I’m running for city council because it’s really time to start thinking about the way our valley and the city as it looks, 10, 15, 25 years from now.”Simpson says 2B can’t be understood by simply reading it. “Being able to help with infrastructure costs makes perfect sense and is something we should be doing. “It’s an investment in city infrastructure that citizens have voted for before,” Kennedy said. Kennedy says that Grand Junction voters have supported improving the city’s system of elevated parkways, beltways and bypasses. “They want to build this road that nobody in this community has asked for,” Simpson said. Voters turned down a city request to approve financing for a new police station, but it was built anyway using Certificates of Participation, he said. Simpson says the city is too far in debt with voter-approved obligations and Certificates of Participation to take on more. “It’s a no-brainer.”īut the candidates part ways on Referendum 2B, which would finance construction of a beltway on the west side of town. “There’s nobody opposed to 2A in the whole city,” Simpson said. Referendum 2A would not raise taxes and would allow the city to directly or indirectly participate in providing high-speed Internet services to Grand Junction residents and businesses. “I think we can do things inside the existing budget.”īoth Simpson and Kennedy favor Referendum 2A, which would exempt Grand Junction from a legislative prohibition against cities offering municipal assets to public or private broadband providers. We’ve got to make Grand Junction an attractive location for anybody who’s thinking about relocating here,” Kennedy said. “I would like to work to have the downtown train station restored with Amtrak as the main tenant. Kennedy’s pet project would be the renovation of historic Union Station, the still-used train station in central Grand Junction. Kennedy emphasizes “quality of life” issues, citing the need for high-speed broadband Internet service, improved roads, parks and trails, and a recreation center. “We need to come together to find innovative ways to turn things around.” “Our local economy is not keeping up with the rest of the state,” he said. Simpson emphasizes the need for transparency, accountability and fiscal restraint at the municipal level.

KennedyKennedy has been endorsed by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, which has dubbed Simpson a “watchdog” keeping an eye on city and county government.īut regardless of the Sentinel’s endorsement, Simpson feels he needs to “work harder to get the word out to conservatives and Republicans.”

Gj sentinel endors