Grand Junction City Council Candidate Responses

At Colorado Rural Voters our mission is simple – We want to help connect YOU to the election process so WE can elect accessible leaders who are accountable to US.

But we realize that taking the time to vote has to mean something. Because ultimately, we are voting to elect a leader who is going to represent us and champion issues that impact our daily lives. So that’s why we asked you what issues were most important for a city council candidate to address when elected to office.

If you remember the postcard that came to your door a few weeks ago, we asked you to take a survey to let us know what issues are most important to you. And you responded! Here’s how your top priorities shaped up.

*If you didn’t have a chance to respond to the survey but would like to let us know what you think – click here to complete the 5 minutes survey and share your top priorities for Grand Junction.

After you identified your top priorities, we asked the eight candidates currently running for the four open seats on city council to share their thoughts on your highest priority issues. Only 4 of those candidates took the time to respond. Above all else, local elected officials should be accessible to their constituents, and that starts during their run for office. We’re disappointed that half of the candidates opted not to communicate back to you, but we’re pleased to share the results of the candidates who did. Here’s how it shakes out!

Candidates Who Responded

Diverse Employment Opportunities

Rick Taggart
To do this we first have to focus on helping businesses recover from the pandemic. We also need to continue to fund and work with our economic partners to help recruit companies to the valley, to encourage business expansion and assist entrepreneurs get started with their creative ideas.

Abe Herman
We need to continue making Grand Junction a great place to live. The higher our quality of life is here, the more employers and employees will want to be located in our city. This means great parks and public lands, great schools, and great infrastructure to support a diverse array of businesses and employment opportunities in our community. I know a lot of working people here who don’t have access to the kinds of career options they’d like, and I think it sets us all back when they’re not able to realize their potential. If elected, I’ll bring the perspective of a new generation of entrepreneurial young people who understand the kinds of industry and technology changes that we’re facing now.

Randall Reitz
Protecting the natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities in Grand Junction and Western Colorado. Our area has lived through many boom and bust cycles from the extraction industries. While these legacies are still an important part of our heritage and economy, Grand Junction has successfully diversified to embrace other industries, including health care, human services, tourism, and outdoor recreation. When we ensure the health of our community, we also ensure opportunities in the many industries which reside here, and provide diverse employment to Grand Junction residents of all walks of life.

Dennis Simpson
I believe the City should continue to assist local organizations directly involved is attracting new employers to the City. The emphasis should be on attracting employers who provide career opportunities for people currently residing in Grand Junction.

City Health & Environment Programs

Rick Taggart
We need to continue working on air quality legislation for the city, improving on the ordinance that is in place. We need to expand our harvesting and cleaning of methane gas from our Presigo Wastewater Plant and continue to convert the city vehicle fleet to be powered by this natural gas. We need to evolve our development code to insist on vegetation that is consistent with our high desert climate We need to continue to invest in our water delivery system so as to minimize waste.

Abe Herman
There’s a reason we all live here. This is a town that takes a lot of pride in the natural spaces we have around us, and all they bring to our lives. They’re one of our greatest resources, and the time we spend recreating in the outdoors enhances all of our lives through better mental and physical health. It’s crucial that we protect our parks and open spaces for the next generation of Grand Junction residents. As part of my efforts to better our community I serve on the board of a non-profit providing opportunities for youth to get outdoors for their well-being and personal growth, and to develop their respect for and stewardship of our outdoor spaces. On City Council I will continue to build partnerships that protect and enhance the natural spaces we all love.

Randall Reitz
My goal is to preserve what the people of Grand Junction love about the Western Slope while moving our city forward through smart growth that places minimal impact on the environment. Grand Junction is on the cusp of being Colorado’s next great city, but we don’t want to be the next Boulder or Ft Collins. We need to avoid loving our natural beauties to death. Central to this, is advocacy for our environment, climate, and trails. Ensuring stability in the above topics also promote community health as a whole, as they are integral parts of our quality of life here in Western Colorado.

Dennis Simpson
This is an area that our City has done a good job. We have a very strong medical community that provides innovation to the medical delivery system. We need to look for every opportunity to improve the environment, I think Council should listen to experts in fields like Clean Air and ask staff to present options. In particular, I would like to see efforts made to increase the number of people who recycle.

Parks & Open Space Preservation & Development

Rick Taggart
We need to continue to collaborate with Colorado West Land Trust to dedicate additional lands for preservation. We need to continue to seek out funding sources to build out Matchett park. A lack of funding is our most serious problem in this area.

Abe Herman
Our city is facing a period of unprecedented growth, and none of us wants to wake up one day and feel like we’re living on the Front Range. As our city grows, we need to preserve and expand our natural areas to deal with increased use, and ensure we have strong, forward-thinking policies in place to prevent negative impacts to our open spaces. In survey after survey, residents rank parks as one of their top priorities, and it is incumbent on us as City Councilors to hear that need and protect these treasured amenities. At the same time, we also have to protect our neighborhood character and small-town atmosphere. There are many Grand Junction families who have worked tremendously hard to be able to afford the neighborhood home they love, and they need someone looking out for them on City Council.

Randall Reitz
Natural beauty and outdoor recreation are inextricably linked in Grand Junction. For example, in a North Star Economic Survey, the top 2 descriptors that were used to describe Grand Junction were a “beautiful setting” (33%) and “outdoor recreation” (28%). This perspective is shared by community leaders who ranked promoting outdoor recreation/sports as the top area Mesa County should target to improve the community (48%). Given this, increased support for outdoor recreation requires advocating for protecting and expanding our public lands. I am committed to supporting all initiatives to ensure and expand access to public lands for all residents, in addition to protecting our current public lands from development and maintaining their beauty.

Dennis Simpson
The City has several beautiful parks that are well preserved. The development of additional parks should be considered annually in the budget discussions. It will be difficult to add open space within the City. Our population continues to grow and we must provide places for people to live, The recently developed 2020 Strategic Plan calls for the first area of population growth to be within the City limits by developing unimproved property and by renovating older areas of the Community. We are fortunate that over 70% of Mesa County is owned by the federal government and can’t be developed.

Affordable Housing for Homeowners & Renters

Rick Taggart
We have identified a significant redevelopment zone within the core of the city to encourage more density of housing and the impact fees are 50% of normal fees. Having said this attracting quality jobs to the community is vital. As well, supporting CMU and the further development of certificate and degree programs is very important.

Abe Herman
A central reason that I’m running for City Council is to ensure we’re maintaining a low cost of living, including attainable housing. I’m very concerned that if we keep seeing costs rising then young people, nurses, teachers, firefighters, etc. will not be able to afford a high quality of life in our city. There are a few ways we can help on City Council. One thing we can do is ensure the development process is running quickly and smoothly, so potential projects aren’t being held up in the planning phase; when we have more housing stock available for the influx of residents, costs will go down. Another approach I would like to pursue is encouraging more infill in the central areas of the city, like the downtown and the riverfront’s smart infill is a great opportunity to further invigorate the revitalization of Main Street we’ve accomplished in recent years. Finally, the city is embarking on an affordability project right now, so the next City Council will be making decisions on how we can implement policies that encourage more attainable housing options, and make it worthwhile to community-focused developers to pursue these types of more affordable options. I’m very focused on how we keep our housing costs low; with the huge amount of growth we’re seeing, it could get very expensive if we aren’t paying attention to how we manage that growth in smart, forward-thinking ways.

Randall Reitz
The city certainly needs to create a plan for affordable housing in Grand Junction. I feel this should be done by listening to resident’s themselves and ensuring leaders understand their needs before making decisions.

I am also in support of occasionally taking opportunities for the city to purchase blighted and underutilized properties to prepare them for development by businesses and nonprofits. There have been several examples of this done in Grand Junction in the past, and it is a way to continue to invest in smart growth in the community while providing housing and resources where needed.

Dennis Simpson
This is a very important issue for me and I wish I had a magic bullet to offer. The issue of escalating housing costs is not unique to Grand Junction. It has happened all over the country. I would like to hear ideas from community members.

Ability to Earn A Living Wage

Rick Taggart
I believe I have touched on this subject in previous questions. Quality job opportunities and investments in education are necessary to make progress in this area.

Abe Herman
What constitutes a “living wage” is directly tied to the cost of living—by working on keeping the cost of living low and housing attainable, we can lower the barrier to enjoying a high quality of life in our community. If you’re working a job in Grand Junction, you should be able to afford stable housing and have time left over to enjoy the amenities of our community. We should also look at more opportunities in vocational training and skilled-labor jobs that don’t require college. College isn’t the path for everyone, and those folks who choose a different path should still be able to make a good living working in our city. Let’s invest in training programs and educational opportunities that allow our residents to create a great life for themselves here in Grand Junction.

Randall Reitz
While minimum wage and living wage are not under city council’s jurisdiction (state specific issue), I am in full support of Colorado’s current amendment approved by the voters for an annual increase in minimum wage.

Dennis Simpson
As discussed above, I would like to see the recruitment of employers who pay a living wage and will be able to hire from our existing citizens. Beyond that, I think the City’s ability to increase what the private sector pays its employees is limited. The City does not (and should not) get involved in setting the minimum wage. Doing so would put City businesses at a competitive disadvantage with businesses outside the City.

Improve Safety & Connectedness for Walking & Biking Options

Rick Taggart
Sidewalks and bike lanes are now standard for developments and road construction and reconstruction. I would really like to see a network of trails along our irrigation canals, but this is a difficult strategy. Accordingly relationships with the irrigation companies will need to be a priority.

Abe Herman
We need an urban trails plan for Grand Junction. This will increase quality of life, ease congestion, and create better options for students and workers to get to school and employment opportunities without requiring car ownership to succeed. What’s happened with the riverfront and all of the trails and integration into the Redlands is incredible; it increases property values, creates a better place to live, and can inform how we look at other opportunities in the rest of our city. I would like walkability and bikeability to be a central push for the future growth of our community.

Randall Reitz
Despite being a Mecca for mountain biking, Grand Junction is not a bike friendly community. Our streets are very car-centric and we lack any sufficient biking corridors through town. Everyone who rides a bike can share stories of car accidents, near misses, and angry interactions with motorists. I will advocate for more dedicated urban bike routes, especially off-road. Ultimately, I will advocate for non-motorized traffic on canal roads. These efforts have not been successful in the past and have been hotly contested by the canal companies. Given this, I will wait until my 2nd term for this strategy. We have an improving public transportation system–Grand Valley Transit. I will advocate for its expansion so that we can limit reliance on cars in commuting between Grand Junction and neighboring cities.

Dennis Simpson
I think there are some common-sense options that are relatively inexpensive to address this issue. City Council has appointed a group of citizens to develop ideas and suggestions that have been de-railed before presentation to Council. Council should take the time to consider what this committee has to say.

What are additional priorities for you?

Rick Taggart
We need to continue to work closely with the Homeless Coalition to find ways to assist them in their work. There is presently a major project that Catholic Outreach is working on that Council has supported and we to continue to support the endeavor.

Abe Herman
I will have a strong focus on schools in our community. It’s one area where we’ve been lagging behind, and we need to improve our educational opportunities both for the young people and families that are already here, and to attract and retain the kinds of opportunities that will energize our local economy and better our community as a whole. We on City Council need to provide strong and vocal support for D-51, and do whatever we can to build on their efforts in bettering our local schools.

Randall Reitz
I have provided healthcare services in Spanish for 20 years. Grand Junction has a higher than average monolingual Spanish-speaking community that is under-served. I have made outreach to this community and community integration key points of my campaign. I’ve been campaigning in Spanish and hosting outreach events for the Latinx population. One of the messages that I hear most from these communities is how local business, school, and civic leaders lack any representation at the highest levels. We have a solid core of Latinx people in middle management, but we need leaders who will open space and provide mentorship to advance these people into higher levels of leadership. I want to ensure access to city resources and documents for those who speak Spanish as their first language, and work to elevate Latinx people to higher levels of leadership in our community.

Dennis Simpson
It will be very important that Council operates as a team and is able to have disagreement without animosity. I have observed and visited with Anna Stout and Chuck McDaniel. While we don’t agree on every issue, I am sure we will be able to communicate based on logic, not on emotion. As a retired CPA, I bring a strong financial background that I believe will allow Council to consider options for decision-making that may not be presented by the City Manager.