Newly-elected Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin.
In an historic moment in local government last week, Marta Loachamin (D-Longmont) – a longtime Boulder County bilingual realtor with ERA Tradewind Real Estate – was elected and sworn in as the first Latina to serve on the three-member Board of County Commissioners.
Marta replaces term-limited Commissioner Deb Gardner; Claire Levy, former Colorado legislator and former Executive Director of the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, was also elected last week, replacing term-limited Commissioner Elise Jones.
Recipient of Community Foundation Boulder County’s 2018 Stan Black Award,
frequent contributor to the Community Foundation’s blog, and a featured expert on a Community Foundation radio show focused on the challenges and opportunities in our county’s housing market, Marta also served as consultant and facilitator of the foundation’s participation in the Knight Foundation’s Community Information Lab, exploring what it means to create the conditions for Latino Bilingual Cultural Brokers (LBCBs) to help drive decisions, locally. Additionally, Marta’s work with the City of Longmont after the 2013 Colorado Floods established the Resiliency For All Project for the State of Colorado Division of Local Affairs.
"In the last 28 years, most of my work has been around creating policies that include all community voices," she says. "As a student activist, I pushed for an ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado Boulder. When I worked in banking, I pushed for policies requiring staff to be bilingual. And I advocated for homeownership for Spanish speaking families.”
A tireless community volunteer, Marta has lobbied for racial equity, working families and employees rights, and climate action – locally, statewide, and nationally. She’s also delivered professional development for teachers and education staffs to help them better engage Spanish-speaking families.
“Above all, my priority now is to emphasize greater engagement and participation across all sectors in Boulder County,” shares the 46-year-old Longmont resident, who’s originally from Ecuador and the proud single mom of two sons, Marcos and Adonay. “And I hope my time in office will pave the way for other Latinos and Latinas to run for office.
“There are so many resources available in our county that so many people aren’t aware of. In my new role, with my perspective as an everyday community member, I hope to encourage transparency by inviting more people into decision-making processes – especially around housing.”
She points out – as also noted in the Community Foundation’s TRENDS Report – that Boulder County has been experiencing a housing crisis since well before the problem exacerbated due to the ongoing pandemic.
“We need more people – fresh and broader perspectives – to look at new opportunities that open doors for anyone who wants to live and work in Boulder County.
“Related is the issue of equity, and how to be more equitable in how we engage our community – first, by carefully considering what we can do to be more equitable internally, in Boulder County politics.”
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from CU Boulder, a master’s in secondary education from the University of Phoenix, as well as deep experience in the banking, mortgage, and real estate industries, Marta brings both “head and heart” to her commitment to advance actionable steps that meet the strategic priorities of Boulder County – from housing to renewable energy to creating an Equity Office at the county level.
Congratulations, Marta!