Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts, the youngest member of Boulder City Council, was honored by council and community members at her final council meeting on Nov. 20. Councilmembers shared personal stories and gratitude for Folkerts’ four years on council. Following a declaration recognizing her tenure, Folkerts received a standing ovation from the room.
Folkerts ran for reelection this year after serving one term, and lost her seat to Rob Kaplan.
Before being elected to council, Folkerts, an architect, served on the city’s Design Advisory Board. During her council tenure, she worked closely with city staff on major projects, including the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan and plans for Boulder Junction. Colleagues credited her technical expertise with shaping conversations around affordable housing, land-use barriers and climate-focused building standards.
She also chaired Boulder County’s minimum wage working group and represented the city on the county’s Regional Working Group on Homelessness, the Consortium of Cities and the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
Community members praised her influence during public comment.
“There is no one like you who can look at city planning and building code and understand so clearly what it means for our built environment and then take meaningful action to improve it,” said Laura Kaplan, a Boulder Planning Board member. “Countless code changes and plans with your stamp on them will carry on shaping Boulder.”
Boulder resident Lucy Carlson-Krakoff said she supported Folkerts because they shared values of “compassion, anti-poverty, and [an] Elizabeth Warren-style plan for government.”
Councilmembers shared their own tributes. Tara Winer said Folkerts pushed her to “see perspectives I wouldn’t normally see.” Ryan Schuhard called her his “favorite,” noting that his 9-year-old daughter once shaved half her head to match Folkerts’ hairstyle. Matt Benjamin said he would miss biking home with her after late meetings. Nicole Speer, her closest friend and ally on council, read aloud Sylvia Plath’s poem “Mushrooms,” calling Folkerts a “transformative woman whose brave career epitomizes that what we do for the time we have matters far more than the length of our tenure.”
State Rep. Junie Joseph visited chambers to commend Folkerts’ advocacy at the state level, calling her a “tireless advocate for Boulder’s working class” and praising her work on renters’ protections, minimum wage, accessible housing and environmental justice.
Folkerts’ parting remarks were emotional.
“These aren’t abstract political debates,” she told the council. “There are real harms affecting the people who live in our community and who depend on you. You are the last line of defense.”
She paused as she struggled not to cry.
“The votes cast in this room shape whether someone has a roof over their head, whether they feel safe walking, biking or driving down the street, and whether they believe that this city is a place where they still belong,” she said. “As I step off this council, I do so with immense gratitude and concern, but also hope.”
A minor quibble: It’s inaccurate to write she “lost her seat to Rob Kaplan.” Our local council elections have a certain number of open seats, not head-to-head matchups.
In this case Folkerts came in fifth, and lost equally as much to all of the candidates that finished in the top four: Benjamin, Kaplan, Speer and Wallach. This was by no means an adversarial contest between any two candidates.
Folkerts was sixth, actually, Robins was fifth