John Lembke, a mechanical engineer with a background in sustainability and land use policy, is running for an at-large seat on the Longmont City Council with a focus on housing affordability and zoning reform.

Lembke holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering and an additional master’s degree in engineering management. He said he hopes his educational and financial background will bring a unique blend of technical and financial expertise to city government.

He currently works at a local high-tech startup Scythe Robotics, where he’s helping build the company’s third manufacturing facility. The business produces electric, autonomous lawn mowers, which he said are already in use by landscaping companies across Longmont.

“I think it would be hugely beneficial to have somebody on council who has formal training in sustainability, energy systems and financial analysis,” Lembke said.

In addition to his professional background, Lembke is an advocate for ranked choice voting and helped found Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont. The group, which he has since handed off to his co-founder, has worked with statewide and national organizations to craft a proposal they hope the council will eventually refer to voters as a charter amendment.

“I believe it is a much more representative form of democracy,” Lembke said. “Among the other (city council) candidates that I’ve talked to, the overwhelming majority support it.”

Lembke also wants the city to explore implementing a land value tax. He said that under the current property tax system, large corporations benefit disproportionately compared to small businesses.

“Costco pays a quarter of what some small businesses pay per acre,” he said.

He argued that a land value tax, which taxes land based on its location and size rather than the structures built on it, would reduce that imbalance.

He also supports establishing a homestead exemption to provide tax relief to lower-income homeowners and seniors. “If you have a $300,000 property and get a $100,000 exemption, that’s a huge savings,” he said.

On housing, Lembke said he wants to legalize more types of residential development throughout the city. He criticized restrictive zoning and building codes that he said make it harder to build affordable housing.

He supports allowing single-family homeowners to subdivide their properties, convert basements into separate units and build fourplexes in areas currently zoned for detached homes. “I would reclassify anything up to four exterior-door units as single-family, which is how the financial industry already treats them,” Lembke said.

When it comes to the highly discussed Vance Brand Municipal Airport, Lembke said he believes the city should focus on reducing emissions and noise rather than restricting aviation activity. “I think if we can get more electric aircraft in, that helps with noise. If we can encourage fuel stations to switch to unleaded, that helps with emissions,” Lembke said. He added that airport growth and environmental stewardship do not have to be mutually exclusive.

As for public safety, Lembke said he thinks the city should focus on evidence-based policies. He acknowledged concerns about crime but said he wants to distinguish between perception and data. “The best way to reduce homelessness-related crime is to build more housing and drive rents down,” he said.

Overall, Lembke said he hopes voters perceive him as a straightforward, solutions-focused candidate.

“I told myself before I got into this that I was going to say what I think people need to hear, not what they want to hear,” Lembke said. “It is better to take some action than do nothing at all for years and years.”