and look for ways to expand their programs.”

 

How does diversity factor into your policy making?

“Boulder is considered one of the best places to live in the country. Yet it is inaccessible to many groups. Here, nearly every non-white demographic is underrepresented. For example, the population of Boulder county is only 1.3% Black (compared to 13.6% nationwide) and 14.1% Latino (compared to 19.1% nationwide). We continue to systematically exclude Native Americans, whose land we occupy, at essentially every level in our daily life and in public processes.

Boulder can be difficult for families and people with lower incomes. As a result, enrollment in the Boulder Valley School District is declining, and parents with kids often have a difficult time feeling secure in their future in Boulder. The community can also be inhospitable for people with mobility challenges. Our transit system is unforgiving in the winter, with bus stops going unshoveled unless neighborhood volunteers step up–and this is by design.

I will work to preserve Boulder’s legendary quality of life while making room for more by advocating for the following:

• Center public processes that aim for more representation. Start by investing more in programs that seek to center the LGBTQ+ community and Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities and other groups that have been historically excluded, including the Community Connectors program and our use of racial equity instruments. Look also for ways to make participation in public processes more realistic for working professionals and busy families.

• Create more options for different kinds of lifestyles overall. Increase the choices people have for housing and transportation mobility. Revise outdated zoning policies and occupancy rules that stem from exclusionary practices to make Boulder more attainable and livable for all.

• Move towards more outcome-oriented approaches to budgeting consistent with Boulder’s framework for Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience. Proactively consider the opportunity costs of subsidies and continuing with business-as-usual.”

How will you reach residents who have different lived experiences than you?

“As above, in terms of my direct engagement, I aim to continue to expand the time I am spending with more kinds of people that have different lived experiences by attending community events, making myself available to everyone, and listening.  Also as above, I aim to elevate the excellent work of our professional staff in the Community Connectors program and racial equity instruments to every extent possible, with the goal of ensuring Council broadly and I specifically are listening to and reflecting on recommendations in decisions to the extent possible. 

I also aim to seek ways to enhance our public process–specifically, to make our public process more inclusive, to be more precise about the role of public process in decision-making, and to increase clarity around the extent to which public input is being taken to be representative.  We need to give greater weight to our statistical understanding of the reality of our community, such as around public health and safety, versus small numbers of people making the time to provide opinions. We also need to provide more forums for more people to participate in a way that is accessible, especially those without flexibility in the evenings and/or control over their schedule. 

And we need to pave ways for more diverse and representative members of our community to run for elected office and appointed positions–which depends in part on making reforms needed to pay City Council a living wage.”

Rank your top 5 issues in priority.

• Climate Action: Accelerate climate action in Boulder. Put climate justice at the center of our climate action plan, get our arms around the wide set of concrete challenges coming our way, give city staff the resources they need to act quickly and consider climate impacts when we make big decisions.

• Housing and Transportation: Modernize our combined approach to housing and transportation to create an integrated strategy for making our community more walkable, bikeable, and transit-rich, while providing sufficient accessible, affordable, and attainable housing of the kind people want near where they need to go. In doing this, build the range of housing and lifestyle options needed to welcome workers and families, take care of the needs of longtime residents without reducing Boulder’s outstanding quality of life, and transform transportation from one of the most likely things to hurt us into a source of wealth and joy. 

• Homelessness: Get people off the street and into shelters, safe outdoor spaces, treatment facilities, transitional housing, and other programs that meet people where they are. Make the investments needed to systematically reduce homelessness and its impacts, tackling the root causes of homelessness 

• Safety: Develop a comprehensive approach to keeping Boulder safe. Create a more integrated strategy to protect residents from the threats of growing environmental hazards as well as chronic dangers like traffic violence, gun violence, suicide, and opioids. Do this while working towards community-centered solutions that ensure safe movement across all of our city’s paths, trails, and streets. 

• Inclusion: Create a Boulder that works for everyone. Build a community in which people can live where they work, where young families can become permanent members of our community, where students are engaged in civic life, and where historically underrepresented and excluded members of our community are seen, welcomed, and valued.