Dan Williams

Dan Williams, an attorney and partner with the law firm Hutchinson, Black and Cook, is making his first run for elected office in the 2021 race for a seat on Boulder City Council.

“Boulder’s at a critical juncture right now. It’s becoming harder and harder to live here. It’s becoming less and less affordable, and what we’re seeing is younger people are moving out, new families aren’t moving in. We’re also not meeting our goals with respect to racial equity, and really just not living our values. I think now there is a moment to flip things and to change things, and to take the city in a new direction, and I feel like if we don’t do it in this election it’s not going to happen,” said Williams about his decision to throw his hat into the Council ring.

SHORT LIFE STORY

Williams was born in Philadelphia, near the University of Pennsylvania, and grew up in Philadelphia. He went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Economics, plus a master’s degree in Public Policy, from the University of Rochester, a private university in Rochester, New York. After graduation, he moved to Washington, DC and began work as a Presidential Management Fellow doing public policy work on welfare policy and community development policy. After this work in Washington he went to law school at Georgetown University in Washington – “graduating first in my class.” He spent a year working for a federal judge in California, then went back to DC and worked at the litigation firm Williams and Connolly.

He has not worked in municipal government and has yet to serve or work directly with the City of Boulder. However, he worked at the federal level, by being selected into a program to bring master’s students into the federal service. He started near the end of the George H.W. Bush (“Bush 1”) administration and continued into the Clinton administration, working on issues including welfare policy and welfare reform until 1997.

After working in law and policy on both the east and west coasts, Williams said he found that his work-life balance was too heavily tilted toward work, and wanted to find a way to spend more time with his young kids. He said a friend of his told him that it was possible to practice law in Colorado and still have a balanced life, so he visited Boulder in 2006 and moved here in 2007.

Today, Williams is a partner with the Boulder-based law office of Hutchinson, Black, & Cook, and readers can click this link to read about his experience and accomplishments in the field. In short, he is a trial lawyer, typically handling cases such as disputes between businesses, disputes between businesses and individuals, or disputes between individuals and businesses. He has also worked on civil rights cases, sexual assault cases, and Title IX cases.

In the local political scene, Williams has served on the Board of Directors for Better Boulder, a business-oriented citizen organization advocating for what it calls smart growth and land use policies. He also represented the Bedrooms Are For People campaign in an unsuccessful lawsuit against the City of Boulder, involving issues including inaccurate city staff guidance to the campaign regarding petition signatures and timelines needed to qualify for the 2020 ballot. In addition, he has been a member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Board of Directors, and the Growing Gardens of Boulder County Board of Directors.

ON THE ISSUES

Housing: Williams supports what he calls modest growth in Boulder’s population, along with additional housing. On growth, he said city residents owe a “huge debt of gratitude” to Boulder’s leaders of the past who put in place growth control measures like the Blue Line and the building height limits, calling them important accomplishments “in their time.” In 2021, Williams believes that increasing population and available housing units is a strategy that can help Boulder address its contribution to climate change, partially because it could limit vehicle miles traveled by car and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

He said there are ways to increase housing availability to address Boulder’s current housing crisis, employing existing housing stock and existing lots – and without building on Open Space or amending the height limits. For example, he said passing the Bedrooms Are For People ballot measure in 2021 could allow certain unused bedrooms to be used, while as it currently stands Boulder’s occupancy limits may prevent some people from legally living in some housing units. Williams also favors relaxing Boulder’s current regulations around Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), for example removing limitations on the numbers of ADUs per city block, or not requiring minimum parking availability when new ADUs are added.

He emphasized that Boulder does a reasonably good job in providing and expanding the supply of deed-restricted affordable housing, but needs to improve when it comes to affordable market-rate housing. With market-rate housing, prospective homeowners might be able to build equity and generational wealth, and market-rate housing would provide an option for those who can’t or won’t seek deed-restricted affordable housing. Williams said he is concerned about housing for Boulder’s “missing middle” class, especially because a number of people who work in Boulder simply can’t afford to live here.

Williams supports “cutting red tape” in the city’s housing processes, citing as a specific example the length of time it’s taking to commence work on the proposed Alpine-Balsam project, but also giving a general observation that processes might take 15-20 years between proposal and completion. He said Alpine-Balsam in particular represents a missed opportunity for a number of people, since they might be able to live in the conveniently-located neighborhood sooner if projects were approved and completed.

Williams did not say he supported eliminating single-family zoning across all of Boulder, but would support “experimenting” with allowing different uses in areas currently zoned for single-family zoning.

CU-South: During this interview in late August, Williams said he supported the CU-South annexation agreement as it existed at the time. His website also currently includes a statement of support for the agreement. He said the 2013 flood was extremely dangerous for people living in areas in the South Boulder Creek floodplain, and the annexation agreement will move a flood mitigation project closer to commencement. He is aware of opinions that 100-year flood mitigation might not be sufficient given the potential role of climate change in contributing to flood events of greater magnitude, but said the City and CU have agreed on the 100-year mitigation plan and there’s nothing else on the table at present, and he believes a 100-year mitigation project will provide significant protection.

He also supports the housing component of the annexation agreement, estimated to eventually provide 1,100 housing units, which he said could help reduce vehicle miles traveled, potentially move some vehicle trips off of US 36, address some climate impacts involved with transportation, and possibly remove some housing stress from student-heavy areas like University Hill.

He opposes the “Let the Voters Decide on Annexation of CU-South” ballot measure, saying if it passes it could substantially delay projects that could happen after annexation, including flood mitigation near US 36, if not prevent certain projects entirely. (Note: the ballot measure would allow flood mitigation, but not provision of other city services, without a voter-approved annexation agreement, though CU owns the land needed for flood mitigation.) Williams called the ballot measure a “cynical attempt to block this project, even though it will do so much good for so many people.”

Governance: He is aware of political conflict in Boulder, noting that there are “two very different visions” at play in this Council election, but said he believes there are some general agreements in broader areas such as tackling the climate crisis, environmental challenges, and social justice. He believes it’s healthy in a democracy to have spirited debate on precisely how to address issues in government, but people shouldn’t lose sight of how the city needs to “row in the same direction” to get things accomplished. He said he will view issues through three general lenses – a) does a proposal make life in Boulder easier or harder; b) will it promote or harm racial justice or social equity; and c) will it help address the climate emergency. As a practicing attorney, he said he is considering how best to reach out to the public should he be elected to Council, given his need to perform his work-related duties, and said he’s started to develop a heavier social media presence.

Homelessness: According to Williams, the city’s decision to spend $2.7 million on a program to manage impacts associated with homelessness, including a policing component, was the wrong direction to take, and it influenced his decision to run for Council. He believes the city’s policy of “aggressively sweeping” homeless encampments has been ineffective, and tends to simply push people experiencing homelessness from one area to the next. In his opinion, if the city desires people not to sleep near creeks or in public areas, the city needs to provide alternate places to sleep. The city does have the Boulder Shelter For The Homeless, but Williams noted that until shortly before this interview, people had to have lived in Boulder for at least six months to sleep there, and he was pleased that this policy was reversed. He would support increased spending on services for the homeless, possibly an additional $10-15 million though “the sky is not the limit,” with items including “safe camping” sites, showers, toilet facilities, and day sheltering.

Public Safety: Williams said he is aware of recent public safety concerns in Boulder, including hearing stories of assaults and harassment along the Boulder Creek Path. He noted that while he’s not in favor of “defunding the police,” he would like to see reprioritizations of how the city uses its police force so the BPD can focus on concerns like property crime and crimes against people. This would include some of the non-policing approaches to homelessness listed in the section above.

Transportation: Williams hopes to limit Boulder’s vehicle miles traveled by car into the future, in part by emphasizing alternative modes of transportation. He favors taking steps to increase transit ridership, which might require spending, and noted that the City of Longmont actually subsidizes free bus rides within Longmont city limits (through its Ride Free Longmont program.) He and a number of Boulder residents have EcoPasses, so he doesn’t have to pay a fare every time he uses RTD transit, and said transit ridership would increase if trips were at reduced costs or free for more people. Like a number of candidates, he said transit will work best when it’s convenient and inexpensive, and added that transit is a public good so public subsidies could be appropriate. He would also consider subsidizing electric bikes (e-bikes), saying they are easy to use, and that it makes sense to increase e-bike use and infrastructure alongside the efforts to increase electric car infrastructure.

Bedrooms Are For People: Having represented BAFP in court in 2021, it’s no surprise that Williams is a strong supporter of the measure in 2021. As noted earlier, he believes it would allow more people to be able to live in Boulder in housing units that already exist without fear of eviction for violating occupancy limits, and these people might also be able to live closer to work or school and might not need to drive as much. He said he still believes the court got the BAFP case decision wrong in 2020, saying a fundamental question was whether government should be held accountable if it misleads a campaign about issues including petition deadlines and signature requirements. Before the BAFP lawsuit in August 2020, citizens including former Council member Steve Pomerance informed city staff and others about opinions that city staff advice on petition requirements was incorrect, and Williams maintained during this interview that campaigns should have been justified in relying on information they receive from government officials. He also disagrees with certain positions against BAFP 2021, saying principles of economics suggest that greater housing supply should not lead to “higher rents for everyone.”

CONNECTIONS

Endorsements: Williams has been endorsed by the following Unofficial Candidate Committees (UCC): Better Boulder, Boulder Is For People, Boulder Progressives, Sierra Club Indian Peaks Group, United Campus Workers Colorado, South Boulder Creek Action Group and The Coalition. He has also received endorsements from the Boulder Weekly and Open Boulder.

Contributions: Williams has received maximum individual $100 contributions from current Council members Rachel Friend and Aaron Brockett, along with $50 from Junie Joseph; $100 from former Council member Jan Burton; and $100 from current Council candidates Nicole Speer and Matt Benjamin, along with $25 from Lauren Folkerts. As of Sept. 20, Williams had put $2,581.00 into his own campaign, with $2,481 of this total listed on city forms as being loans.

Digital Presence:
Website: https://www.danforboulder.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danforboulder/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/danforboulder
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanWilliams303