Our Policy Committee continues to meet regularly with local and state leaders to ensure the business community is part of important policy conversations. We recently welcomed Mayor Hidalgo-Fahring to our February 6 meeting, and we look forward to hosting Council Member Matthew Popkin in March for an update on the Urban Renewal Authority, along with new Council Member Crystal Prieto at an upcoming session. These conversations help keep business perspectives at the table as decisions are being shaped.

At the state level, the Chamber expanded its advocacy work this year by contracting with Jordan Sanchez of Sanchez Policy Works as our lobbyist and policy advocate. As announced in our recent press release, Jordan is working daily at the State Capitol during the legislative session, representing Longmont businesses and collaborating with partners such as C3 (Denver Chamber), the Colorado Chamber, and the Northwest Chamber Alliance. This coordinated approach reflects direct feedback from members who asked for stronger advocacy and gives Longmont a more consistent, active voice in policy discussions than we have had in the past. In addition, Jordan reviews the City of Longmont’s weekly City Council agendas so the Chamber can identify emerging issues early and engage proactively.

During each Policy Committee meeting, Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader joins us to help identify where the City and Chamber can align on policy positions at the state level and to review City Council actions. This creates an opportunity for Chamber members to provide input before decisions are finalized and allows the Chamber to advocate when local actions impact the business community.

The Policy Committee has already reviewed a range of legislation this session, including bills focused on workforce policy, housing, consumer protection, taxes, energy affordability, and economic development incentives. We will also review broader issues such as the proposed ballot initiative related to Pinnacol Assurance and its potential move toward privatization. Members who want to see the full legislative tracker, follow the specific bills under review, or better understand where the Chamber is engaging can visit LongmontChamber.org/advocacy for updates and resources.

Throughout our listening tour in 2025 and ongoing conversations, businesses continue to raise concerns about increased regulation and rising costs, and they want the Chamber to be actively engaged at both the local and state levels. The Chamber has made investments to do just that and I invite you to check in on our work and to attend or consider joining the Public Policy Committee. Meetings are 8a-9:30am on the first Friday of the month. In the March meeting, we will hear from the Urban Renewal Authority and bills related to renewable energy.

– Scott Cook, CEO Longmont Chamber

At the October 28 City Council meeting, Mayor Peck made a motion amended by Councilmember Hidalgo-Fahring and seconded by Councilmember Crist to “pause taking any action on minimum wage as this Council.” The motion passed unanimously.

With this decision, the current Council which adjourns on December 2, 2025, when the new Council is sworn in has formally paused further consideration of a local minimum wage increase. Under state law, any future change to local minimum wage must take effect on January 1 of the following year, meaning there will be no local minimum wage increase in 2026 based on the current meeting schedule.

This outcome follows months of dialogue and collaboration across the community. The Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce, along with the Longmont Downtown Development Authority (LDDA), Longmont Economic Development Partnership (LEDP), and other partners, worked closely with City Council and staff to ensure that business voices were fully represented throughout the process.

The Chamber held dozens of meetings with business owners, City Council members, and staff to understand the potential impacts of a wage increase. Together with the City, we co-hosted focus groups and the Fishbowl community event, designed to bring transparency and open conversation with both employers and employees to the issue.

Local business owners voiced concerns about the timing and scale of a potential increase, emphasizing the challenges of inflation, workforce retention, and operational costs. Those concerns were heard, and we appreciate the Council’s willingness to take a measured, informed approach.

The Chamber and our members also recognize the importance of supporting employees and their long-term success. We share the community’s goal of prosperity for all, a goal that begins with creating and sustaining entry-level jobs that teach, train, and open pathways to advancement. We want Longmont to remain a place where people can start their careers, build skills, and steadily move upward while earning more over time. Achieving that requires balance: supporting businesses that create opportunities and ensuring employees have access to growth, education, and apprenticeship programs.

I want to thank the City of Longmont and Assistant City Manager Sandi Seader for its collaborative approach and our partners at LDDA, LEDP, and our many members both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors who engaged constructively and respectfully in this process.

– Scott Cook, CEO Longmont Chamber

Dear Member,

On our website, we have compiled City Council Candidate answers to questions sent to them by our Public Policy Committee.  The questions are a combination of the Policy Members’ input and questions submitted by membership and the larger community.  Before completing your ballot, I hope you will take time to review the candidates’ answers.

I’ve been asked why the Chamber did not host a candidate debate or forum. We found in 2023, when we first moved from a debate event to this online Q&A model, we were able to reach far more voters, thousands actually, instead of hundreds! In addition, candidates have an opportunity to give more detailed and thoughtful answers, which in turn, helps you the voter get to know them better.   We love doing events at the Chamber; but I believe this model works better within the Chamber’s mission.

When I vote this year, I’ll be keeping in mind a Chamber belief that business is foundational to a great community. But it’s not just having businesses in your community- they need to be thriving businesses.  In the many minimum wage conversations I’ve been in recently, I heard a comment to a business owner, “…at what point does a minimum wage increase actually make you close your business or move it?”  While I understand what I believe to be the intent of this question- the desire to balance the needs of workers and business, I question the mindset from which it is asked. We should not expect or settle for a community where the small business owner is pushed to the very edge of closing or moving shop by burdensome regulation. In this scenario, life and each work day will be difficult for both the employer and employee. Instead, let’s remember that lives are improved with increasing prosperity. For many, the path to prosperity starts with good jobs at all levels and good jobs come from healthy employers that have the confidence to grow and innovate.

In another meeting, a small business owner asked about the bookkeeping services of another local small business owner. The question wasn’t for herself but rather her employee who was just starting their own business. I thought about that for a bit in light of the minimum wage conversation. This is a natural progression of business growth, an employer hires someone, teaches them a trade or how to run a business and that employee leaves to start another business. Their absence leaves an opportunity for the next person to enter the workforce and the cycle begins again. This cycle and the training employers provide has been discussed over and over in the minimum wage conversations. It is just one reason strong businesses are foundational to a community. When you walk into a small business, you’re not walking into just a restaurant or bookshop or an autoshop; you’re walking into an owner’s dream, their life savings and investment. You’re also walking into a place where valuable lessons of business education and apprenticeship are taking place.

In the candidate questions, you’ll see that we certainly ask about minimum wage, but other topics too. In Longmont, we value businesses of all sizes and see them as foundational to our community. I encourage you to remember this as you review the candidates’ answers and complete your ballot.

– Scott Cook, CEO Longmont Chamber