As a longtime legal mediator, Troy Daniels has built a career on uniting people and finding common ground. Now he hopes to bring that collaborative approach to City Hall as Loveland’s next mayor.
“I started paying attention to Loveland city government when I first moved here, and I saw some needs,” he said. “I felt, with my background and experience as a mediator, that I could help out and give back to the community.”
Daniels was born in Indiana, but has lived all over the United States, most recently in Chatham, Mass., a historic town on Cape Cod. Two-and-a-half years ago, he relocated to Loveland with his partner of 26 years, after years of visiting relatives in the Northern Colorado area.
“We fell in love with Loveland,” Daniels said. “It has the right combination of services and open spaces. And I’m a lover of the arts, so that was a big draw for me.”
His professional background includes work as an employment recruiter before pivoting to legal work. In his decades as a mediator, he handled cases for local courts, as well as private mediations through a firm.
Among his most memorable cases was one involving a 90-year-old woman in Massachusetts, who outlived her savings and was on the brink of eviction. Through mediation, Daniels negotiated an extended stay in her current residence and also found her a new place to live once the extension ran out.
“Mediation is helpful in that it brings people coming from different points of view to a consensus,” he said. “I’ve had hundreds of successes. I’ve even had mediations where the parties have stood up and hugged each other at the end.”
Daniels has also served on numerous boards and commissions in multiple states, including the Education Commission in California, where he spearheaded an initiative connecting high school students with professionals for mock job interviews and resume feedback.
In Massachusetts, he served on the Board of Health, public access cable commission and sewer commission. Locally, he is a member of Loveland’s Historic Preservation Committee, where he enjoys “working hard to preserve the history of the community” while also accommodating residents’ needs.
But his campaign platform goes beyond historic preservation to some of Loveland’s thorniest problems, including city budgeting, metropolitan districts, homelessness and fostering civility among City Council members.
On the budget, Daniels said he would like to see a more robust public engagement process to help set city spending priorities, something that could have helped avoid the outcry over the cuts to the swim beach and the Fourth of July event.
“I don’t think that the budget should be created in a vacuum or behind closed doors,” he said. “I think that the values of the community need to be taken into consideration. I think the fireworks issue caught people off guard because it’s more than just fireworks. It’s a tradition — something that people go to with their kids or their grandkids.”
On metro districts, Daniels said that he supports the tool when it comes to commercial development, but not for residential, since homeowners are often caught off guard by the annual assessment. He also expressed concern about the prevalence of residential metro districts in Loveland, compared with surrounding communities.
“I think that the profit margins need to be looked at and that you don’t need, if you will, ‘double dipping,'” he said. “The infrastructure needs to be taken care of by the people who enjoy the infrastructure.”
Regarding homelessness, Daniels said he would like to see Loveland, as the second largest city in Larimer County, take a leadership role in a regional solution. However, he also said the unpopular First Christian Church shelter proposal illustrated the need for broader dialogue on the issue.
“All sides need to be heard,” he said. “That’s part of my mediation background, is listening to people and figuring out a solution that works for everyone. And I don’t think that that solution worked for everyone.”
When it comes to civility among City Council members, Daniels said he believes in treating others with “respect and kindness” while also setting boundaries. He supports having an ethics policy for City Council and said elected officials should “rise to the level of professional.”
Outside of politics, Daniels is active in Loveland’s arts community, volunteering at Sculpture in the Park and the Governor’s Art Show. He said the city’s sense of community is one of his favorite things about living here.
“I saw the community rally around … when people lose their home, or they lose things in a fire, and the kids need clothes,” Daniels said. “One of the things when I first moved here is I’m still stunned by the people who still hold the door for you and say please and thank you.”
Daniels’ campaign launch is scheduled for Aug. 17, with additional meet-and-greet events possible before then. More information is available at danielsforloveland.com.
Daniels is the second candidate to announce for the Loveland mayoral race. Pat McFall, who currently represents Ward 1 on City Council, is also running. Jacki Marsh, who is in her fourth term as mayor, has not yet announced whether she will seek a fifth term.
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