Aquiles La Grave entered Boulder’s mayoral race as a political newcomer promising to challenge city leadership. He has attracted support from voters frustrated with city government and raised more money than any other candidate.
But with Election Day fast approaching, his confrontational campaign is drawing criticism from across Boulder’s political spectrum, including from early supporters and moderates who share some of his concerns about city policy. His attacks on incumbent Mayor Aaron Brockett and other city officials have drawn particular scrutiny.
Councilmember Rob Kaplan, a moderate, initially supported La Grave, advising him, attending early campaign events and donating to his campaign. He later withdrew his support, citing what he described as La Grave’s misleading statements, confrontational tone and failure to build relationships with city officials.
“At the end of the day, criticizing from the sidelines and leaning on these long-winded narratives is easy,” Kaplan said. “The real work is building productive relationships with the key players who actually keep the city running, which are the city manager, the attorney, the staff, and the rest of council.” Kaplan has since endorsed Brockett.
Former Councilmember Mark Wallach, a moderate who has frequently disagreed with Brockett on city policy, described La Grave as trying to ride a “wave of discontent” into office.
“It’s a strange election,” Wallach said. “It’s not progressives versus moderates. It’s people who are trying to tap into the anger, and people who are not.”
La Grave sees his approach differently. He has framed his campaign as a challenge to the “established political order” and defends his criticism as legitimate scrutiny of Brockett’s leadership and the city’s performance. He and his supporters argue that his critics are applying a double standard, pointing to inflammatory tactics used by progressive political groups and organizers in past elections.
Six candidates are running for mayor, including Brockett, La Grave and Councilmember Taishya Adams. CU student Jamo Goldstein, Michael Smith, known as Grateful Fred, and Lisa Ann Jacobs are also running.
For more on the mayoral candidates’ policy positions, including their responses to Boulder Reporting Lab’s candidate questionnaire, see our 2026 voter guide.
A confrontational campaign
Brockett said La Grave invited him for a beer at the Hungry Toad early in the campaign. The two agreed to run positive campaigns, Brockett said.
“I’ve been disappointed that that is not, in fact, how things have worked out,” he said.
La Grave’s criticism has focused heavily on Brockett’s leadership, city spending and the performance of the city manager, echoing frustrations among some Boulder residents who want change. But some of his campaign tactics have also become a subject of debate.
In a recent video with a fraternity influencer, La Grave called Brockett “fucking milquetoast.” He has repeatedly referred to the city’s Alpine-Balsam redevelopment as “Brockett’s Ballroom,” even though the project does not include a ballroom and has been advanced by several councils over more than a decade.
La Grave also released a boxing game featuring caricatures of the mayoral candidates fighting over policy questions. Brockett and Councilmember Nicole Speer criticized the game, with Speer describing the portrayal of Adams as a racist caricature. La Grave later removed Adams from the game.
An allegation contradicted by police
In an Oct. 25 video, La Grave alleged that Brockett supporters had vandalized his property “for the entire length of his campaign,” including pulling out yard signs, flattening his car tires and knocking out his taillight. He said the incidents were “making a family feel unsafe in their own home.”
“They [the police] even took out a couple of kids wearing ski masks from my bushes a couple of weeks ago,” La Grave told the camera.
Police Chief Steve Redfearn said in an email verified by Boulder Reporting Lab that the children La Grave referenced were “ding dong ditching” and “turned out to be unrelated to anything involving the La Graves.”
Boulder Reporting Lab requested police reports concerning the alleged damage to La Grave’s car and other reported incidents but had not received them by publication. Police said they are investigating an Oct. 25 report of damaged lawn signs.
La Grave declined to comment on what evidence he had that Brockett’s supporters were behind the damage, instead directing Boulder Reporting Lab to his online statements
Brockett issued a statement condemning the alleged vandalism. “Hopefully whoever was responsible will be found and held accountable,” he said.
Other disputes have centered on the accuracy of La Grave’s claims about city government.
He has asserted that a city dashboard shows 70% to 75% of city initiatives are failing, though the city reports that all tracked initiatives are on schedule. He has used the claim to criticize the city manager’s performance and compensation.
“What are we communicating as leaders when we see that failure rate, but you get a raise?” La Grave said on a podcast. “Great job. Fail harder.”
In social media posts, La Grave took responsibility for “letting a word of profanity slip” in his interview with the fraternity influencer. He also defended the “Brockett’s Ballroom” nickname, saying Brockett voted for the project repeatedly and should be held accountable.
La Grave argued that “sharp elbows did not arrive with me,” citing Boulder’s first mayoral race, when the New York-based Working Families Party mailed voters a photo of former Boulder City Councilmember Bob Yates in front of Jan. 6 rioters.
He also pointed to an incident in which former state Rep. Edie Hooton’s campaign for CU regent impersonated a CU parent. La Grave was among the most vocal critics of the campaign’s conduct.
‘Not a popularity contest’
Several candidates endorsed Brockett early, citing his council experience. La Grave has not served on council. The campaign disputes have further complicated Boulder’s traditional political alliances.
In the last mayoral election, endorsements largely followed progressive and moderate lines. This year, Brockett has won support from moderates who backed his opponent Bob Yates, including Yates himself.
Every sitting councilmember except Adams has endorsed Brockett.
Kaplan, a former fire captain, said a tipping point came when La Grave described himself at a candidate forum as a “coauthor of the plan” on the city’s approach to dealing with wildfires.
“That was a completely misleading statement,” Kaplan said.
La Grave is one of six authors of a three-page wildfire white paper published by the moderate political group Open Boulder. He was not involved in developing the city’s much longer wildfire planning documents, which were crafted by city staff and consultants.
Wallach, who endorsed Brockett early, became publicly critical of La Grave on Oct. 20, when La Grave sent a campaign newsletter featuring Wallach’s image and a subhead reading, “Former Councilmember Mark Wallach shares my calls for reform of City Council procedures.”
Wallach objected to what he considered an attempt to imply his endorsement, comparing La Grave’s conduct to Trump’s. La Grave objected to the comparison.
La Grave has built support outside Boulder’s traditional political networks, winning endorsements from prominent business owners and PLAN-Boulder County, a once-dominant force in Boulder politics. He also has the support of tech entrepreneur and investor Dan Caruso, who has spent $16,000 on the local election, and several former councilmembers, including Jan Burton, who chairs Open Boulder.
“A guy like Aquiles is bringing up a lot of topics that are usually tiptoed around,” Burton said. “He’s asking for change, and a lot of people aren’t comfortable with change, so it brings up a bit of a crisis, and then they react to that.”
La Grave has also earned the support of a fraternity influencer who says he will “end the war” on Greek life. Caruso recently spent about $2,800 on food and music for a “Vote for Your Right to Party” event.
Former Councilmember Lisa Morzel, who endorsed La Grave, said the criticism of his campaign is politically motivated and argued that voters should judge candidates on leadership and their plan for the city’s financial future, not personal relationships.
“A huge challenge is convincing the electorate that the council election is NOT a popularity contest,” she wrote. Instead, she said, the election is about “effective leadership.”
In Boulder, the mayor has just one vote on the nine-member city council and relies on other councilmembers to advance policy.
Speer said La Grave’s criticism of councilmembers, the city manager and other city staff could make it difficult for him to govern if elected.
“If you’ve just spent most of this year trashing staff, trashing the current council, you haven’t really set yourself up for success,” she said.
Burton countered that councilmembers often put aside campaign differences and work together once the election is over.
Yates, meanwhile, said Brockett’s ability to work with colleagues was central to his endorsement.
“He understands the job, he respects the people he will work with, and he can help councilmembers with different perspectives move Boulder forward,” Yates said. “That’s what the job of mayor is all about. I believe that no other candidate for mayor can deliver this.”
