Councilmember Susie Hidalgo-Fahring said she is running for reelection because she has a lot more to get done on Longmont City Council.
Hidalgo-Fahring was elected to her first term on council representing Ward III — the northwestern part of the city — in 2019, so the pandemic colored much of her time on council and delayed several priorities.
“I feel like we’re making ground, but I feel like we have work that still needs to keep on,” she said.
Hidalgo-Fahring said she was most proud of the progress Longmont has made on housing over the last four years, from turning around the Longmont Housing Authority to setting up an attainable housing fund to target those who make too much to qualify for affordable housing but can’t compete at the market rate in Longmont.
The Zinnia project is another endeavor she highlighted, which is about to break ground and will provide trauma-informed wraparound services for the unhoused.
“That component is something I feel very proud of,” Hidalgo-Fahring said.
If reelected, she would have many priorities for the next term, but Hidalgo-Fahring felt that the most important would be supporting the city’s core services especially as many longtime staff members look at retirement.
On top of that, transportation with the newly approved Vision Zero, mental health and housing are topics Hidalgo-Fahring would like to focus on for the next four years.
“We need to focus on getting for-sale housing for people to start building their own equity,” she said.
Hidalgo-Fahring is the only candidate running for Ward III so far, according to the Longmont City Clerk. Other council seats up for the election this November include Ward I with two candidates already in the running, council-at-large with incumbent Sean McCoy running and mayor, with no candidates yet listed as running for the position.
Candidates will not be considered certified candidates until they have completed the nomination process, which includes collecting enough signatures during the petition process in August.
