Aaron Brockett is seeking another term as Boulder’s mayor. He is running on what he describes as his record of expanding housing opportunities, addressing homelessness, strengthening climate resilience and confronting the city’s budget challenges.
Brockett has served as mayor since 2021, after serving six years as a councilmember. His fellow councilmembers selected him for the mayoral role in 2021, and in 2023 he narrowly won Boulder’s first direct mayoral election. If reelected, this would be his last term under city term limits.
Brockett has been endorsed by the Boulder Progressives and most of his fellow councilmembers. The exceptions are Taishya Adams, who is challenging him for mayor, and Rob Kaplan. His endorsers also include state Sen. Judy Amabile, state Rep. Junie Joseph and Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty.
Brockett is generally aligned with the council’s progressive majority, particularly on housing. During his tenure, the council loosened restrictions on accessory dwelling units, made it easier to build duplexes and triplexes, allowed more housing near downtown and along transit corridors, eliminated minimum parking requirements and repealed occupancy limits. Brockett wants to continue expanding “missing middle” housing and creating more neighborhoods where residents can meet their daily needs without driving.
His leadership style is rooted in trust in city staff and the council-manager form of government. Unlike challengers calling for a more assertive mayor, Brockett generally describes the role as guiding the council, presiding over meetings and building on work already underway.
That approach was tested during a turbulent council term. Meetings were repeatedly disrupted by protests over the war in Gaza, prompting Brockett to call at least 19 recesses. The council eventually shortened open comment, prioritized infrequent speakers and stopped showing public commenters during meeting broadcasts. Brockett has said he would have implemented those changes sooner. He also points with pride to council meetings ending earlier than they once did, arguing that councilmembers make better decisions when meetings do not stretch late into the night.
This year, the council also faced criticism for informally deciding to keep Boulder Municipal Airport open without first holding a public hearing. Brockett later said that, if given another opportunity, he would have scheduled a formal hearing and given councilmembers more time to discuss the issue at the outset.
Before becoming mayor, Brockett served on the Boulder Planning Board from 2011 to 2015, including two years as chair. He was elected to the city council in 2015. In 2022, Brockett unsuccessfully sought appointment to a vacant seat in the Colorado House of Representatives.
Brockett and his wife, Cherry Anderson, previously ran a software development firm together.
He grew up in Sewanee, Tennessee, and moved to Boulder in 2003. The couple lives in the Wild Sage cohousing community in North Boulder’s Holiday neighborhood and have two children.
Occupation: Mayor
Neighborhood: Holiday
Rent or own?: Own
Age: 53
Endorsers: Boulder Progressives