Average Joe Andrew Couch Steps Up for Ward 2 Seat
Backs Thoughtful Growth and Transparent Decision-Making
Marcia Martin’s tenure as the Ward 2 representative on the Longmont City Council officially ended on December 31, 2024, leaving the seat vacant as the city prepares to select her successor to avoid the expense of a taxpayer-funded election.
The City of Longmont invited qualified Ward 2 residents to submit their applications by January 8. The vacancy has attracted significant public interest with 18 out of 22 qualified applicants in the mix.
Among the applicants is Andrew Couch, a Longmont resident who has lived in the area since 2006 and currently works as a systems engineer for Intrado. Couch described himself as “the world’s worst politician” due to his lack of a set agenda for why he decided to apply for the seat.
“I think there’s a lot of creative people out there. I’m kind of the step-back-and-ask-people-why-this-is-better-than-that or how-they-expect-to-get-from-A-to-B-and-break-it-down-logically kind of guy,” Couch said.
Couch emphasized a commitment to his community and a belief in the importance of families as the backbone of any community. He highlighted that while government is a useful tool, it can’t solve every problem.
“I’m pretty much an average Joe guy. I have a job. My wife has a job. I have two kids. I don’t know what the other quarter would be—my dog, I guess,” Couch said. “My kids are growing up, and I have a little more free time, and I have questions.”
When asked why he chose to apply for the vacant Ward 2 seat, Couch explained his persistent interest in local governance.
“I drive my wife crazy because I actually watch and tape the council meetings that are on cable, and I watch them, which is like watching paint dry some nights,” Couch said. “It’s kind of a hobby in my house.”
Couch became involved in city matters after he noticed discrepancies in city planning studies for an apartment building in his neighborhood and attended local meetings to address them.
“That’s why I got interested. I started paying attention more. You know the old phrase, ‘You can’t fight City Hall.’ It’s still true,” Couch said.
Couch critiqued the current development process, pointing out that many city projects don’t adequately account for the real-world impact on traffic.
“I used to run bike races back in the day and they have you fill out a traffic report. When I looked at the traffic plan for an apartment complex that went in across from my house in Ward 2, it was remarkably similar,” Couch said. “I was like, ‘This is wrong.’ So, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna go to the meeting because this isn’t right.’ I went to the meeting and said, ‘Hey, man, your traffic study is wrong.’ They said, ‘No, it’s not.’ I said, ‘Yes, it is. I live on this road, and I can tell you for a fact—rain or shine, any week out of the year—there are more than two bikes that go down this in an hour.’”
Couch stressed that growth must align with infrastructure, noting how even simple tasks like picking up milk, bread, and eggs can become frustrating when development outpaces the city’s capacity to manage traffic.
“Growth is good. Growth that outstrips your infrastructure is not good. It makes people frustrated about growth because that’s the first thing you notice. I can’t go to the grocery store if I’m stuck in traffic or whatever, right?” Couch said.
Though Couch recognized the challenges facing Longmont, he feels that some city policies may no longer be effective. One area where he believes change is needed is affordable housing. He expressed concerns about the city’s current practice of accepting cash in lieu from developers instead of requiring them to build affordable housing.
“We often take cash in lieu from developers instead of the spec. It’s that somewhat such and such a percentage of new housing has to be affordable. Okay, or you can give us cash in lieu, in place of that as a builder, and we’ll give you a pass, and you don’t have to do that, and we’ll take the money and build affordable housing on our own. It seems to have not worked out well for us as a city,” Couch said.
On the topic of affordable housing, Couch highlighted a disconnect between the city’s efforts and the larger housing crisis facing the Front Range.
“There are 43,000 houses in Longmont. Even if every house in our city became affordable housing, it wouldn’t solve the Front Range affordable housing crisis,” Couch remarked. “You have the 400-pound gorilla in the county, which is the county buying open space so they cannot develop it.”
Turning to the broader issue of city planning, Couch expressed frustration with Longmont’s approach to development.
“I have a friend who does commercial real estate, and he said flat out, ‘Longmont invents their own rules. Whatever they want to have happen, will happen,’” Couch explained. “He’s not wrong. If you watch the number of people that are appointed to Planning and Zoning from the city council, then turn around and get on the city council, it’s almost a closed loop.”
Couch pointed out that this type of decision-making creates an echo chamber, where people are too quick to agree with each other rather than thoughtfully considering all sides.
“It’s weird that they agree as evenly as they do. They’ll have a debate, and then a six-zero motion will pass. And you’re like, ‘Hey, man, if you’re gonna have a debate, and you have an honest disagreement, it’s okay to say no. There’re no bonus points for agreeing with that,’” Couch said.
Couch points to a need for greater transparency, thoughtful debate, and a balance between progress and practicality. Couch advocates for more careful, inclusive planning that takes into account the long-term needs of the community.
Although Couch acknowledged the complexity of governance and the challenges of data-driven decision-making, he believes that better data collection could lead to better decisions for the city.
“Not everything works as well as engineering. People are not to be engineered. They have their own way of doing things. But if you’re going to make changes that people have to accept and live in, right, traffic patterns,” Couch explained. “Data isn’t a solution, but at least it’s something you can work on to give you a better idea.”
Despite reservations about the odds of being selected at the public meeting, Couch remains optimistic and happy to voice his opinion.
“The odds of me actually being accepted? It’s probably pretty small. There are people with much more name recognition than I have—blah, blah, blah—but I’m gonna at least get my oar in the water and take a stab,” Couch said.
With a bevy of interested applicants having submitted applications by the January 8 deadline, the Council is set to interview applicants in a public meeting on January 21, before the swearing-in of the new representative scheduled for January 28.
Longmont residents can share their thoughts on candidates, like Andrew Couch, by addressing the Council through an email sent beforehand. The open forum to address the city council previously scheduled for January 21, will be replaced with an interview session of candidates and the appointment of a selected candidate.