Editor’s Note: Coloradoan Editorial Board member Carol Ann Hixon abstained from the vote on this endorsement.
City Council District 2 candidate Ray Martinez has articulated a clear vision for how he would serve residents in central Fort Collins if elected. The Coloradoan Editorial Board endorses him for council ahead of the April 7 election.
District 2 issues include future plans for residential and commercial development in and around Midtown, improved dialogue around issues such as the English Ranch Park garden and priorities common to all of Fort Collins, such as transportation and attainable housing.
Candidate Nancy Tellez impressed the Editorial Board with her passion for service and commitment to education, through years on the Poudre School District Board.
From an economic development standpoint, Tellez told the board she supports growth opportunities for local businesses and our start up community. While we support this idea, we wanted a more detailed plan from Tellez.
Martinez suggested the city streamline its interactions with businesses, making economic development a user-friendly process. He understands the impact that business has on nonprofits and the community and detailed their impact on our philanthropic health. Martinez said he will employ a three-pronged test to any opportunity, taking economy, environment and quality of life into account.
Tellez is passionate about our environment and continued good stewardship of our Fort Collins community. She believes we should continue to find ways to minimize our water usage but offered few specific suggestions on how we might do so. Similarly, she is rightly concerned about growth of our city and its impacts, but offered few strategies on how we manage this growth, beyond providing more housing assistance to low-to-moderate income buyers and conserving water resources.
She does not support the widening of Interstate 25 as a priority for Fort Collins, instead suggesting improved commuter services such as buses and trains.
Map: Fort Collins Council Districts
Martinez offered a vision for future transportation that includes improvements in and around CSU, for both students and residents. He referenced the three main entry points to Fort Collins off I-25 and needed improvements for the “gateways” to our city.
Most important, Martinez articulated a need for improved communication both in his district and across the city. He has already visited with residents who live near the proposed garden and called for more and better dialogue so the public back-and-forth that has resulted from the project doesn’t happen again.
He called for a transparent government, in how budgets are set, managed and shared, building even more accountability into a city that on the whole does a good job of sharing information with the public.
He outlined an affordable housing plan that included more assistance for low-income residents, but also public-private partnerships, the city’s land bank and the condo defect law as potential avenues to explore.
He believes the public disputes council has engaged in recently are unhealthy and counterproductive. This is the time for healing, Martinez said. Time to develop a better working relationship with Colorado State University after recent tension over the on-campus stadium and the intergovernmental agreement.
“Name calling and pointing fingers is hurtful,” Martinez said.
We agree. The Editorial Board is confident Martinez will engage in a thoughtful approach to developing dialogue with his constituents and to building a better future for them.
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