Don’t Play Politics With Our Collective Economic Future

Originally published by BizWest, August 3, 2026. 

This has gotten political … but playing politics with something as important as our collective economic future is irresponsible and dangerous.

For the past two years, Boulder City Council and the public have wrestled with the benefits and risks of forming a downtown development authority. City Council has received multiple public updates on the DDA review findings. They’ve asked questions, they’ve guided the public process, and on Thursday they are set to decide if our community should take the next step forward in forming the DDA for Downtown Boulder and University Hill.

Yet, amidst the din of election year politics, we now confront a fact-bending smoke screen unlike anything I’ve experienced in my 34 years of toil on the local policy front. The smoke is so thick, and is emanating at such a rapid rate, that it’s begun to resemble the cable-news outrage cycle, where volume substitutes for evidence and provocation crowds out perspective. Couple that with the threat of retribution at the election ballot box, and you have the recipe for a decision based on politics, not the best interest of our local businesses, economy and community.

City Councilmembers will need to test their intestinal fortitude for political leadership in the face of such an onslaught. The best the Boulder Chamber and Downtown Boulder (and the diversity of small, medium and large businesses our organizations represent) can do is share the facts, refute the misrepresentations, and offer appreciation to City Council when it stands with us against those who are making political sport of such a pivotal policy decision.

In my limited space, let me first correct the record on the more outlandish myths opponents have deployed against the proposed DDA.

Myth: The DDA will steal from open space

A recent editorial states, “The DDA will take funding from open space and other City priorities.” Apparently, the individuals propagating this myth are failing to notice that sales and property tax revenue across the downtown development authority zone has been trending steadily downward. Thus, absent a DDA and the investments it will make in revenue generating initiatives, the irony is that all taxing entities and set-aside programs will lose funding. Put another way, everything from open space programs to libraries and our school district will experience significant revenue enhancement from the success of our DDA.

Myth: Only rich property owners benefit

Plain and simple, all businesses benefit from a DDA. The goal of any action the DDA takes will be to draw more commercial activity, office users and foot traffic to University Hill and Pearl Street. This can include investments that accommodate additional arts and culture programming. Or maybe a local retailer needs funding to improve their façade. There are endless strategies for supporting small businesses that a DDA can pursue, and what our DDA pursues will largely be governed by small-business interests, given their heavy presence in the DDA zone.

Myth: Business interest will have unfettered control

We’ve responded to this phantom issue so many times, I wonder if the opponents really believe it, or if they are just fixated on the effectiveness of this as a boogeyman. As their argument goes, a “DDA with significant TIF resources can make major real estate decisions that may not align with broader community priorities, with limited mechanisms for public accountability.” City Council will have the final say on the proposed DDA’s budget, its plan of work and any development activities. Full Stop.

If you want to take a deeper dive into the workings of a DDA and factual responses to more of the smokescreen fears the opponents are stoking, I urge you to visit the city’s Downtown Development Authority Formation Project website.

With all the negative clamor, why are so many business leaders, residents and city officials sticking their necks out in support of the proposed DDA? Because DDA’s are a proven tool for revitalizing distressed urban zones. Just ask Fort Collins, Longmont and myriad other local communities that successfully deployed their own DDAs and reauthorized them once their initial terms expired.

We only need to look at Boulder’s downtown as an example. Nearly 50 years ago, Downtown Boulder was in a world of hurt. Crossroads Mall had opened to the east and retail commercial traffic was chasing the new shiny object. Just as today, Pearl Street was a struggling zone with deeply diminished private investment and business activity.

What did our community do about it?

We invested in the future vision of a pedestrian mall that transformed Pearl Street. That investment induced additional private investment, leading to the restoration of such iconic institutions as the Hotel Boulderado to their former glory. Aside from important additional sales tax generation, the Pearl Street walking mall would come to define our community’s character and serve as a catalyst for our collective economic vitality.

Yes, I’m aware we are in an election season likely to feature a battle over who gets to claim the mantle of “progressive.” The DDA should not become another political litmus test in that contest. Last week, businesses and workers disagreed before City Council over the minimum wage increase, but they agreed on something important: Local businesses need help. That’s what the DDA is all about: bold progressive action to meet the challenges of today in support of our collective economic future, and we need it now!

I ask City Council to see through the smokescreen, lower the political temperature, and place the DDA on the ballot so it can be judged on its merits, not as a proxy for Boulder’s political divisions. That is the right decision for our local businesses, our economy and our community.