Ryan Schuchard has served nearly three years on Boulder City Council and is seeking a second term. His priorities include reducing the cost of living, improving bicycle access and street safety, strengthening climate resilience and making city government more efficient.
Schuchard has been endorsed by the Boulder Progressives for a second time. The group described him as a “climate leader” “who has championed reliable transit, wildfire protection, and workers’ wages.”
Schuchard generally votes with the council’s progressive bloc. He voted to raise Boulder’s minimum wage, supported preserving scheduled raises for tipped workers and opposes the city’s use of automated license plate readers without public consent. He also opposed creating a Downtown Development Authority that would have redirected future tax-revenue growth toward downtown investments. Schuchard was one of three councilmembers, along with Taishya Adams and former Councilmember Lauren Folkerts, who supported reconsidering Boulder’s investment policies to potentially exclude more weapons manufacturers amid residents’ calls for divestment over the war in Gaza.
Schuchard is well-liked by his fellow councilmembers. He has secured endorsements from every current councilmember except Adams, who has not endorsed any incumbent candidates, as well as former councilmembers Mark Wallach and Folkerts. His endorsers also include prominent Democrats such as U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and state Rep. Junie Joseph, as well as local environmental and progressive advocates.
Climate policy and transportation are central to Schuchard’s campaign and council record. Before joining the council, he served on Boulder’s Transportation Advisory Board, where he advocated for expanding the city’s protected bikeway network. On the council, he has pushed officials to accelerate street-safety projects, supported the Iris Avenue redesign and backed a transportation maintenance fee to fund streets, sidewalks, paths and bridges.
Bike access is such a consistent focus for Schuchard that he can seem to find a bicycle connection in almost any issue facing the council. He has linked housing and parking policies to reducing car dependence, framed safer bike infrastructure as both a climate strategy and a public-safety measure, and argued that city spending should make it easier for residents to travel without a car. His approach reflects his broader vision of Boulder as a place where driving is optional rather than necessary.
Schuchard is the founder of Moreworks, a consulting firm that works with local governments on transportation and climate policy. He began his career in 2002 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan. He later worked as associate director of climate and energy at Business for Social Responsibility, which advises businesses on sustainable practices. In 2015, he founded Innovative Mobility to advance transportation electrification in California.
Schuchard is originally from southern Oregon. He and his wife moved to Boulder in 2019 to live a “car-light lifestyle” near the Rocky Mountains. They have two daughters.
Occupation: Climate solutions consultant
Neighborhood: Old North Boulder
Rent or own?: Own
Age: 49
Endorsements: Boulder Progressives