A 50-year resident of Longmont said as mayor he will work harder to develop middle-class housing in the city and oppose recent proposals he thinks are being pushed by liberal members of the city council.
Greg Harris admits he is an underdog in the mayoral race because the two other candidates - Tim Waters and Joan Peck - are members of the city council. Still, “I’m the only candidate who is prepared to make major changes in the way things are done,” said Harris via email.
Harris said he is a property management and construction executive. He decided to make this his first run for political office because “I’m tired of watching things be done the same old way,” Harris said.
“We can’t continue to do things the same way. I want to improve the lives of the people in Longmont,” Harris said.
As mayor, he said, he would provide the leadership necessary to move projects along. “It’s time for actions, not words, especially with respect to middle class housing,” Harris said.
One of the biggest issues facing Longmont is the lack of “workforce-attainable housing - homes in the price range of people who earn between 80-120% of the median area income,” Harris said. “This is a huge barrier for prospective Longmont employees.”
The city should be as focused on workforce attainable housing as it is on “truly affordable housing,” he said.
Longmont should also get its fair share of the proposed federal infrastructure legislation, Harris said. He also opposes any “defunding” the police proposals as well as the healthy beverage ordinance being considered by the city council.
The ordinance would require Longmont restaurants to have only healthy beverage options on their childrens’ menus. A parent can still order anything from the children’s menu for their children if they choose, according to the ordinance.
Harris said in his email that Longmont instead should rely on “Better education and not forcing government mandates on people.”
Harris said the healthy beverage ordinance is one example of the city council moving too far left in its policies and positions. Another is the city council’s move to get annual reports on projects that have not been completed and the reasons, Harris said.
Harris said “the left bloc” on the council amended the motion to have it only apply to affordable housing, not middle-class (attainable) housing, and not commercial developments, he said.
He did not identify the members of the council he considered part of the left bloc. The housing proposal came up during a study session of the council about inclusionary housing issues in Longmont.
The motion that gained council backing during the work session said that for residential affordable housing projects on the active development log for over a year - and as a result of a conflict between the city's Land Development Code and the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance - the council wants to know about it, said Kathy Fedler's, the city's Housing and Community Investment Division Manager, in an email.
