Did you know that RTD is governed by a 15-member board of directors that are publicly elected? If you live in Boulder, Niwot, Superior, or Louisville, or anywhere in Boulder County west of Boulder then you probably live in RTD Director District O. Elections for these positions are often uncontested and sleepy affairs with little attention given to them. However, this year we have the good fortune of having two excellent candidates campaigning for your vote. The two candidates are Audrey DeBarros, who is the executive director of Communing Solutions a regional transportation management organization that serves the Northwest Metro Area including Boulder and Jack Rosenthal who is a daily RTD rider and a data driven technologist. On Monday, July 27th, Better Boulder in partnership with Community Cycles hosted a live candidate forum for RTD Director District O featuring both candidates. The forum began with opening statements from both candidates which was followed by Q&A on a variety of RTD related topics. Please note that Community Cycles as a 501c3 does not endorse candidates. Better Boulder, on the other hand, is a 501c6 and frequently endorses candidates and ballot measures. However, at the time of this forum and subsequent release of this episode, Better Boulder has not endorsed either candidate. Please visit betterboulder.com later this fall for a complete list of endorsed candidates and ballot measures. Sue Prant who was featured on this podcast in episode 2 was the MC for the evening and read the questions. The first part of the forum featured prepared questions that the candidates were provided ahead of time and the second part of the forum feature questions submitted by audience members. We hope you enjoy this live recording of the RTD Director District O candidate forum.

• (00:02:26) - Opening statement - Audrey
• (00:07:01) - Opening statement - Jack
• (00:10:59) - Top 5 problems question - Audrey
• (00:14:00) - Top 5 problems question - Jack
• (00:16:42) - Board culture change question - Jack
• (00:18:30) - Board culture change question - Audrey
• (00:21:32) - General manager qualities question - Jack
• (00:23:33) - General manager qualities question - Audrey
• (00:25:42) - Bus stop accessibility and placemaking question - Audrey
• (00:28:35) - Bus stop accessibility and placemaking question - Jack
• (00:31:06) - Ridership recovery question - Audrey
• (00:34:28) - Ridership recovery question - Jack
• (00:36:30) - Bus electrification - Jack
• (00:38:47) - Bus electrification - Audrey
• (00:41:36) - Part 2
• (00:42:18) - Best book on transit question - Audrey
• (00:42:37) - Best book on transit question - Jack
• (00:43:12) - Budget cuts question - Audrey
• (00:44:20) - Budget cuts question - Jack
• (00:45:43) - Paratransit challenges question - Jack
• (00:48:04) - Paratransit challenges question - Audrey
• (00:49:55) - Bus and bike shelters question - Audrey
• (00:51:50) - Bus and bike shelters question - Jack
• (00:54:18) - District O focus question - Audrey
• (00:55:46) - District O focus question - Jack
• (00:57:55) - Closing remarks - Audrey
• (00:59:24) - Closing remarks - Jack