Candidate Profile: Christopher Arlen For Lakewood City Council

LAKEWOOD, CO — Twelve City Council candidates are running for Lakewood's Nov. 2 municipal election.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Christopher Arlen is running for Lakewood City Council - Ward 4.

Age: 58

Family

I am married to a wonderful husband who has made the past 15 years the best years of my life. We also have a terribly spoiled Jack Russell Terrier, Oliver.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My husband is employed by the State of Colorado.

Education

I have not earned a degree. I do however, have extensive training and experience derived from my work in the nonprofit sector.

Occupation

Small business owner. I am principal consultant for the Soft Skills Company, LLC. The Soft Skills Company is a management consulting and professional development consultancy providing customized training solutions for government and nonprofit clients. We offer an array of workshops and courses designed to strengthen interactive, relational, adaptive skills among an increasingly diverse workforce.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

I have served in many appointed positions, including appointments to the San Bernardino County HIV Prevention Planning Council, the Los Angeles County HIV/AIDS Community Planning Group, the Santa Cruz County HIV/AIDS Taskforce, the Denver HIV Resources Planning Group, the Colorado HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants Program, the Governor's Clergy Council and others.

Campaign website: www.christopher4lakewood.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I believe that Lakewood is truly full of possibilities. My family chose to make Lakewood home because we were inspired by the idea of the work of building an inclusive community. For more than 25 years, I have worked in the nonprofit sector and I know what can be accomplished when people of good will come together across their differences to find solutions to shared challenges. I'm running to serve on Lakewood City Council because I know that leadership matters, especially as we emerge from the pandemic.

The issues that we face in Lakewood must be addressed together. Whether we're talking about Lakewood's economic future, inspiring families to choose to build their lives in Lakewood, addressing the epidemic of speeding and traffic safety, or just strengthening our civic bonds, Lakewood needs leadership that will move us all forward in service of the common good. My only agenda is to help build a Lakewood that we call all be proud to call home.

I have extensive experience bringing diverse perspectives together, harvesting common themes, and distilling them into shared solutions. I've chaired local, regional, and statewide community planning processes, including the Colorado HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants Program, the Los Angeles County HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and a host of others. I am committed to helping communities envision and achieve goals and objectives that produce positive outcomes.

I am proud to live in Lakewood and I truly do believe in Lakewood. I know that we can build a stronger Lakewood, together.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have invested my adult life to serving people. I am grateful to have had opportunities to work in ministry, in the nonprofit space, and as a small business owner. I've sat with people in moments of deep grief and despair and stood with them in times of joy and celebration. I've worked with people on the margins, and I've convened subject matter experts and innovative thinkers to find middle ground. I work with organizations to identify and articulate their challenges and help them imagine new paths forward. I am optimistic by nature and believe that possibility is borne from imagination.

I have great faith in and a profound affinity for people. This is why I have nurtured friendships with people across the political and ideological spectrum. I listen with humility so that I can better understand diverse perspectives. This strengthens my understanding and shows respect for divergent views. As a facilitator, I root myself in clearly stated outcomes and identify processes and practices that move groups and teams through their differences to that outcome. I am able to do this because I believe in people. I offer this to Lakewood because I believe in Lakewood, too.

How do you think local officials are performing in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

My background working in HIV/AIDS and surviving that epidemic has given me a great appreciation for public health officials and the critical role local leaders play in helping ordinary people make sense of public health crises. For this reason, I am loathe to second guess or judge harshly because I have been rooms where these responses and messages were being developed. There is much that goes into these actions and I have faith in these processes.

I also appreciate that public health measures can sometimes appear to lag behind emerging science. Unfortunately, this is the nature of public health; it is reactive rather than proactive. For this reason, information evolves as more becomes known.

Behavior change is hard. Here, we are facing a virus that we cannot touch, taste, see, or smell. And because transmission is airborne rather than behavioral, public health messaging is difficult. HIV/AIDS was often politicized. The politicization of COVID has been an unfortunate factor in the course of the pandemic. I am grateful for local officials who are doing noble work under remarkable conditions.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I would say that my campaign is rooted in the idea of putting people first. I am not running because I am pursuing any particular agenda or championing any particular issue. As I've said, I believe in people and what can be accomplished when people of good will come together in service of the common good. My campaign is about bringing my nonprofit experience to the political space to move our city into a proud future.

My thoughts are simple. I think that people who work in Lakewood should be able to live in Lakewood. I believe that we are stewards of our natural environment and should do all that we can to protect it. When our loved ones leave the house we should have faith that they will return safely. So I support making or streets, roads, and highways safer for vehicle traffic, cyclists, pedestrians, and others who share this space. These are things we can take on together and find solutions that work for us all.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

There is much in my past that I could cite as qualifications. What these accomplishments share in common is the animating mindset: there has to be something that we can't do together. We can achieve any outcome that we are willing to imagine.

I was taught to look at issues through the lens of the community facing them. With this mindset, I've developed dozens of novel programs that have improved outcomes for vastly diverse communities. I've conceptualized evidence-based programs, securing more than $25 million to implement them. When faced with persistent funding cuts, I co-founded a statewide coalition that secured a $6million budget allocation restoring funding to historically high levels. Each example relied on the collective wisdom of people to achieve the outcome.

I have taken failing programs and organizations and helped them achieve success. I have successfully bridged my programmatic knowledge with my organizational experience. In business, I help clients clearly see their challenges, get present to their impact, and imagine bold actions that will move them into outcomes consistent with their mission and purpose.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

On the first day of kindergarten, my mother gave me the best advice ever: "if you want a friend, you first have to show yourself to be friendly."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am running for Lakewood City Council because I believe in Lakewood and I know that you do too. I believe that I have the skills and experience to help harness the collective wisdom of our community as I've done for many others. I am committed to doing the work of building an inclusive community. We don't have to agree on everything to move forward together. Thank you for reading. I hope to earn your support and your vote!