Sam Fuqua is a former Boulder Valley school board president running for Boulder City Council with a focus on affordable housing for families, transparent government, climate resilience, infrastructure and arts and culture.
Fuqua spent 22 years at KGNU, serving as news director and station manager. He later became executive director of Pop Culture Classroom, a literacy and arts nonprofit. Since 2013, he has worked as a freelance audio reporter and producer, including for NPR and KGNU. He also co-hosts “Well, That Went Sideway,” a podcast about communicating productively across differences, particularly on politics and social justice.
Fuqua served on the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education from 2011 to 2019, including two years as president. He was a Boulder Library commissioner from 2007 to 2012 and served on the Boulder Public Library District Board of Trustees from 2023 to 2025. He also served on the Boulder County Cultural Council from 2021 to 2024, helping review grant proposals and recommend arts funding.
Fuqua said his experience as a journalist and elected official taught him the value of transparent decision-making and hearing multiple perspectives.
Fuqua is endorsed by the Boulder Progressives, which cited his record of public service. His endorsers also include fellow candidates Jill Grano and Councilmember Tina Marquis, state Rep. Lesley Smith and state Board of Education member Kathy Gebhardt. Fuqua describes himself as progressive and pragmatic.
Fuqua moved from Minnesota to Boulder in 1991 to become KGNU’s news director. His family lived for eight years in the Boulder Meadows Mobile Home Park before buying a townhome in North Boulder’s Holiday neighborhood, where he and his wife raised three children and still live.
Fuqua has said access to affordable housing allowed his family to remain in Boulder, build a life and become involved in the community. “It’s at the heart of why affordable housing is my top priority,” he wrote on his website.
Occupation: Audio producer and podcast host
Neighborhood: North Boulder
Rent or own?: Own
Age: 62
Endorsers: Boulder Progressives