The 15-Second Sketch

• The Problem: The city’s official Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) isn’t a real action plan. It’s a 49-page document that largely “recommends” and “encourages” homeowners to protect themselves, failing to commit the city to the funded mitigation and evacuation projects we desperately need.
• The Stakes: This is a life-and-death issue. While the city can find over $50+ million to push through a new civic center without a vote, it tells residents in high-risk fire zones that they are largely on their own. This is a shocking and unacceptable misalignment of priorities.
• The Solution: My three-point plan is about proactive leadership, not bureaucratic box-checking. It’s about forging binding regional defense agreements, developing real neighborhood evacuation plans, and aggressively securing external funding so our firefighters have the resources they need to protect our homes and families.

The Rest of the Story

A Ward 2 resident recently sent me an email with a critical question that gets to the heart of our campaign: “The City’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan landed with a weak thud. It basically draws attention to risks, and places most responsibility on the homeowners… What are your priorities on addressing these issues?”

The resident is absolutely right. I’ve read the city’s official plan. It’s a classic example of the “decide, announce, ignore” model: a lengthy, bureaucratic document that gives the illusion of action while failing to take decisive responsibility.

Imagine your neighbor’s house is on fire and the official response from the city is to hand you a garden hose and tell you not to let the fire spread. That is exactly what is happening with wildfire mitigation.

This isn’t a theoretical problem for Golden residents—this is very real for all of us.  I remember a wildfire from a number of years ago that started in Clear Creek Canyon from a lightning strike.  What was absolutely horrifying was that after the fire had spread, our family went to bed each night watching that fire because it was framed perfectly from our bedroom windows.  Our neighborhood was fortunate that the fire did not jump the road.  But that is why I completely agree with the Ward 2 resident in surmising the CWPP “landed with a weak thud” because “it basically draws attention to risks, and places most responsibility on the homeowners.”

A real plan would’ve given us not only city-supported mitigation solutions, but also more comprehensive, proactive solutions (e.g. build emergency ingress/egress roads, actual evacuation plan) in the event of an actual fire. Our family had to prepare our own evacuation plan and took pictures of all our personal belongings because we knew the city’s “plan” was non-existent for that situation and that it was possible we could lose everything. 

My opponent says we should trust the current process. I fundamentally disagree. We don’t need another “plan to have a plan.” We need immediate, proactive leadership. Here’s what I’ll do:

1. Coordinate a Regional Defense: The city’s plan talks about “strengthening relationships.” That’s not enough. I will use my legal and regulatory experience to forge the specific, legally-binding agreements needed between the city, Jefferson County, and the state for a unified and effective response.
2. Develop Real Evacuation Plans: The current plan “supports the development” of evacuation plans. I will lead the effort to actually create and practice detailed, neighborhood-specific evacuation strategies for our most vulnerable areas.
3. Secure External Funding: The city must aggressively pursue every available state and federal grant to proactively invest in mitigation and evacuation—clearing brush, creating fire breaks, and hardening and building our shared infrastructure (e.g. roads for emergency vehicle access). Our fire department needs the resources and support to do what it knows how to do—prevent and fight fires. We are handcuffing our fire department because they do not have the support they need to protect us.

This issue, unfortunately, is a perfect and frightening example of the consequences of the city’s broken process. When the city decided to move forward with the $50+ million dollar “Heart of Golden” civic center project without giving residents a vote, it wasn’t just a procedural issue. It was a choice about priorities. The millions of dollars in funds and financing capacity that are now tied up in that project could have been directed to urgent, life-and-death priorities like wildfire mitigation and evacuation. This is what happens when residents are shut out. We get the projects the city wants, not the protections our families need.

My opponent is comfortable with this status quo. I am not.

I believe we need a new standard of leadership—one that is proactive, collaborative, and always puts residents first. If this vision for a better Golden resonates with you, the most powerful thing you can do is share this perspective with your friends and neighbors. With ballots now in hand, authentic conversations between residents are how we will win this election and restore a process that trusts you.