There is a simple formula behind every thriving community: good jobs, good schools, and safe neighborhoods. It isn’t particularly complicated. And it isn’t particularly ideological.

It may also be one of the most useful ways to think about public policy and about the choices on our ballot this November.

I was reminded of this recently while talking with business and community leaders from across the country. Our communities face different challenges, but the conversation kept returning to the same question: What does it take to build a place where people want to live, work, raise a family, and build a future?

Start with good jobs. A healthy economy gives people more than a paycheck. It offers independence, dignity, and the chance to build a life. Businesses create those opportunities when they can take risks, serve customers, hire people, and invest in their communities. Public policy should make that easier.

In Colorado, we see what happens when the pieces don’t fit together. Employers have jobs to fill, and people want to work, yet too many working families struggle to stay in the communities they serve. Housing is part of the equation. So are wages, transportation, childcare, and career development. We need to address the barriers that keep people from taking a good job and building a life around it.

The second piece is good schools. Education is economic infrastructure, and its value reaches well beyond any one employer. Strong schools help children discover what they can do and give families confidence that this is a place to put down roots.

We need excellent four-year universities. We also need community colleges, apprenticeships, technical education, and work-based learning opportunities. We shouldn’t expect every young person to follow the same route. We should make sure every young person has a route to opportunity.

That work begins with strong local schools. It is one reason Vail Valley Partnership supports Eagle County School District’s ballot issue 5B. Supporting our teachers, students, and schools is an investment in the future workforce and the future of our community.

The third piece is safe neighborhoods. People need to feel secure at home, at work, and in public spaces. Businesses need dependable roads and infrastructure. Families need places where children can play and where the basic functions of government work as they should.

Too often, political arguments reduce all of this to whether we want more government or less. I’d rather ask whether government is doing its job well. It should protect public safety and property rights, educate children, and maintain the infrastructure on which we all rely. It should also leave room for people and businesses to solve problems, create jobs, and respond to their neighbors’ needs.

That doesn’t mean every challenge has an easy answer. It means judging proposals by what they are likely to accomplish, including their costs and trade-offs, instead of by which political team supports them.

As you fill out your ballot, try that test. Will this measure help people find and keep good jobs? Will it give our children a stronger education and more paths to opportunity? Will it help make our neighborhoods safer and our community more livable? If the connection is unclear, ask what the proposal will actually change and who will bear the cost.

Five or ten years from now, we won’t measure success by the number of campaign ads we saw or arguments we won. We’ll measure it by whether more people can build a future here.

Good jobs. Good schools. Safe neighborhoods. That is a worthwhile standard for our community and for our votes.

Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership, 3-time national chamber of the year. Learn more at VailValleyPartnership.com