I met with Tricia Canonico on July 15th for a little over an hour. Tricia is concerned about our environment and public health both locally and globally. She expresses her concerns in her community through advocacy for Front Range Commuter Rail and participation in local government organizations focused on climate change. You can google her website for more from Tricia.
Her votes and actions on city council do not reflect leadership in this area. At the September Mayoral forum on energy and environment, she said that cost effectiveness should be a priority in climate tax spending, but she voted for climate tax appropriations absent any cost effectiveness consideration. She did not offer any concerns at the time, despite receiving over 150 citizen emails raising these concerns before the vote. She has never stood up to PRPA on the gas plant (or anything else from them) despite telling constituents that she takes their concerns on the matter seriously.
Tricia is the only councilperson to have responded to the more than 1,000 emails that you all have sent to City Leaders this year. She presents a pretty basic response. She thanks you for writing, asks if you are satisfied with the city staff response, and says that she will take your concerns into consideration. Unfortunately, in our interview, it became apparent that Tricia has not familiarized herself with our concerns. She was unaware of basics such as how Fort Collins compares with other CO communities and utilities, what FTC could be doing but isn't, and what the community has been screaming about Platte River Power Authority's gas plant plans since 2022.
She asks if you are satisfied with the City's response, but doesn't seem to have read it herself. She was unfamiliar with questions and concerns that I've presented about that response (more on our website). And she was confused about the factual information presented by the City. She took notes from our conversation and said she'd follow through. We haven't seen that yet.
She is very focused Front Range Commuter Rail, which is nice, but isn't anywhere near as effective at lowering the cost of living, reducing pollution, and supporting the FoCo economy as maximizing local energy resources and allowing residents to form an energy co-op.
Tricia's quote to CforSE members:
"Thank you for your message and for advocating for stronger local solar goals and expanded energy choice in Fort Collins.
I share your vision for a cleaner, more resilient energy future. The City is working toward 100% renewable electricity by 2030, with a current goal of at least 5% from local sources. I appreciate your push to raise that target and to explore models like energy co-ops and peer-to-peer trading.
Thanks again for your engagement and commitment to our city’s future. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of further assistance."