You can vote on your knees if that’s how you really feel. Just vote!
As time winds down before Election Day, readers might not have time to go through my entire Election Guide, darn it. So, here’s a very condensed version of what I covered, but if readers want more information, there’s a link to my full write-up on each candidate or ballot issue in the title to each section. Most write-ups also include links to campaign websites or even more information.
Boulder City Council
Vote for up to four candidates. The top four vote-getters in 2025 will earn three-year terms on Council. I’m sticking mostly to qualifications and experiences below, but my longer write-ups explain more about “what makes them tick.”
Jenny Robins is the current chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and is making her second run for Council. She earned a degree in communications with a minor in pre-law from DePaul University, and has worked in the telecommunications field most of her adult life. Today she is a director for the telecom firm Insite-inc.com, and some of her responsibilities include working with local governments on legislation, contract negotiations, zoning, and permitting processes.
Mark Wallach is an incumbent running for his third term on Council. He earned a two-year term in 2019, then received the most total votes in the 2021 election to earn a four-year term. He has a law degree from Columbia University, and has worked as a real estate attorney. He has also been on the board of Boulder Housing Partners for the past four years, served on Council’s Financial Strategies Subcommittee, and currently serves on the city’s Long Term Financial Strategies Committee.
Matt Benjamin is an incumbent running for his second term on Council. He earned a four-year term in 2021. He ran without earning a seat in 2017, but stayed active in local politics, serving on the city’s Election and Campaign Finance Working Group; as executive director of “The Coalition,” as a board member with Open Boulder, and led the “Our Mayor, Our Choice” initiative for direct Mayoral elections using ranked-choice voting. He graduated from the University of Colorado with degrees in astronomy and astrophysics.
Rob Kaplan is a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board who is making his first run for Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, then moved to Boulder and ran his own bike shop, worked in commercial real estate, then became a volunteer and professional firefighter. He served 18 years with Boulder Rural Fire Rescue, and recently retired as a captain.
Rachel Rose is making her first run for Council. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political economics from Antioch College, and a master’s degree in public administration and leadership from Ohio State University. She has drafted legislation to protect LGBTQ youth in Ohio, which didn’t pass the state legislature but did pass in the City of Columbus. She served two years in AmeriCorps, and was campaign manager for the 2023 Boulder Council candidate Aaron Neyer.
Max Lord is making his first run for Council. He moved from upstate New York to Boulder, to study physics at the University of Colorado. Today, he’s a contractor and owner of business called Hammer and Driver, which does “mostly residential construction.” He’s had a variety of jobs in the construction field, which means he’s spent time dealing with city and university codes and regulations, including zoning and permitting.
Nicole Speer is an incumbent running for her second term on Council. She ran for Mayor in 2023 and finished third, but was able to stay on Council because she had two years left in her term. She served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2024. She earned a bachelor’s in psychology from Scripps College and a PhD in psychology from Washington College. She’s held two jobs with the University of Colorado system, and has served with Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) in two different capacities.
Rob Smoke is making his third run for Council, having also run in 2007 and 2009. He served as a member of the city’s Human Relations Commission from 2003-08, and did two stints as Chair. He’s attended and spoke during Council meetings for decades on a variety of topics. He volunteered with KGNU radio for about 10 years, including about 2 1/2 years reporting on what happened at Council meetings. He came to Boulder from New York in 1981, and has worked as a caregiver.
Lauren Folkerts is an incumbent running for a second term on Council. She is the current Mayor Pro Tem of Boulder. She earned a degree in architecture from the University of Oregon, and today works as an architect with HMH Architecture in Boulder. She served on and chaired the city’s Design Advisory Board before being elected to Council. She’s also served on the Boulder County Homelessness Task Force, the Boulder County Consortium of Cities, and the Mile High Flood District.
Aaron Stone is making his first run for Council. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and earned a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He has worked on developing 5G and satellite-based internet for small aircraft. Today, he is working with a team to develop what he calls the “first quantum operating system.”
Montserrat Palacios is making her first run for Council. She graduated from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. with a degree in art history, and then worked for about eight years in New York at a gallery and in other positions. She was born in Mexico, spent part of her childhood in Spain, and lived in Palo Alto, California as well as D.C. and New York before moving to Boulder.
Behind The Scenes
Yes, there are candidates, but some readers might be as interested in the organizations who are funding, supporting, or endorsing given candidates. Try my post that briefly explains who the groups are, who they’ve endorsed, and how much money they’ve raised – linked here!
Ballot Measures
Voters must live in the jurisdiction listed with the ballot measure to be able to vote on them (i.e., you must be a City of Boulder resident to vote on city measures). Each of the measures listed below would pass with a simple majority.
State of Colorado Proposition LL: Primarily, Prop LL asks voters if the state can keep about $12 million in revenue already collected for the Healthy School Meals for All program. If Prop LL fails, the $12 million would need to be refunded among about 200,000 taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Passing Prop LL would also put an extra million or so into the School Meals program due to keeping allowable tax deduction rates the same as they are now. It’s a pretty easy YES vote for me.
State of Colorado Proposition MM: Passing Prop MM would raise about $95 million in new revenue for the School Meals program and SNAP by decreasing allowable income tax deductions for those earning more than $300,000 in adjusted gross income. I’ll support Prop MM, but with a little less ease than Prop LL because it’s an actual tax increase, and I expect there will be all kinds of other underfunded public needs competing for “revenue from the rich” as we move forward. Still, I believe feeding students is something a moral society should do to some extent, especially if students are from families of lower incomes, hence my support for MM.
Boulder County Ballot Issue 1A: Passing 1A would extend an existing 0.15% countywide sales tax for county Parks and Open Space uses into perpetuity. I’ll support it pretty easily, but can understand why some people might prefer a sunset date. Personally, I have a very deep appreciation for the benefits of Open Space, and I expect that the program will still exist long into the future. I’m talking centuries, hopefully. Even if there isn’t as much land left to buy anymore, Open Space programs still need maintenance, management, and staffing, which costs money. The tax from 1B is NOT the only county Open Space sales tax, and voters will still have the chance to extend, amend, or end three other existing taxes that sunset in 2029, 2034, and 2039, whether 1A passes or not.
Boulder County Ballot Issue 1B: Passing 1B would create a new 0.15% countywide sales tax for three years to pay for mental and behavioral health needs in Boulder County. To me, this is the most complex measure on this year’s Boulder ballot, so I’ll recommend deeper research if any reader doesn’t know the details, and my longer write-up linked in the title has lots of relevant information plus links to other sources. I’ll vote YES on 1B for a few primary reasons: a) the county has either lost or is likely to lose state or federal funding for local programs; b) there can be very bad consequences in certain cases of untreated mental/behavioral health issues; and c) there are documented, significant local needs for mental/behavioral health treatments.
City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2A: Passing 2A would extend an existing 0.3% City of Boulder sales tax into perpetuity, for the purpose of funding capital projects under the Community, Culture, Resilience and Safety (CCRS) program. This would include grants for local nonprofits, along with items like upgrades or new construction for public safety facilities or other city infrastructure. Boulder has had this tax since 2014. I’ll probably vote for 2A, and readers could consider this lukewarm support. While I would probably prefer a tax with a sunset date in this case, I can’t deny that the city has a facilities maintenance backlog, or that buildings and infrastructure inevitably deteriorate over time. If 2A doesn’t pass, the existing 0.15% tax would not sunset until 2036.
City of Boulder Ballot Issue 2B: Passing 2B would increase the city’s allowable debt limit to finance CCRS projects, with revenue from 2A paying down the debt. The increase would be from its current $110 million to $262 million, but the city would not have to use all of the allowable debt even if 2B passes. I’ll probably vote for 2B, but can understand how people could be concerned about debt and interest payments, especially in a time of economic uncertainty. However, most large public projects are typically financed longer-term, not paid for up-front with cash. Having the debt capacity would let the city start projects much earlier than if it didn’t have the capacity. In my opinion, it’s good for a city to have safe, modern, high-quality public buildings and infrastructure built or upgraded in a reasonably timely manner – at least before things are falling apart or badly outdated.
Boulder Valley School District Board of Directors
BVSD School Board directors are elected by district, but all BVSD voters can vote for candidates in all districts. This year, there is only one contested race, in District E, so I’ll start there. Please only vote for one candidate in the District E race. The candidates in Districts B and F are running uncontested. Winning candidates earn a four-year term.
Jeffrey Anderson (District E) is making his first run for the BVSD Board. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and meteorology from the University of Utah, a master’s in computer science from the University of California-Berkeley, and a PhD in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from Princeton University. Most recently, he’s worked as a senior scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
Deann Bucher (District E) is making her second run for the BVSD Board. She has a bachelor’s degree in music history from the University of Denver, and a master’s in information and learning technology from the University of Denver. She’s worked as a social studies teacher/internet specialist with Monarch High School in Louisville, as a curriculum coordinator in social studies with BVSD, and most recently as an instructor/mentor with Fusion Academy Boulder County.
Nicole Rajpal (District B) is the incumbent director for District B, having been first elected in 2021, and is running for her second term. She has a bachelor’s degree in nutritional science from the University of Wisconsin, and a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin. She has worked as an adjunct faculty member with Front Range Community College, served on and chaired BVSD’s District Accountability Committee, and served as the BVSD Board’s treasurer and president.
Ana Temu Otting (District F) is making her first run for the BVSD Board. She owns the small business Corazon Printing. She is a current commissioner on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, representing the 7th Congressional District.
