Steve Pomerance

I’ve tried to avoid commenting on elections because I’d rather focus on issues than personalities. But times change … so here are some of the many recent events that show we really, really, really need some new blood on our council/mayor. Item #1: The council added an “executive session” to their agenda for last week. Per a recent charter change, such sessions allow the full council to meet behind closed doors to consider legal issues. But their announcement contained no details regarding what they were considering. Since 2001, the Colorado Open Meetings Law has required state and local public bodies to provide notice of the topic for an executive session, “in as much detail as possible without compromising the purpose for which the executive session is authorized.” And in 2020, the Colorado Court of Appeals found that the Town of Basalt violated the COML for failing to provide the necessary details. But, although I raised the issue with the council, no details emerged. Apparently, the...

What started me off on this topic was an email I got from a friend regarding the Boulder City Council’s discussion of the tipped minimum wage issue at their recent meeting, and in particular the testimony of Rebecca Mitchell, professor at the Leeds School of Business at CU. Prof. Mitchell provided an excellent critique of the city’s work, which, no surprise, supported the city’s proposal that favored the restaurants. But before she finished, her testimony was abruptly cut off after exactly two minutes. Prof. Mitchell said her day job is to “evaluate whether the evidence supports the causal conclusion being drawn.” And she added, “The June 2026 report (done by city staff) does not do so. Instead, it reads as a post-hoc justification for policy direction that appears to already have been chosen.” If I were on the council and considering a decision, and a CU professor took the time to come and testify, I would want to hear all she had to say, ask her questions, and probe the issues she ra...