Rachel Rose Isaacson is running for Boulder City Council with a focus on climate and wildfire resilience, housing affordability, effective government and support for local businesses. This is her second campaign for council after an unsuccessful run in 2025.
Isaacson is a barista at South Side Walnut Cafe and the youngest candidate in the race. If elected, she would become Boulder’s first Gen Z councilmember.
As a teenager, Isaacson helped then-Ohio state Rep. Michael Stinziano draft legislation that would have banned conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors. She graduated from Antioch College in 2019 and earned a master’s degree in public administration and leadership from Ohio State University in 2023.
Isaacson moved to Boulder that year, drawn by ties to family and friends and the city’s “strong environmental legacy.” She later served as treasurer for Aaron Gabriel Neyer’s 2025 city council campaign. She is also a pollinator ambassador with Cool Boulder and a member of Sierra Club Indian Peaks Group’s executive committee.
Isaacson opposes slowing scheduled wage increases for tipped workers. She argues that Boulder should address the challenges facing restaurants and other small businesses without shifting the burden onto employees. The current council did not advance a proposed slowdown, but the issue could return in 2027.
Isaacson was endorsed in 2025 by labor groups, including the Boulder Area Labor Council, and by New Era Colorado, an organization focused on young voters and candidates. This year, she received the Boulder Progressives’ endorsement for the first time.
“We’ve seen her work hard to engage with the community, and at Boulder Progressives, we do believe very strongly in the importance of supporting young people who are running for office,” said Lisa Sweeney-Miran, an executive board member of Boulder Progressives. “Her experience as a tip worker felt the most salient, given the amount of council time that’s been devoted to issues related to minimum wage, tipped work, small business, etc.”
Isaacson is also endorsed by state Sen. Judy Amabile and state Rep. Junie Joseph. She describes herself as neither a progressive nor a moderate but as a “public servant.”
“I tend to believe the best comprehensive, ‘win-win-win’ policy solutions get lost in the noise of overly divisive and overly ideological frameworks,” she told Boulder Reporting Lab.
Occupation: Barista
Neighborhood: Newlands
Rent or own?: Rent, in cooperative housing
Answers to questionnaire:
Affordable housing: Market-rate homes are out of reach for many teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters. What would you do to create more housing these middle-income residents can afford? What regulations, if any, would you change to lower the cost of building or renovating homes?
Boulder needs homes that teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and other working people can afford without leaving the community they serve. I would modernize our land-use code to allow more housing choices, including duplexes, cottage courts, ADUs, cooperatives, and smaller homes, especially near transit, jobs, and services. We should also use city-owned land and partnerships with nonprofit and mission-driven builders to create permanently affordable and middle-income housing.
Building costs matter. I would simplify conflicting land-use rules, make permitting requirements easier to understand, and set clearer review timelines. I would also make it easier to renovate or adapt existing buildings and add homes to underused commercial sites. Predictable rules can reduce delays and costs while maintaining standards for safety, accessibility, and environmental protection.
At the same time, new construction should not come at the expense of residents already struggling to stay. I would pair these changes with protections against displacement, preservation of existing lower-cost homes, and incentives for lasting affordability. My goal is a wider range of homes at a wider range of prices, so the people who keep Boulder running can build their lives here.
Homelessness: What is one approach Boulder has not tried, or has not tried at scale, to address homelessness that you would bring to the council, and how should the city pay for it?
I would work with Boulder County and neighboring municipalities to establish a 24-hour, low-barrier shelter with coordinated services. Boulder has shelter beds, but people need a safe place to be during the day, a consistent point of contact, and practical help moving into housing. A regional facility could offer case management, behavioral health care, help obtaining identification and benefits, and connections to employment and permanent housing. It should serve people with different needs, including families and young adults, rather than assuming one shelter model works for everyone.
The city should not carry the full cost alone. I would pursue a countywide funding agreement that reflects where people are served, alongside state and federal grants, Medicaid reimbursement for eligible services, and partnerships with health systems and nonprofits. Before committing funds, I would ask for a clear operating budget, measurable outcomes, and a plan to coordinate with existing providers so we build on their work.
Shelter is only one step. We also need rental assistance, eviction prevention, and faster placement into available affordable homes. But a reliable, all-day place to connect people with services would fill a critical gap and make those other efforts more effective.
Governance: Boulder is entering its third straight year of budget cuts while facing a roughly $400 million backlog of major facility needs. How do you assess the problem, and what specific spending, revenue or management changes would you support?
Boulder’s budget challenges reflect an economic downturn that has weakened sales tax revenue, alongside funding rules that dedicate much of our revenue to specific purposes. We also spent decades acquiring facilities—about 75 buildings—without adequately planning for their full life cycle costs. We cannot repeat this pattern.
My master’s degree in Public Administration and Leadership trained me in public budgeting and fiscal analysis. I would like to see the city bring the operating budget, capital plan, debt payments, and maintenance obligations together in a multiyear forecast residents can understand. Before issuing bond debt, Council should review project scopes and cost estimates, account for proceeds from surplus property sales, and stagger debt issuance where feasible to reduce the impact on households and businesses..
I strongly support an independent performance auditor who reports directly to Council and publishes findings publicly. The auditor could assess whether capital projects are justified and stay on budget, evaluate all city programs and services for clear outcomes and efficacy, and provide needed independent accountability. This will help rebuild trust in our community, help us correct problems early, improve services, make better spending decisions, and show residents what their money accomplishes.
Flock: Would you end Boulder’s use of automated license plate readers, yes or no? Why or why not?
Yes. No sanctuary city should rely on Flock or broad AI-enabled surveillance. I would ask the Police Department to identify the investigative needs these cameras meet and propose less intrusive ways to meet them. Any future surveillance proposal should require a public Council decision, evidence of its benefits, enforceable limits on access and sharing, independent audits, and meaningful community input. Our commitment to public safety must include the safety and trust of residents.
Wildfire: Should Boulder adopt an ordinance requiring owners of existing homes and homeowners associations in high-risk areas to harden their properties against wildfire, yes or no? If yes, what should it require?
Is the city doing enough to push Xcel Energy to prevent or limit wildfire-related power shutoffs? What more should it do?
Yes. Boulder should phase in wildfire hardening requirements for existing homes in the highest-risk areas. Current wildland-urban interface code requirements apply when property owners seek building permits; they do not, by themselves, address every existing home. I would start with property-specific assessments and practical measures: clearing combustible material immediately next to buildings, maintaining roofs and gutters, screening vents, and managing vegetation around homes and shared HOA property. Larger upgrades should have longer timelines, with rebates, grants, and hands-on help. We need to maximize our current support resources towards these highest risk areas as it’s the most equitable way of keeping our entire community safer from wildfire.
No, Boulder should push Xcel harder. Public safety power shutoffs may be necessary during extreme fire danger, but repeated, lengthy outages cannot become the standing solution. The city has begun a power reliability initiative; I would turn its findings into a public schedule of commitments from Xcel. That means pressing for targeted undergrounding where justified, stronger lines and equipment, more precise shutoffs, faster restoration, and clear advance notice. Council should bring residents’ and businesses’ documented impacts to the Public Utilities Commission while investing in backup power for critical facilities and neighborhood resilience hubs.
Local businesses and downtown: Many local businesses, especially downtown, are struggling with rising costs and stagnating sales. What city policy would you change to help businesses stay open and reduce commercial vacancies, and what would you do to bring more customers downtown?
I would make it easier and less expensive to put vacant spaces back to work. Business owners should not have to navigate an unpredictable permitting process to renovate a storefront, adapt an older building, or open a new use downtown. I would establish a single point of contact for small businesses, publish clear requirements and review timelines, and examine where fees or rules create unnecessary barriers to modest renovations and temporary uses. I would also explore incentives for property owners who activate long-vacant spaces, with clear public benefits and accountability.
Bringing customers downtown requires more than filling storefronts. More homes downtown and nearby would give local businesses a steadier customer base throughout the week. I would improve safe walking and biking connections, reliable transit, wayfinding, cleanliness, lighting, and welcoming public spaces. I would also work with businesses and arts organizations on events and cultural programming that give residents reasons to visit, while helping local businesses benefit from Sundance.
Downtown is an important source of sales-tax revenue, so its struggles affect the city budget as well as individual livelihoods. I would listen directly to owners and workers, track vacancies and permitting times, and adjust policies based on what is helping businesses stay open.
Closer: Imagine it is November 2027, one year after your election. What is one specific thing you will have accomplished?
By November 2027, we will have modernized Title 9 so we can make meaningful and measurable progress in expanding attainable housing including missing-middle and permanently affordable homes, while also strengthening the locally owned businesses, jobs, and community institutions that make Boulder feel like Boulder. Through thoughtful land-use reform, responsible budgeting, climate and wildfire resilience, and collaborative leadership, Boulder can address difficult challenges in ways that create multiple community benefits rather than simply shifting costs from one group to another. If more working families and businesses can realistically imagine a future for themselves here, I would consider that a term well spent.