Stone: Divestment is Local Fair Game

Aaron Stone

Aaron Stone is making his first run for Boulder City Council and his first run for public office in 2025. He said quite clearly that he got into the race as a result of Gaza and local situations relating to Israel and Palestine, including certain city investments. The section below on Stone’s reasons for running was abbreviated to keep it closer to similar in length to opening statements from other candidates, and he did answer questions on all other topics asked about during a mid-September interview.

“I got pretty concerned about a lot of the political issues going on in our community right now, specifically surrounding what’s happening with Run For Their Lives and Boulder’s complicity in investments that are in companies that are directly profiting from the genocide in Gaza. I saw Run For Their Lives marching down the Pearl Street Mall several months ago. This was before the June attack. And immediately, with everything that’s going on right now, it was obvious to me at that time that Israel was committing genocide. I started counter-protesting them at that point. Of course, then, we saw the attack on Run For Their Lives and we condemn any violence toward them at all. Violence is not the solution… We saw almost all of our city council, except for Taishya Adams, conflate the attack with anti-Semitism. However, the attacker never mentioned anything about hatred for Jews. He consistently said that he had issues with what Israel was doing… We need to stop these attacks on other city council people for expressing their opinion…We’re seeing that our freedoms are being attacked. Our free speech is being attacked. And I want to bring a fresh voice to city council.”

Mini-Bio

Stone grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He earned a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Today, he is working in the field of quantum computing, and said he is currently working on a project to develop a quantum operating system.

His campaign website is https://aaronstone.org/

Concerns about Boulder’s economic future?

Stone has concerns about Boulder’s economic future, partially because of federal budget cuts or other policy decisions that could impact local institutions like the federal labs and local employees. He said he personally has felt the impacts as a member of a local arts group that has seen performance cuts due to anti-DEI directives, but also said federal cuts are impacting the economy at the state and county levels. Locally, he noted that many storefronts on the Pearl Street Mall are vacant, and believes “out-of-control rents” contribute to this problem. “We see only a couple of landowners controlling those retail spaces. So, I would like to see what we can do to lower rents, and lower the cost of doing business – though that does not include reduction in pay for employees,” he said.

Does Boulder spend taxpayers’ money wisely?

According to Stone, examples of unwise spending include the proposed flood mitigation project at CU-South, which could use a costly system including a concrete dam when he believes water absorption and routing strategies would be preferable. (Editor’s note: under current plans city water ratepayers would fund mitigation but construction hasn’t begun yet.) He also believes the city’s wasting money in countersuing residents who are suing the city based on concerns about the CU-South project, including attempts to recoup legal fees. Stone also finds the amount of money spent on “constantly” removing unhoused people from downtown Boulder wasteful, and would prefer strategies including street outreach to the unhoused, finding housing for them, and getting them into treatment if necessary.

Crime Concerns?

Stone said he was surprised to learn how much property crime has gone on in Boulder, including bike theft. He said he encountered a “bike valet” program at the local farmer’s market, and would feel more comfortable taking a bike downtown if this was more widely available. “it’s very easy to break a lock open and steal a bike quickly, especially with the high price of some of the bikes that some of the Boulderites are buying these days,” said Stone. He believes, moving forward, that it will be important to support the police and to educate the public on how they can protect themselves. For example, he said he studies jiu jitsu and engages in discussions about “being aware of your surroundings and what’s going on.”

Homelessness Objectives

Stone would support restoring funding to shelters which recently faced serious funding cuts, such as All Roads (formerly called the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless), and TGTHR, which had to close shelters for homeless youth. He also believes the city should consider purchasing property for a sanctioned campsite for unhoused people.

“We don’t want them on the bike trails, but they have nowhere to go. They spend all their time moving around. We need a place somewhere where they can go, have laundry facilities, have showers, get into a treatment program…After speaking with several of them, I see human beings that are in trouble and need help. And I think that’s the approach we should be taking as we’re looking at this problem,” said Stone.

Core Arterial Network Projects

During this mid-September interview, Stone said he did not have specific comments about the CAN projects, but generally would evaluate transportation projects on concepts including if they make people safer, are cost-efficient or not, and how they impact traffic flow. He recalled when the city put up bollards for a separated bike lane on Folsom about 10 years ago, and they got pulled very quickly because they “weren’t beneficial.” Still, he said he would like to see more bike lanes separated from auto traffic in Boulder.

Council Meeting Open Comment Period

Stone said he does understand the need to have “some sort of decorum” during Council meetings, but doesn’t completely agree with certain recent changes to the Open Comment period. First, he does not support not broadcasting speakers during Open Comment on video (the audio is broadcast, however), saying it “seems like it’s very anti-democracy to be doing that.” He disagrees with pausing Council meetings and clearing the room if there is a disruption, saying instead that police should just remove the individual(s) who are disrupting the meeting. Stone also would not prefer starting Open Comment at 5:30 p.m., saying he personally could probably attend at 5:30, but it might be difficult for some members of the public to make it at that time.

Boulder and International Issues

While military actions might be occurring far from Boulder, Stone said he believes there are local concerns because Boulder has made its own local decision to invest city money in companies that he believes are contributing to genocide in Gaza. According to Stone, the city has about $38 million invested in four such companies. “We don’t have a lot of power from a city level to make our voices heard, but where we have that power, we should exercise it… I think that we can send a direct message to the federal government about our position if we (one) recognize that a genocide is going on and (two) divest from that genocide,” he said.

New Administration in Washington and Boulder Impacts

Stone spoke about two major areas of concern pertaining to the new administration – budget cuts that might impact Boulder’s economy and employees (mentioned earlier), and the actions of modern-day ICE. He believe some of ICE’s actions recently have been “blatantly unconstitutional,” with searches and seizures impacting people possibly believed to be undocumented without probable cause or due process. He also mentioned that ICE agents threw a Democratic candidate for Congress in Illinois named Kat Abughazaleh to the ground at a protest, where she suffered injuries. Locally, Stone said the city can decide how to react to given situations, and he does not believe city employees need to cooperate with ICE.

Performance of “Progressive Council”

“I don’t know how you can call someone progressive when they won’t divest from genocide. This seems like an obvious thing that progressives would be in support of,” said Stone. He also re-emphasized negative environmental impacts of the CU-South project, and was not pleased that Boulder Progressives announced their endorsements before the deadline to qualify as a Council candidate.

Climate Action

Stone said he thinks Boulder actually has a “terrible track record on climate.” This includes the large amount of concrete likely to be used at CU-South (concrete accounts for about 8% of global carbon emissions). He brought up how the city moved away from its former effort to municipalize its electric utility (which had ambitious goals for clean energy), and that Boulder receives water from Colorado River diversions, which is taking water from the Western Slope to be used for potential growth in Front Range areas including Denver and Boulder. He does not believe the city’s doing a good job getting people out of cars, and said certain programs for solar panels and vehicle chargers aren’t saving people money or “helping them go green.”

Need More Housing?

While he is concerned about people from this area who can’t find housing they can afford, Stone said he favors looking at housing “from a smart perspective.” He said he’s especially concerned about the amount of water Boulder is already taking from the Western Slope, as mentioned above, since more people and more development will require more water.

CCRS Ballot Measures (City of Boulder Issues 2A and 2B)

During a mid-September interview, Stone said he wasn’t ready to give a definitive opinion on the CCRS ballot measures, but said he typically supports “continuing or holding over taxes” to fund projects, and Boulder Issue 2A is a tax extension.

County Mental/Behavioral Health Tax (County Issue 1B)

Stone said “at least on the surface level it (Issue 1B) sounds like a good idea and something we need,” but in mid-September wanted to continue learning more about it.

Endorsements

Stone has received endorsements from Center for Freedom and Justice Colorado, Veterans for Peace Boulder Chapter 120, and approval from Planned Parenthood Votes.