Waylon Lewis

Waylon Lewis is a candidate for a seat on Boulder City Council in 2023. If he’s elected, he will earn a three-year term that will expire in 2026, at which point he could run for re-election if he so chooses.

Q – Why are you running?

Lewis said he had given thought to running for Council going back perhaps “14 years,” but he didn’t believe he had time to serve until this election cycle due to work demands. (Editor’s note: I found a story from 5280 Magazine dated 2009 saying he planned to run soon! Research.) He had been on the board of the youth civic participation organization New Era Colorado, and watched as a fair number of his colleagues moved on from New Era to key positions – for example, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick, and Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party Shad Murib.

He founded the Boulder-based business Elephant Journal about 22 years ago, and said he had to put in perhaps an average of “70 hours a week” on the job until the pandemic hit and Elephant had to lay off staff. Lewis said at that point he didn’t have to spend so many hours at work anymore, recalling that he actually wound up watching reality TV and hated it – and thought “I actually want to be useful” before throwing his hat in the Council ring.

Mini-Life Story

Lewis was born and raised in Boulder, but went to high school at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, saying his mother was a teacher at Naropa University and she “wasn’t super happy with Boulder High School.” He went to Boston University to study journalism, and minored in political science.

Both of Lewis’ parents were Buddhist students, and after attending schools in Boulder – including Whittier, Mapleton, and Casey – he enrolled at a private Buddhist school called Vidya, which he called an “incredible school” although it went out of business due to financial reasons. Lewis founded Elephant Journal, and said the business grew to a point at which it had 37 people on staff before COVID hit. He has not formally served or worked directly with the City of Boulder, but served on boards with New Era, the Boulder Co-op, Nude Foods Market, & the New Local, plus noted that as a local businessman he’s spent plenty of time involved in “the actual Boulder,” meeting and holding conversations with countless people in town. Plus, Lewis has done his own round of City Council profiles with Elephant over the years.

His campaign website is https://www.waylonlewis.com/

Q – Why is it meaningful that you’re one of two candidates who grew up in Boulder?

Lewis noted that growing up in Boulder, and for the most part staying here, has meant he has built connections with many individuals and groups, not to mention that “many people have known me since I was a baby.” For examples, he said he feels right at home talking with members of the cycling community, the climbing community, the University Hill community, obviously the Naropa community, and others. According to Lewis, the long-standing personal connections help in political discussions because it’s easier to respectfully disagree on issues in many cases when people know and respect each other.

Housing: Affordable and Otherwise

According to Lewis, Boulder has done some good things to create or maintain affordable housing, including updating its Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) codes, and increasing unit occupancy limits – though he would have preferred affordability requirements with the occupancy update.

He supports what he calls “human-centered density” in Boulder, as opposed to “developer giveaway density,” so more people can fit within given areas – but the areas should have amenities such as common areas, parks, a café as a community gathering point, gardens so people can grow their own produce, and a sense of community where neighbors will help each other when they need help as opposed to being relatively isolated in single-family neighborhoods. He mentioned the Holiday neighborhood as an example of human-centered density, though he also said it could’ve used a “little more density” when it was developed.

“Some people say Boulder is full, and I do have a problem with that statement. That’s the kind of mentality of that you have some kind of privilege, and you pull the ladder up after you (arrive),” said Lewis.

Lewis said transportation options, including transit, are important considerations in the housing discussion. On one hand, the availability of good cycling infrastructure and transit with good frequency could make it easier for residents in dense neighborhoods to live car-free or really reduce auto use. On the other, he said it might not be possible for everyone who wants to live in Boulder to live here, but with dependable transit they could live in nearby communities and commute to Boulder car-free.

He is “generally” supportive of repurposing Boulder Municipal Airport into housing, but says he’s aware that it might be decades before it could become a reality due to financial and contractual issues. Since the airport is on city-owned land, he believes the city would have good opportunities to plan for a community that would house “thousands of human beings” while using mindful development around affordability and other factors.

On the state Senate Bill 23-213, a bill that would have set state standards for many types of housing development as opposed to purely local control, Lewis said he “supported most of what was in the bill,” but still believes local control has helped Boulder maintain its status as a “weird wonderful city” through decisions including the Blue Line (no water service above certain elevations) and purchasing a great deal of land to preserve as Open Space.

According to Lewis, the bill process seemed “sort of rushed,” in a way that led to intense opposition from cities around Colorado, but it also might have created some pressure for cities to do more around solutions that might provide more housing availability and affordability. He spoke favorably about some things Boulder has done on its own, without state mandates, including that more than 8% of the city’s housing stock is currently permanently affordable – well below its current goal of 15% but better than certain peer cities on the Front Range.

“A lot of people understandably view density and affordability as sort of fake words for sprawl and exceeding height limits and changing the unique magic of Boulder in a bad way. Boulder will always change, but we have some kinds of principles that have made us special, and I think we can continue those while building affordability. And I don’t think it will be easy, but I think we can,” said Lewis.

Crime and Policing

While acknowledging that there is crime in Boulder, Lewis noted that there might be some general “perception gone wild” and Boulder does not have the same overall problems as poster-child cities like Portland, San Francisco, or Seattle. He said he has spoken with friends who have had negative experiences, including seeing open drug use or hearing of people who had been assaulted, and Lewis himself has had two bikes stolen though he said “both of which were kind of my fault, but it’s never totally your fault because it was someone’s decision to steal it.”

Moving forward, Lewis said it will be important for the City of Boulder to work with entities like the state government and other Front Range cities and counties to tackle issues of a more regional nature such as organized bike rings.

Some of the issues regarding crime in relation to homelessness will be discussed in another section, but Lewis said it will be important for Boulder to look to other cities that have had success in helping people experiencing homelessness who really want help find services and/or housing. Lewis mentioned that these are people who are potentially more likely to be victims of crime themselves, notably women, adding that “camping is not sustainable for the homeless, the public generally, or for nature.”

Lewis has followed recent developments regarding the city’s Police Oversight Panel (POP), saying the city does need police oversight, and that he knows the young Black man who was picking up trash outside his apartment but was soon surrounded by armed police officers, an event that was a catalyst for the formation of the POP. He said “Ideally, you want a Police Chief and a police force that can (no pun intended) police themselves,” but in his opinion even the best organizations should have no problem with third-party oversight even though he understands that policing is a “hard, stressful job.” The city has recently hired a consultant to help update the POP ordinance and offer suggestions for how the panel moves forward, and Lewis said it will be important to set good expectations for how the POP can and should operate without unnecessary rancor between individuals and entities.

Local Political Polarization

According to Lewis, there is local polarization in Boulder, but noted his campaign manager is from New York and has seen worse, so this perception has helped him believe that “the level of rancor here is workable.” He might have been joking somewhat when he said Elon Musk did something “really good and beautiful” by his actions that have damaged Twitter’s reputation, but his Elephant Journal actually did leave Twitter shortly after Musk made the purchase. He believes it’s important for people to actually talk and listen in person, as opposed to sniping at each other on social media (not just Twitter), in order to get past tribalism and find good comprehensive solutions to complex problems.

“That’s not a Kumbaya notion. It’s really practical in that if you look at homelessness or public safety for example, if all we do is fight and try to beat the other side…the only way forward is to win if you have the majority, not listening to folks disagreeing with you and making the bill or the measure better…(we need) more kind of listening to each other and progress. I’d like to see real progress and see B become incredible again, frankly,” said Lewis.

Homelessness

Lewis started answering the question about homelessness by paraphrasing a quote and a not uncommon thought, that there is plenty of money if a nation wants to go to war, but people ask where the money will come from if you want to fund education or libraries or, in this case, services for people experiencing homelessness. He said his approach if elected would be one of “pragmatism married with liberal compassionate morality,” with the pragmatism including learning about what’s worked elsewhere and listening to people even if they have diverse opinions.

He said a very large percentage of people experiencing homelessness really want a more stable living environment, a home and a job, but a much smaller percentage might be in “bad places” due to issues including mental health or substance abuse/addiction. He believed during a late August interview the new administration of Mayor Michael Johnston in Denver was looking at some positive and interesting strategies to get people off the streets and make sure services are available, ideally in convenient locations.

As with other issues, Lewis said he supports getting a multitude of voices involved in search of collaborative solutions, and said he believes that’s what happened in Houston according to New York Times coverage. But currently in Boulder, he believes there is polarization between people who support spending money on what he called “kind of failed half-enforcement, moving people around,” and people who are too acceptant of Boulder’s current situation. He said if elected, he couldn’t wave a magic wand and solve all problems, but would support robust discussions to give city staff stable, focused direction on urgent priorities.

Climate Solutions

According to Lewis, Boulder is not exhibiting the “urgency” necessary to fight climate change, given recent natural disasters that might be linked to climate – the local Marshall Fire, or disasters in Lahaina (Hawai’i), Greece, or Nova Scotia (flooding). He said he was disappointed that the city eventually halted its efforts to municipalize its power supply and potentially move toward as much renewable energy as possible, but there are other strategies he thinks the city could employ.

For example, he supports reducing greenhouse gas emissions by creating more protected bike lanes, so even people who aren’t necessarily the most experienced riders can still feel safe on two wheels. He would also like to see resiliency measures since “I think it’s just a matter of time before fire comes for Boulder again,” with strategies including burying power lines and mitigation around homes so there isn’t as much easily flammable material in peoples’ yards. Also, he said the city should get rid of gas-powered lawn equipment like leaf blowers, and should move toward home electrification to reduce consumption of fossil fuels.

I think we need a lot more a lot faster…we have to get back to a place where people kind of feel relaxed, so the children in town can feel like ‘I can have a future and a present that’s safe in this town.’ And I don’t think we’re there right now,” said Lewis.

Safe Zones (Question 302)

As of this late August interview, Lewis said he supported the Safe Zones 4 Kids ballot measure, but was on his way to meet with opponents. He called it a “stop gap” measure, and said he understood how parents would naturally have a fundamental desire to make sure their kids are safe. While he is interested in addressing root causes of homelessness, he said he was not planning to invest time to “fight a measure that I’m sympathetic with.”

Tax Extension Ballot Measure, 50% For Arts (Issue 2A)

Lewis said he supports Ballot Issue 2A, a 20-year sales tax extension that would devote 50% of the revenue to arts and culture and 50% to the General Fund. He said it makes him sad that arts organizations and nonprofits are in a situation where they’re fighting for a “slice of the pie” of adequate funding, and said arts and culture support can help keep Boulder “weird and wonderful and delightful and slightly diverse,” so he is pleased that people compromised to put the 50-50 split on the ballot.