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By Lucy Carlson-Krakoff. Also published as a letter to the editor in the Daily Camera on October 30, 2021.
"I was born in Boulder in 2000 and have lived here ever since. Boulder is my home; my family is here, my friends are here, my life is here. I want to continue to live here. But the prohibitive cost of rent in the city might force me out once I am fully supporting myself.
I will become a social worker after college, a career with an average salary of $50,000 in Colorado. On that income, it would be impossible to purchase a single-family home in Boulder, especially in the most walkable and bikeable parts of the city. Therefore, I want a diversity of housing options available to me: housemates, apartments, condos, mobile home parks, etc.
This election, we as Boulder voters have the opportunity to lower the cost of living in the city for people like me, as well as families and others. First, there are four amazing city council candidates who support diverse housing options to address the housing crisis we are experiencing: Nicole Speer, Matt Benjamin, Dan Williams, and Lauren Folkerts. They have been endorsed by Boulder is for People and the Boulder Progressives.
Second, voting YES on the Bedrooms Are For People ballot measure (300) will ensure more people like me can remain in Boulder. Splitting rent among more housemates (limited, reasonably, by the number of bedrooms in the home plus one) is an effective way to lower costs.
On Nov. 2, think of the people like me who wish to stay in our homes. Boulder needs social workers (and restaurant servers, janitors, bus drivers, teachers…), most of whom cannot afford $2 million homes. So we need to be creative in addressing housing, but first we need your vote."