Top three issues for Daisy Montgomery:
Safe, Affordable Neighborhoods: Plans to improve infrastructure to keep children safe in Northeast Fort Collins, increase accessibility for seniors, work with the community on affordable housing and increase resources for veterans.
Water Conservation and Clean Poudre River: Ensure that the river is free of pollutants, increase the number of community gardens and educate residents on xeriscaping programs for drought resistance and support for the Halligan Water project.
Small Businesses and Local Economy: Establish a revolving grant for small businesses, increase awareness of minority-owned businesses and create opportunities for these identities, improved accessibility for disabled people in Old Town, reevaluate the contact for Republic trash company
By Maximus Vogt
The Ramspondents
City Council candidate Daisy Montgomery will appear as one of three candidates for District 1 on the ballot this upcoming election with a campaign that focuses on practical solutions and uplifting underrepresented voices.
Fort Collins residents will cast votes for their city council and mayor on Nov. 4 in the new ranked-choice voting system. Montgomery’s campaign is centered around those she said are underrepresented in government: the working middle class, people with disabilities and veterans. She also advocates to fill gaps in safety infrastructure for District 1 and is small-business minded.
Montgomery introduces herself growing up in a “veteran working-class family” and said she understands the struggle of trying to make ends meet. She currently serves as a lead for the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce, sits on the board of directors for the Autism Society of Colorado and is a small business owner.
Montgomery said she was initially galvanized to run for City Council when she saw that non-profits who supported veterans and disabled people were struggling due to directives targeting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiates from the federal government.
Alignment with Fort Collins Strategic Plan
Transparency
The Fort Collins 2024 Strategic Plan includes initiatives towards transparency in local government. Montomery said she agreed transparency needs to be improved and said that the City’s recent survey to get public opinion on paid parking in Old Town Fort Collins seemingly came after a decision to do so. She said this measure could deeply impact those who make lower incomes.
“When you do things like that, it causes mistrust, but it also kind of smacks of not reading the room,” she said, adding that the plan for paid parking could also have unintended consequences for those with lower incomes.
“People are struggling right now with tariffs and everything that's going on economically; grocery prices have been going up, rents have been going up, property taxes, all those really add up,” Montgomery said. “So it might not be a big deal to someone who has a secure good job in government to say ‘we're going to charge five dollars or whatever it is for on-street parking in Old Town,’ but for someone who is struggling and who might use their Fridays to get an ice cream or go to The Cupboard and get some of their nice little specialty chocolates, suddenly you’ve taken the price of that one item and you've effectively doubled it.”
Environmental health
Montgomery said that some of her top initiatives focus on the health and cleanliness of the Poudre River and efforts to secure clean water for the future of Fort Collins through the Halligan Water Supply Project. This project would expand the capacity of the Halligan Reservoir, which Montgomery said would provide Fort Collins with enough water for the next 50 years.
“I think water and securing clean water for the long term, to me, is the most important environmental goal we can have,” Montgomery said.
Transportation, mobility and safety
Montgomery said that even though public transportation is free in Fort Collins, it is underutilized. Instead, she has been attending meetings about microtransit.
“I've gone to a lot of meetings, especially to serve the disabled and Spanish-speaking populations around microtransit, but we're still quite a ways away from that,” Montgomery said. “We're asking people which areas of the city really need transit, or would (they) prefer a bus route versus an Uber-like kind of vehicle to come pick you up; still very preliminary.”
Montgomery said that certain areas in District 1 lack bike paths, sidewalks and crosswalks entirely, jeopardizing the safety of pedestrians and children getting to school. She said she plans to lean heavy on increasing safety infrastructure.
Housing affordability
Montgomery said that she recognizes the affordable housing crisis in Fort Collins and that people often have to commute to work in the city but live outside of it in Greeley, Loveland or Timnath. She said that the city wants to have 10% subsidized affordable housing, but this is not a reality as the city would need an additional $40 million yearly.
“I think it’s really a damn shame that our teachers are doing some of the most important work, but they can't stay here to live,” she said
Montgomery stated that solutions lie in bringing more industry to Fort Collins like Biotech, which would provide local residents with “thriving wages.”
Economic Health
As Montogmery’s plan focuses on small businesses, she said that they can be a “powerhouse” to the local community. However, she said the city still creates barriers to entry for small businesses as the city’s environmental goals might inadvertently affect small businesses.
“For example, you have to update your entire building to meet green energy standards, but you have to do it in a very short time frame,” Montgomery said. “The average cost to do that is $500,000, and if you are a smaller business and you're just starting out and you don't have that capital, then your business is going to die.”
When the city makes plans to increase its revenue, Montgomery says that a major priority would be to first increase transparency for however the city decides to do this.
Montgomery is currently up against the incumbent candidate, Susan Gutowsky, and Chris Conway. More can be read on Montgomery on her website: https://www.daisyforfoco.com/.
Maximus Vogt is an art history major and journalism minor at CSU, active in fine art happenings on campus. He is interested in the intersection of art, community and news.