ISSUES
Golden is in an enviable position with a strong economy, safe neighborhoods, and high-quality city services. This position of strength allows us to strategically implement changes that will maintain what we value most and ensure our continued success in the future.
Key Strategic Areas
Housing Diversity and Affordability
Laura has focused on housing challenges throughout her tenure including the adoption of housing goals into the comprehensive plan in 2017 and the completion of the Housing Affordability and Needs Study in 2022.
She recognizes the importance of preserving existing housing and is working through the National League of Cities' Healthy Housing initiative as one of six cities working to improve the health and quality of housing.
A top priority for Laura since taking office in 2020 is creating accessible and affordable housing options to meet the diverse needs of our community. After focusing on eviction prevention during the pandemic, Laura then worked with City Council in 2021 to authorize a new full-time position and obtain state funding for a housing assessment to identify actions to achieve our goals.
Laura serves on the Colorado Municipal League housing subcommittee, the Jeffco Housing Advocacy Steering Committee, and the Metro Mayors Housing, Homelessness, and Hunger subcommittee. She is a leader working to strengthen local, regional, state, and national partnerships to position Golden favorably in broader housing efforts.
Directed Change
Cities are ever-evolving with changes large and small. Good cities react to the changes but great cities anticipate change with existing structures and processes to handle them no matter the size.
Laura's signature effort to bring a new Strategic Planning process to the city has been in place for the past 3 years. It includes annual action plans and Council key initiatives to provide focus for the city and clarity to the community to understand what is being done and why. It allows the city budget and all interested parties including Council, city staff, boards & commissions and community members to be aligned to the top priorities.
Communication & Community Engagement
Making sure all residents and interested parties have access to city information and the opportunity to participate is a priority for Laura. It is one of the reasons why she started Mondays with the Mayor livestreams in 2022. Many people now prefer to receive their information via video online rather than in their email inbox. The Monday livestreams are quick and focus on City Council work and upcoming community meetings or engagement opportunities. They are one more channel to reach community members in addition to the weekly email newsletter, Golden Informer, social media posts, and city website.
Elevating Arts, Culture, and Creativity
Golden residents appreciate the many cultural institutions and creative individuals bringing history and the arts to our community. The arts are an essential part of building community, improving quality of life, and enlightening and connecting people. Golden's arts and cultural organizations have a positive economic impact for the city and an important role in education.
After meetings with other cities' cultural departments and discussions with Golden cultural institutions, Laura brought forward the 2023 initiative to develop an Arts & Culture Master Plan. This framework will help determine how the city can best participate and provide access to funding to elevate arts and culture and create a dynamic, thriving cultural community.
Sustainability Advances
As a lifetime proponent of sustainability efforts, Laura is committed to identifying the strategies needed to reach the sustainability goals adopted in 2018, collaborating with the Community Sustainability Advisory Board, and allocating necessary budget and resources for success. Decisions made today, such as adopting Net Zero Building codes, are making the investments now for the future that we desire.
Laura is an advocate at the state level for changes that will benefit Golden and our goals, and she is willing to make tough decisions that put the future of Golden over the status quo.
A Thriving Business Environment
Golden has never been a bedroom community and businesses have been the lifeblood of our town. The city has as many people who work here as we do live here.
The COVID 19 pandemic was hard on our local businesses and Laura collaborated with individuals and organizations to provide support for businesses, launch new programs, and support recovery. Her initial idea to use fundraising dollars to pay restaurants to make meals for those in need led to the creation of BGoldN and overwhelming community support.
Laura's work in corporations and start-ups makes her an experienced leader who understands the importance of retaining existing businesses in Golden and making Golden a welcoming place for start-up, woman-owned, and minority-owned businesses.
Safe, Connected Transportation Modes
During Laura's Council tenure, the city completed two major projects, North Washington Avenue and Linking Lookout, and designed the next Golden Plan intersection at US 6 and Heritage Road. These provided safer and improved streets for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Laura recognizes that future improvements require leadership to build strong relationships with regional, state, and national partners for funding and support.
Laura has been an advocate at RTD and the state for transit, including improved funding and safety. She also sees the implementation of Golden's adopted Master Transportation Plan with efforts such as the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan as critical to addressing mobility needs identified by the Golden community.
