Announcement of Candidacy

Here in Fort Collins we have an opportunity ahead of us as we emerge from a challenging, stressful and dark time. Although our social and political worlds are fractured - facing stress tests not seen in decades - we also see signs of new beginnings and opportunities. Like those small green shoots growing after a wildfire, new options for change and innovation are emerging – some we could barely envision before 2020 and the challenges we’ve seen. Our opportunity is now, and I am committed to our shared renewal. It’s time to rethink and rebuild - time to create a city of people even stronger and more resilient, kind, flexible, thoughtful and deliberate in choosing where we are headed next. If we haven’t met already, some background: My parents moved to Fort Collins in 1964, three weeks after I was born. They came here to be innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in a city where creative innovation and optimistic risk-taking is in our blood. Like each of us, I am a product of my family and of our community. In my work overseas as a teacher in the Peace Corps and a school administrator, and in our Colorado legislature as the State Representative for Fort Collins’ House District 53, I have seen the value of respecting and listening to people from all perspectives; I have seen the strength we gain by working across our differences to find common ground for progress. Representing Fort Collins at the Capitol has been a privilege. Now it’s time to bring that experience home to serve our city locally. My vision for Fort Collins is to foster a city government that is inclusive, listens and is responsive, and is collaborative, smart, nimble, resilient, connected, inquisitive, innovative and family friendly – just like the people who live here. Great cities are made up of great people coming together to govern themselves. I will earn your trust as a mayor who brings people together to get things done.