Candidate: Diane Crist
Office: Longmont City Council, Ward 1
Website: cristforlongmontcouncil.com
QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES:
Yes/No Questions – Please answer only with yes/no.
Are you a homeowner? Yes
Do you think your City should have a homeless shelter? Yes
If the City police force was fully staffed, would you advocate for adding more officers? Yes
Do you believe there’s a need for more housing? No
Do you believe the City should spend more money on homelessness services? No
General Questions – Please limit responses to 300 words or less.
Why do you want to be a council member?
Longmont City Council has 4 at large seats (including Mayor) and 3 Ward seats. The current Council’s top-down approach assumes what is good for the whole city is good for each Ward. I believe the Ward seats were created in the City charter to give a voice to each neighborhood. I intend to advocate for Ward 1 in the areas of economic development, safety, tourism, and access to city services such as recreation, library services and transportation. Ward 1 has a high rate of naturally occurring affordable housing that should be preserved by lowered property taxes for those who rent at market or below. Much of the new high-density housing is disconnected from the existing commercial areas. We must rework the structure and fabric of our neighborhoods to integrate these new elements and rebuild cohesive neighborhoods. What works in Ward 1 will work in other neighborhoods. It is important that city planning begin at the neighborhood level.
When was the last time you paid rent, and where was that?
2012-2014 North Chicago, my husband was on an assignment and we rented while still paying our mortgage at home. This meant we had to find affordable housing in an expensive market. A local independent landlord put us through the ringer on interviews saying it was important we fit with the neighbors. We lived a short bike ride to school, walking distance to the train station, library, and cute downtown. We had one vehicle my husband used for work but we were able to accomplish most necessary household errands by bike and walking even in snow and ice. We scheduled grocery shopping and exercise when we could take the car. I would like to reinvent this experience in our Longmont neighborhoods.
When considering new developments, which is more important: density and affordability or preserving neighborhood character?
Both are possible by ensuring the 10 essential services of job, home, school, grocery, worship, recreation, library, personal care, banking, transportation, and entertainment opportunities are within close proximity to create affordability. Neighborhood character is important also as we naturally enjoy and protect beautiful areas more than ones that are only utilitarian.
Density without accessibility to necessary services requires a vehicle, which is half the cost of living for young creatives. Affordability is best produced with naturally occurring ADU’s, and through inclusionary zoning where essential services are already established. Last resort is bringing essential services & transportation closer to high-density developments to create more affordability. We must bring essential services to developments set in remote areas of town in order to create affordability there.
Boulder County has experienced extreme natural disasters over the last decade, including flooding and wildfire. How do you plan to address these challenges?
Maintenance schedules are key to keeping necessary mitigation equipment and processes up to speed. It is not as exciting or fun to budget for maintenance items but a well-planned and maintained schedule can turn these items into a type of “overhead” in the budget that becomes habit. These habits, like brushing one’s teeth, maintain health. The military says, “we train to prepare.” The city does best when it “trains and repairs to prepare.” Colorado has some of the best firefighters in the country. Using fire mitigation techniques like clear cutting and responding to Citizen concerns regarding dry brush material and open space overgrowth are important in keeping fires from starting.
How do you think you stand out from other candidates?
I am interested in lightening the load on City Council and staff by bringing many projects to private business for execution. Private enterprise is adaptable, fluid, and most capable of creating the integration needed to bring all the City’s initiatives together. I’ve worked as a Business Development Accountant in Longmont in every type of business concern and I know we have the talent here to do this!
I have a lot of experience working with budgets, understanding contracts and planning at a macro level. These business skills are important when it comes to the business of running the City.
What question would you ask a fellow candidate on the ballot?
For the Mayoral Candidates – It is the function of Mayor to run an effective business meeting each week. What ideas do you have for making City Council meetings more productive so Council Members can achieve a reasonable workload and end meetings by 10p each Tuesday?
What are your solutions for the growing population of people experiencing homelessness?
I’m afraid high Property tax is to blame for forcing many families out of housing. And it is the fault of We the Voters who voted the Gallagher Amendment out without having a legitimate alternate solution on the ballot at the same time. Members of my Profession are working on an Accounting solution which creates a “brake” on property tax rates like the Gallagher Amendment did while also adjusting for the influx of out of state purchasers that drive up the cost of living beyond the existing livable standard here. Like the Gallagher Amendment that was written by Democrat Colorado Senator Denis Gallagher, the Colorado State House and Senate will likely drive this solution. Please give us time to put in proper legislation and vote “NO” on the hot mess of quick fixes both Proposition HH and Proposition II propose. This needs time to be done right, people’s homes are at stake. The best legislation comes from debate and input from ALL our legislative leaders. Look for something to hit ballots in 2024. In the meantime, the City Council must consider property tax rebates for landlords who rent at market or below and for homeowners who are in danger of being pushed into homelessness.
What’s your plan for creating more affordable housing in Longmont?
Adequate transportation is a big component to affordability and equity within Longmont. Many of the high-density housing developed to be “affordable” is positioned where there is no public transportation and no easy access to food, dining, laundry, schools, worship, recreation, library, entertainment, child care and social events. It is important to me that city services be available to all taxpayers that pay for them and that our transportation be equitable.
It is estimated that owning a vehicle costs half a young creative’s budget. Making transportation available to Community Commercial Centers that have essential services accessible will make many of our new housing communities much more affordable for both young and senior dwellers.
How will you address climate change? How do you plan to meet some of the City’s climate goals?
During the 2021 City Council Election I spoke about the Hyperloop’s potential to solve our Statewide transportation problems within the next 10 to 15 years. The Hyperloop will also significantly reduce emissions from traffic. Since then, Swiss Pod announced plans to build a Hyperloop track in Pueblo, breaking ground in March of 2022. As a result, MxV Pueblo has topped $500 million in investment dollars and has revamped their operations to accommodate railroad technology development as well. Virgin Hyperloop is focusing on moving cargo. This is important to reaching climate goals! In his government paper on the Hyplerloop, Alan James concluded the emission savings from moving cargo via Hyperloop will be MASSIVE. Further development in rail solutions will make regional public transit more attractive reducing emissions even further.
What are your goals for transportation and how will you achieve them?
City Council recently adopted Vision Zero at the encouragement of Longmont’s Transportation Advisory Board of which I am Vice Chair. Vision zero lessens fatal and severe accidents by pushing commuter and higher speed through traffic to major arteries travelling around the outside of Longmont. This creates a “soft center” making it easier for motorists to drive 25mph without pressure on residential streets.
A soft center creates more walkable neighborhoods where residents can access needs with short vehicle, bicycle, and walking trips. The idea is 5 stops per trip so having the 10 essential services of jobs, home, school, recreation and library services, grocery, salon (personal care,) restaurants, gasoline, worship, and entertainment opportunities all within a community center is the goal in assisting the implementation of Vision Zero.
How do you plan to engage non-English speaking constituents?
I am lucky in that I grew up in a multi-cultural household and live in a multicultural neighborhood. We don’t talk about it much, but a persons’ native tongue strongly influences how one thinks. My father’s family language of origin has no verb “to be,” consequently conversations can sound confrontational or forceful. Between my father and I and even a generation later between my son and I, people sometimes remark that we “argue” even though to us those conversations are when we are most in tune and sharing a “love language.”
In my neighborhood I strive to be sensitive to the cultural norm of speaking to the parent directly even if the child in the home does a bit of translating between us. It is important to still treat the adult as the adult and person of respect. Some of the Hispanic men will not talk to me without my husband being present. If I have something I want to say, often I will start a conversation with their wife or daughter in front of them and leave it up to them if they want to participate by speaking “at large” or by directing a wife or daughter as to their thoughts.
Most recently I met a Nepalese woman in the park and she and I oohed and aahed over the roses. I pointed at blossoms I liked, she pointed at the spent bulbs. I made a flowering gesture with my hand and she made a cup gesture with hers. I took it to mean she uses the rose hips for tea. We shared only one word and that was “Namaste” when she bowed, I followed suit and we parted. Did we engage? I thought so and would seek her companionship again.
How does diversity factor into your policy making?
If you’ve been reading all my answers, you will notice I keep changing the 10 essential services slightly each time I mention them. This is intentional as diversity within our city and multiculturalism within our neighborhoods makes one cultures’ “essential” another cultures’ “want.” Entertainment, places to worship, types of salons (we need a black hair salon in Ward 1,) and eateries for instance, are businesses that must be determined at the neighborhood level by local demand.
I must thank Councilor Martin for our discussions about the “common good.” Diversity informs us to acknowledge “common” is different based on our culture. Each Community Commercial Center will be different based on the diversity of the neighborhood. Recreation that demands soccer play in one neighborhood may find a bigger interest in pickleball in another neighborhood. Yes, food is a common good but the type of food desired is particular to an individuals’ culture. This is why it is SO important to bring City Services to all neighborhoods rather than centralize them in fairly homogenous areas of town.
How will you reach residents who have different lived experiences than you?
Philosophical theory suggests there are 52 different life paths and Buddhist teaching suggests we identify growth when we approach the same problem as a different actor. Recognizing other paths removes judgement of those paths and instills curiosity instead. Life can be difficult. We all owe each other the greatest respect for walking our path each day. By being curious, I have learned the person one thinks is leading a charmed life, is often the person who has conquered difficulties no one should have to endure. Looking to approach lived experiences as a different actor, or in a different role, helps us to overcome fear of problems and others.
Rank your top 5 issues in priority.
1) Community Commercial Centers that create City Service & Transportation accessibility for all
2) Property tax reductions especially to help independent landlords and those on the cusp of becoming homeless
3) Vision Zero/microtransit – Transportation improvements
4) Creating safely walkable neighborhoods
5) Capturing Tourism dollars in North Longmont
