Editor’s Note: The Boulder City Council has six of its nine seats up for grabs this fall. We’ll be recording short podcasts with each official candidate to help explore their perspectives and philosophies to help Boulderites make informed decisions when they go to the polls on Nov. 5 (or mail in their ballots). First up, Bob Yates, who’s running for reelection after four years on the council.
Boulder has six of nine city council seats available this fall. Elected to the council in 2015, Bob Yates, 58, a retired lawyer with executive and finance experience, is seeking reelection this November.
Eight years ago, at age 50, Bob retired from his leadership position at Broomfield-based telecommunications company Level 3 Communications (CenturyLink acquired Level 3 in 2016) to dedicate himself to serving the Boulder community.
Since then, Bob has served as chairman of the Boulder Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, as president of the Boulder History Museum, treasurer of the Colorado Chautauqua Association and more positions. He’s currently chairman of the museum of Boulder Capital Campaign, among other positions.
In 2015, he ran for city council and won a seat. He’s seeking reelection this year.
In this conversation with Bob, we discuss why he’s running again for a council seat, some of the issues he feels are most pressing about Boulder right now and what he brings to the table as a councilmember.
We talked about some of the chief issues facing Boulder, namely the city’s municipalization effort — and why he thinks the city should chart another course — and housing affordability.
With a legal, finance and business background, Bob describes himself as a fiscal conservative. And he’s very transparent. The first Monday of every month he publishes a rundown of city council actions and the thinking behind his views.
Enjoy the podcast with him below and stay tuned for more with city council candidates in the coming months.
Raucous Caucus launches Boulder’s city council election season
