Hello! My name is Rachel Rose Isaacson.
My civic journey began early—organizing and volunteering at 14, and by 17, drafting state legislation to protect LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio. This passion for public service led me to earn a Bachelor’s in Political Economics and a Master’s in Public Administration and Leadership (MPAL). I have trained expertise in public budgeting, fiscal and policy analysis, and strategic resource management— skills essential for making responsible, transparent, and equitable decisions on City Council.
Before making Boulder my home, I worked in regenerative education organizing internationally attended conferences that empowered communities on how to cultivate resilience in the face of economic, social, and environmental turbulence.
Here in Boulder, I stay rooted in local life, whether it’s advancing ecological stewardship as a Pollinator Ambassador with Cool Boulder, or connecting with neighbors daily as a barista at South Side Walnut Café.
I am running to be Boulder’s first Gen Z City Council member—not only to ensure my generation has a voice at the table, but to bring informed, systems-level thinking and collaborative leadership to address the challenges we face today and those ahead.
Climate Resiliency 🌿
Boulder must lead on climate resilience in ways that meet both ecological goals & real community needs.
Boulder is currently making a lot of effort to integrate regenerative city planning such as urban ecological restoration, climate-senstive development, and nature-based infrastructure in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan—and I want to make this a key priority for us and do this in a way that ensures we are first providing resiliency support to the most negatively impacted in our community.
We need leadership that can make a true effort to carry out our plans in a way that also makes effective use of our resources with clear goals and measureable outcomes, and allocates opportunities into the community at large to participate in getting our plans accomplished.
Cultivating Meaningful Jobs & Opportunities
For my generation (Gen Z) and younger generations, many are struggling with maintaining a sense of hope for our ecological wellbeing and seek meaningful jobs and opportunities where we can be active participants in building a livable future.
I want to work with the city to expand job opportunities, a local “RegenCorp” for young people, so we can effectively accomplish our climate resiliency goals outlined in the Boulder Comprehensive Plan while also supporting our underemployed and young community members.
Transportation
At the heart of Boulder’s future is a transportation system that is safe, equitable, and sustainable.
As a City Council member, I will prioritize investing in multimodal infrastructure, accelerating Vision Zero, ensuring equitable access, supporting smart growth, and aligning our transportation efforts in a way that helps us meet our climate goals by reducing transportation-related emissions, promoting clean energy, and expanding transit and innovative mobility solutions.
Housing 🏡
Homelessness
In my view as a Political Economist, homelessness is a well-documented symptom of systemic social, economic, and political breakdowns, not a reflection of individual failure, as it is too often framed.
“Quick-fix” approaches are costly, often fail, and can worsen trauma in our community.
I believe our approach must be humane, prevention-focused, and grounded in long-term solutions that make the best use of our limited resources.
I have outlined my approach to addressing homelessness on the page linked below ⤵
Learn More
Meeting the Needs of Community
We need to address the housing gap by increasing truly affordable, attainable housing for all stages of life, including disabled residents, seniors, and low and middle-income families.
I support rezoning and “redevelopment” for more low- and middle-income multi-family housing and creative solutions such as cooperatives, ADUs, and tiny homes. I believe we need to work with and improve upon what already exists before we allocate funding and space for newer developments, which tend to be more expensive and less accessible for residents.
I believe in continuing to support and expand the work of organizations already providing affordable housing, while also holding accountability where improvements are needed.
Renters Rights
On City Council, I would strongly oppose any rollbacks or budget cuts to existing renter protections. I also support passing local ordinances that extend notice requirements for evictions, rent increases, and work to limit unnecessary fees.
I propose establishing a rental registry requiring landlords to report rent hikes, allowing the city to monitor affordability trends.
I also propose that we can promote rent stability through education and incentives. For example, the city could publish “reasonable rent increase” guidelines based on inflation and area median income, and create a voluntary fair rent pledge. Participating landlords could receive priority for city programs like tax credits, permit streamlining, or grants.
Community Empowerment 🤝
Building Partnerships
Our community needs all of us, not just city council, to be active and participate in the future we wish to see for Boulder.
When we work together and build partnerships and coalitions, we can share resources, and become more efficient and effective in achieving our goals.
Through a position on council, I seek to be an advocate and representative for the needs of Boulderites at the state and county level, and help guide paths forward for us to coalesce and overcome larger systematic barriers while we take on the immediacy of our local challenges.
Amplifying & Supporting Community-based Solutions
Especially in times when our local city budgets are constrained, we need to be able to work together as a whole to meet the moment, and we can accomplish more as a community when our local political systems are working with us, not against us.
I will be a strong advocate for ensuring that we are prioritizing localization and that our city resources are serving us here in Boulder, as well as encouraging our community to spend and give local.
Maintaining Equitable Standards
Our community deserves a city government that listens and acts with compassion.
I will prioritize local resource-sharing and ensure people with disabilities, renters, and historically underrepresented voices are centered in city decisions.
This includes fighting the erosion of support systems and ensuring that equity remains a guiding principle, even when state or federal support falters.
Want to be involved in the campaign?
There are plenty of opportunities for your participation. I aspire to make my campaign as inclusive as possible for folks who feel inspired to help bridge a new generation into Boulder City politics and have their voices heard.
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This resource provides regular insights into the issues affecting our community, upcoming events, and ways you can get involved.