Profession: Systems analyst, Ward 4 Councilor

City: Golden

Contact: www.lauraforgolden.com

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Why are you seeking this office?

I am running for Mayor to make a positive impact for Golden. The city has a strong foundation in delivering fundamental municipal services and we have a clear vision for the future and ambitious goals. Golden needs to set a course of action and I am running to be the leader working with council, staff, and the community to make our future vision a reality.

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What makes you the best person for the job?

Golden needs an experienced leader. My leadership in business and non-profits as well as six years on City Council demonstrate experience, and my active involvement in local, community groups provides perspective on the diverse needs in our community. As Mayor, I will continue our productive civil discourse and collaborate to define the city strategy so council, staff, boards and commissions, and residents all work together to thoughtfully and proactively move our city towards 2030.

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What are your top three priorities if elected?

Implement solutions to address the current housing affordability challenges, seeking partnerships and additional resources to make an impact.

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Review our plan for what the city needs to accomplish and identify specific time frames and measurements to ensure we preserve and enhance all of our community values.

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Invest in our city’s systems for additional customer self-service options, open access to data for transparency, and fiber infrastructure to roll out smart city technologies.

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If elected, what will you do to ensure that growth and development aligns with the city’s goals and community’s values?

Our community is impacted by tourism growth, regional growth, economic growth, and School of Mines growth, in addition to new development. I’ve already been active in addressing the rules around new structures developed. Moving forward, we need to review our comprehensive plan’s goals for how we are going to preserve and invest in all of our community values because our small, hometown character is based on more than what our buildings look like.

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How will you work to improve transparency and opportunity for community engagement in city business?

There are many ways the city distributes information, and those existing channels can certainly be improved. In addition, I want to encourage creativity to consider new tools and strategies to engage more effectively with groups and individuals in our community. I will also continue to push for investment in systems that will allow city data to be available online to the public for increased transparency.