Candidate Profile: Gretchen Rydin, Littleton City Council

LITTLETON, CO — Nine City Council candidates are running for Littleton'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.

Gretchen Rydin is running for Littleton City Council.

Age: 37

Family: Aunt to nine amazing nieces and nephews.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No.

Education: Brigham Young University, BA in History; Howard University, MSW with emphasis in displaced populations.

Occupation: Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: None

Campaign website: gretchen4littleton.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

In recent months, I’ve felt the events of an imploding world. Fires. Riots and protests. COVID deaths and full ICU beds. These colossal problems feel insurmountable. Yet, serving on City Council is something I can do to make a positive change in my tiny corner of the world. On City Council, I can work to improve the quality of life for all people in Littleton. Here we have the opportunity to fix roads, support our small businesses, and enhance our Main Street, parks, trails, museum, and library. Here we can address inequity, foster inclusion, and work toward environmental sustainability.

The single most pressing issue facing our city is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Littleton’s roads and many of its city-owned buildings are crumbling due to years of deferred maintenance. Traffic has grown increasingly worse (90,000 cars per day on Santa Fe, which was built for 20,000 per day), while Littleton’s roads rank in the bottom 25 percent of all towns in Colorado, posing a severe safety risk for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists alike. City employees and citizens also deserve to have safe public buildings. I will ensure that the City can access federal grant dollars to rebuild Littleton’s roads and fortify its buildings with ADA- and eco-friendly standards.

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

As a therapist, I sit with people in their problems and help them identify and test out solutions, and as a social worker I help them overcome barriers to their solutions. I work in the trenches with people. My opponent, in contrast, is a political pundit and academic; she offers commentary and ideology.

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

Tri-County Health Department has overall done well implementing COVID recommendations in what has been a very uncertain--and unprecedented-- time. The City of Littleton did a good job of protecting citizens and its staff by closing City buildings at the beginning of the pandemic and by having staff work from home. I applaud the City and downtown businesses for working together to find creative solutions to operate under COVID restrictions. In fact, Littleton received the Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence last year for its solution to outdoor dining on Main Street, a solution that was copied by several other towns throughout Colorado.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I come from a family of small business owners (both of my grandfathers). And behind every local business is a family. I will work to streamline the City’s licensing and other processes, and eliminate those that stand in the way of businesses. I will continue to work with the Historic Downtown Littleton Merchants and the Littleton Business Chamber, and would encourage the City to support businesses with more marketing and social media outreach.

As a social worker--and in a previous life as a project manager--I know how to build and maintain relationships and work with multiple systems to get results. These skills are key to working with other City Council members and with our important regional partners, such as Littleton Public Schools, South Suburban Parks and Recreation, and Arapahoe County.

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

I have a background in crisis management, both as a mental health counselor and as a trained community emergency response team member, and therefore am well-positioned to manage additional crises that might face Littleton.

I served on the board of an interfaith organization for several years, giving me a practical understanding of good governance and how to work with people of different core beliefs.

Working within government to get things done is not foreign to me. I worked with the governor’s offices in three states to lead a regional day of community service, resulting in over 1,500 service events, 74,000 volunteers, 820,000 pounds of donated food, and 13,000 bags of garbage collected.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

From my mom: kindness is always in style.

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

I love our community and want to make sure it stays a great place to live, study, work, retire, and enjoy the outdoors. I coach middle school girls’ softball in the summer through South Suburban Parks and Recreation and want to preserve and protect Littleton's many open and green spaces. I’m also a musician. I play viola in the Denver Pops Orchestra and in a few other ensembles. I’m a strong supporter of arts and culture.