Polly Christensen held a spot on the Longmont City Council for two terms and now is ready to run for Boulder County Commissioner.
Christensen is running to represent District 2 which includes Longmont, Lyons, Hygiene and rural northern Boulder County.
In her eight years on Longmont City Council, Christensen initiated both the Affordable Housing (Inclusionary Housing) Ordinance and the Sustainability Plan. She increased funding for early childhood education, defense of Longmont’s fracking ban and upholding Longmont’s Fair Campaign Act. Christensen initiated several community summits and forums to address the surge in threats and hatred targeting DACA people, recent immigrants, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Muslims, Jews and women following the 2016 elections. Christensen advocated for greater gun violence prevention laws. Additionally, Christensen helped bring Costco and Smuckers to Longmont, creating hundreds of jobs for the residents of Boulder and Weld counties.
Christensen is running against incumbent Marta Loachamin for the office. She said several Boulder County residents asked her to run for the office, “seeking better representation,” she said.
Christensen is the daughter of an immigrant. Her family hails from seven generations of farmers. Christensen spent several decades in trade and educational publishing and has run a successful business for almost a decade.
“Christensen has a keen appreciation for the challenges and triumphs of small businesses in Boulder County,” a news release states.
Christensen began her term on Longmont City Council assisting with flood recovery. At the end of her tenure, she and the council faced new crisis challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.
As commissioner, Christensen sees an opportunity to address new challenges within Boulder County. Her top three priorities include affordable housing, addressing issues facing agriculture and open space and transportation.
Christensen said there are more than 600 students in the St. Vrain Valley School District experiencing homelessness, most of whose families are simply unable to afford housing in the area. She believes that affordable housing can be increased as long as people are willing to create policies to improve affordability.
As the granddaughter of a farmer, Christensen understands the challenges of the agricultural industry. She has spoken with several local farmers and learned that they struggle with farming Boulder County open spaces because they are not allowed to live on the land or erect buildings. This requires them to transport their equipment several miles daily. This not only creates a problem for local farmers but for traffic in the area.
Christensen has lived in Longmont for 33 years. She has worked on getting the FasTracks train to Longmont in the past but is tired of waiting. She proposes getting Longmont and other areas of Boulder County out of the contract that has taxed residents millions of dollars for a train system that still has not come. She is in support of finding other options to bring a train to the region as well as improving local transportation, especially to rural areas of the county, she said.
“I have a very varied background. I have empathy for everybody and I have been working since I was 11 and I am the daughter of an immigrant, so I listen to everybody … We are all stronger if we listen to each other and treat each other with respect,” Christensen said.
