Levy speaks at NCA meeting

Niwot Community Association members heard from Boulder County Commission candidate Claire Levy at their July 1 virtual meeting. Levy, who was uncontested in the Democratic primary, faces Republican Cinda Kochen for the District 1 seat in November. Kochen will virtually meet with NCA board members at their Aug. 5 meeting, along with county commissioner candidate James T. Crowder from District 2. Crowder will face Democrat Marta Loachamin who won the Democratic primary over Jonathan Singer.

While commissioners must live in one of three specific geographic areas, they are elected by the entire county. Term-limited Boulder Democrat Elise Jones is the current District 1 commissioner, while Longmont Democrat Deb Gardner currently holds the District 2 seat.

Levy, a former Colorado state representative for House District 13, said she worked hard “to represent people in her communities that didn’t have another voice.” She added that she represented mountain areas in the state legislature that often were overshadowed by the urban areas of Colorado.

Answering an NCA question, Levy said her stance on expanding the Boulder County Board of Commissioners from three members to five, all elected to represent specific districts, is “not firm.” She understands that residents of unincorporated Boulder County feel like too many decisions are driven by urban area residents while unincorporated and mountain area concerns are ignored.

“This is a complicated issue and I would need to research what the impact of that change might be,” Levy said. She emphasized that if “people don’t feel listened to, then we aren’t electing the right people.”

However, she warned about “Balkanizing” the county if commissioners only represent their particular district. “I think you need to represent the interests of the county as a whole and take into account all views, not just a small area,” she said.

Levy explained she is not set in her approach to fixing and maintaining county subdivision roads.

“I know this is a festering wound for many people. You pay taxes and you have the right to have your roads maintained,” she said. But she also stated she wasn’t yet familiar with the budgetary reasons as to why the county hadn’t done it for many years and needed more information about the issue to make an informed decision.

Levy added that she’s “leery of simplistic answers to complicated issues.”

The NCA usually sponsors a public candidates’ forum in the fall, but has put plans for that on hold due to COVID-19.

Bike repair station

In other business, NCA President David Limbach announced that the new bike repair station has been installed at Lefthand Valley Grange Park. The station provides needed tools and space for cyclists to perform minor repairs to their bicycles. The NCA funded the station and worked with Boulder County staff to have it installed in the parking lot of the park.