The race for a seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents is shaping up to be one of the most competitive contests on Boulder-area ballots this year, and the outcome will help shape the future of Colorado’s largest university system.
The nine-member board oversees the University of Colorado’s budget, hires the university president and sets policy for its four campuses. Because no Republican candidate filed for the District 2 seat, the winner of the June 30 Democratic primary will become the next regent representing Boulder and much of northern Colorado, stretching west to Steamboat Springs.
Three candidates are competing for the seat: attorney Kubs Lalchandani, former state Rep. Edie Hooton and geospatial data scientist Murray Smith. The district includes Boulder and the rest of Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, represented by Rep. Joe Neguse.
Jump to the candidates’ profiles and questionnaire responses:
Edie Hooton • Murray Smith • Kubs Lalchandani
The candidates share many policy positions — each has said they would support collective bargaining for CU workers, having the university join a statewide defense compact against federal threats and ending the university’s contract with Key Lime Air over the company’s work with ICE.
However, the candidates are making distinct cases to voters.
Smith, 33, argues that his age and recent experience as a CU graduate would bring a fresh perspective to the board. He is also the only candidate endorsed by the unions pushing for collective bargaining at CU.
Hooton emphasizes her six years in the Colorado House of Representatives, highlighting her time as chair of the Capital Development Committee. She says that experience gives her a strong understanding of higher education policy and government budgeting and how to navigate state politics.
Lalchandani, a law firm partner, argues that his professional experience most closely mirrors the responsibilities of a regent. He says his background managing budgets, personnel and organizational strategy would prepare him to oversee a multibillion-dollar university system.
The race has exposed some unusual divisions within Boulder-area Democratic politics. Boulder County’s three commissioners have each endorsed a different candidate: Claire Levy backs Smith, Ashley Stolzmann backs Hooton, and Marta Loachamin has endorsed Lalchandani.
Lalchandani has also won endorsements from the Boulder Progressives and several Democratic state legislators outside Boulder. Hooton has drawn support from prominent local Democrats including state Sen. Judy Amabile, former Senate President Steve Fenberg, District Attorney Michael Dougherty and Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett. Smith has been endorsed by labor organizations advocating for collective bargaining at CU and by Boulder state Rep. Junie Joseph.
It is difficult to predict how the race will unfold. Democratic primary turnout in District 2 has ranged from roughly 90,000 to 170,000 voters over the past four election cycles. Because CU Boulder is the only University of Colorado campus located within the district, the race may resonate particularly strongly with Boulder voters.
At a March Boulder County Democratic Party straw poll, Lalchandani received about half of the vote. A subsequent assembly vote across the district was much closer, with Lalchandani receiving 39% and Hooton 37%. Smith did not participate in the caucus process and instead petitioned onto the ballot.
Campaign finance reports also show significant candidate and community investment in the race. Hooton has raised more than $75,000, about $40,000 of which she contributed herself. Lalchandani has raised just under $50,000 and loaned his campaign $15,000. Smith has raised more than $41,000, including more than $35,000 of his own money, largely to fund his petition effort.
Boulder Reporting Lab asked each candidate why voters should choose them and how they would approach issues likely to come before the Board of Regents, including artificial intelligence, student protests, collective bargaining and potential federal pressure on universities. The candidate profiles below include biographical information, campaign links and each candidate’s answers to Boulder Reporting Lab’s eight-question questionnaire.
Questionnaire: Questions we asked every candidate
Jump to candidate profiles:
Murray Smith • Kubs Lalchandani • Edie Hooton
- Personal background and qualifications: What is your personal connection to CU, why are you interested in serving on the Board of Regents, and what sets you apart from the other candidates in this race?
- Public education experience: Before running for regent, what have you done to support, strengthen or invest in public education?
- Leadership and governance experience: Regents are responsible for major policy, governance and budget decisions across the university system. What experience do you have making high-level organizational or financial decisions?
- Collective bargaining: Do you support collective bargaining rights for university employees, and would you vote in favor of them if they came before the board? Why or why not?
- Academic freedom and federal pressure: Would you support CU joining the proposed statewide defense compact against federal threats to academic freedom and university funding, as proposed by the Boulder Faculty Assembly? Why or why not?
- Key Lime Air and ICE contracts: In recent months, protesters have urged the CU Regents to end CU Boulder’s contract with Key Lime Air because of the company’s contracts with ICE to transport detainees. Would you support the regents ending that contract? Why or why not?
- Free speech and campus protests: How would you balance concerns about campus safety, harassment and hate speech with protections for free expression and political protest, and what role should the Board of Regents play in those decisions?
- Artificial intelligence: University leadership and the regents recently faced criticism over a $2 million partnership with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT access to students and staff. The board is now considering a broader AI policy framework. In your view, what should be the principles or priorities guiding CU’s approach to artificial intelligence?
