Article Contributed on: 10/9/2008 2:49:52 PM
Name: Ben Pearlman
Seat you are seeking: Boulder County Commissioner, District 2
Age: 41
Family: Parents Althea and Elihu Pearlman and grandmother Anne Goss
in Boulder; sister Eve Pearlman in California; brother Nathaniel
Pearlman in Washington, DC; three nieces and nephews
Occupation: Boulder County Commissioner; formerly lawyer and manager
for Boulder County's open space program
Hometown: Boulder
Your Web site: www.benforbouldercounty.org
Favorite local place to hang out: Oskar Blues in Lyons
What do you like most about living here?: Friendly, open people who
are concerned about their neighbors and their environment; easy
access to some of the most beautiful land in the country
Interests & hobbies: Soccer, racquetball, biking, the outdoors, clay
sculpture.
Favorite TV show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; The Office
Favorite Web site: www.fivethirtyeight.com for all the polling
information on political races around the country
People who inspired you (and how): Robin Hood, as a boy, followed by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez. I have always been inspired by people who dedicate their lives to making sure that everyone, regardless of how or where they were raised, has an equal chance at success. Equality of opportunity is what defines us as a people, and it takes a lot of work from a lot of people to get there.
How you have contributed to the community: I've spent most of my working life working on public issues. I've been a teacher, worked on political campaigns, for environmental organizations, and for our open space program. I think I understand what makes Boulder County a community that works. Here, the health of our local economy and our high quality of life are bound up with the beautiful natural setting we've been able to preserve and the open, tolerant society we've built. I've spent the last four years working to guide growth into cities to keep them strong, protect rural land and wildlife habitat, and add recreational trails. I've helped shore up our safety net by investing in local non-profits and programs that provide services to residents in their times of need. And I've worked to make county government more open, more able to respond to the good ideas of the public, and more focused on service to the public.
What are the biggest issues facing your constituency now:
We face many pressing issues - the tremendous increases in the cost
of energy, fuel, food, asphalt and other raw materials, the downturn in the economy, meeting our greenhouse gas reduction goals, and the mountain pine beetle epidemic, just to name a few.
We can't solve all of the problems at the local level, but there are many sensible steps we can take. For instance, we can't protect every tree from the pine beetle, but we can help landowners defend themselves against wildfire and dispose of infected trees. We can find places to accept and process slash and infected logs - and we can work to find end markets for logs, lumber, and wood chips so there is some financial gain to landowners. We may not be able to sidestep all of the impacts of the economic downturn, but we can recognize that good regional planning and less sprawl and less overbuilding has made our property values and our local economy much more stable than our neighbors. We can continue these efforts, and we can continue to steer urban growth into our cities and towns so they can remain the economic engines of the area and are better able to stay fiscally strong.