Longmont city council candidate Richard Juday's campaign appears to be right out of the Boulder playbook. But even he admits to settling here because Longmont is "affordable compared to Boulder."

What makes Longmont a more affordable, nationally acclaimed community is the work of a long line of conscientious city council majorities who actually practiced the art of "smart growth" and "sustainable growth," instead of yakking about it. How else was the necessary infrastructure for expansion (water, sanitation, power) carefully put in place so that additional people like Juday and his progressives could move here?

Conversely, Boulder's heavy-handed no-growth, over-regulation policies have driven families-and businesses--out of Boulder. Louisville, Lafayette, Superior and Longmont have profited. Boulder rejected big-box stores, so they fled to nearby cities where the increased sales-tax revenues help fund amenities such as libraries and recreation centers. Seeing its mistake, Boulder finally let in one big-box, and now wants these cities to share their sales-tax revenues. Clever indeed.

On his Web site, Juday complains he "shamefacedly" has to buy lumber and screws at Longmont's Home Depot because it's too far to drive to McGuckin's. Since he hates big-boxes so much, he could easily patronize Longmont's downtown Budget Home Centers or Ace Hardware.

Regarding helping downtown Longmont, where were Juday and his progressives when one of the oldest, continuous family businesses in downtown Longmont (the Times-Call) was forced to relocate a significant portion of its operations elsewhere in order to improve its capacity to compete? These progressives claim they want downtown Longmont to thrive, yet they did absolutely nothing to retain a $20 million investment and 86 jobs.

I don't want to see our city government overloaded with progressives. I'm just an ordinary guy who thinks a small businessman like Gabe Santos, the underdog, should be added to the mix.

Percy Conarroe