Election Letters to the Editor

I was honored to portray Ultima in the New Mexico premiere of Rudolfo Anaya's play.  When planning the statewide tour of Bless Me, Ultima, the producers had initally left Santa Fe off their list.  With the help of many Santa Feans, including the very important intervention of Mayor David Coss and his office, the tour of Mr. Anaya's play opened in Santa Fe.

I have watched the Gonzales boys grow up proud and protective of the unique cultures that make up our great city.  As our Mayor, Javier Gonzales will encourage young artists and help build our theater and film industry.  We must have a night life, jobs and affordable housing that will keep our young people here and attract others to move here.

It is the next generation's turn to lead.  Please vote for Javier Gonzales.

JUANITA SENA-SHANNON


As a long time native of Santa Fe, I find it disheartening that the Reporter does not mention Mary Bonney in the article endorsing candidates.  Mary is a mother, small business owner and long time community advocate who is in this race for the long run, using volunteers and a grassroots budget, she has run a lean, clean campaign and would be a great addition to the city council.  You may feel she is not  worthy of mention in The Reporter, but she is worth of your vote.

BEN MARTINEZ



Javier Gonzales says has the leadership abilities to run the city.  He says he got lots of experience as a County Commissioner,  a development corporate executive, and Chairman of the State Democratic Party, in getting difficult things accomplished, highly questionable.


How come he can't get three PAC's and some political organizations to stop spending money supporting his campaign.  He says he's asked them, is that enough?


Already this spending has sent a varity of flyers to thousands of voters' homes that the other two candidates won't be able to afford because they are playing by the rules.


Either he doesn't have the skill he says he has, or he doesn't have the will he says he has.  Take your pick, but if you're thinking of voting for him to run your city – think again.  He is the "pay to play candidate.

Thank you,

CATO GARCIA

Javier Gonzales understands the value of our creative economy as the heart and soul of Santa Fe. The visual and literary arts, theater, music, dance, film, along with the museums and arts organizations, contribute mightily to our economy and our quality of life.


Javier understands the broad diversity of arts practices (both traditional and contemporary) their important cultural foundations and the ways they enrich our city for locals as well as tourists. He will actively support and promote their contributions. Javier is also committed to ensuring that our educational institutions better prepare young people for all aspects of the arts fields to enable them to stay in Santa Fe or venture beyond. Javier understands that we need to support our creative sector to insure the future of our city.


I support Javier for Mayor because he will build on our cultural richness and grow our creative economy.

DIANE KARP

Former Executive Director, Santa Fe Art Institute

As former Deputy Secretary of the NM Department of Health, I urge you to vote for Javier Gonzales for Mayor. Javier totally gets community health issues.  As County Commissioner he worked to implement effective, well-funded health programs and led the effort to establish the County Community Services Department and Health Policy and Planning Commission.


One innovative idea he has is exploring programs that enable Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to provide preventive care to the 60% of uninsured residents they transport to the emergency room who often lack a medical home. He asks, "Why not use the trained EMT workforce to help service and improve the outcomes for these patients?"  EMT's are a valuable link to making a healthy Santa Fe.


Javier understands the role of the city's basic services and our "health, safety and welfare." We are lucky to have him as a candidate.

FRED SANDOVAL

As individuals who work in leadership positions of two nonprofit organizations in Santa Fe we want to express our support for charter amendment 9 which will give Santa Fe a full-time mayor starting in 2018.

The non-profit community in Santa Fe provides vital community services and helps drive economic development and a progressive agenda. Our alternate energy and arts communities are working hard to preserve and enhance Santa Fe's reputation as a city with a nationally renowned arts community and which promotes innovative solutions to the energy and environmental challenges facing Santa Fe. The creative and innovative work that is done by Santa Fe's non-profit organizations is essential to helping Santa Fe maintain its reputation and leadership as a green city where all forms of creativity flourish.

We believe that a full-time Mayor is needed to provide vision, leadership and support for Santa Fe's non-profit sector. Please vote for 9 for a full-time Mayor.

MARIEL NANASI

Executive Director, New Energy Economy

CANDACE TANGORRA MATELIC

Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Contemporary Arts

These days, true public servants may be another endangered species. In today's political climate of big buck backers and PACS and party affiliations with their old time loyalty oaths, they are rare. Who among us has been willing and able to serve over 19 years on Santa Fe's City Council with its dozens of working committees and thousands of hours? Patti Bushee has consistently done her homework and acted independently from special interests to bring intelligent governing to the city. What more do we want other than pie in the sky? Patti is an example of a person dedicated to serving our community. The community now has the opportunity to back Patti Bushee, our most dedicated backer.

ANN LACY

Santa Fe, NM


I am writing on behalf of the hundreds of residents who witnessed Patti Bushee give many  hours of her own time to help prevent a main thoroughfare going past our senior housing, and through the neighborhoods of concerned residents. Patti helped organize and attended our neighborhood meetings at  Frenchy's Park in the evenings often in severe winter weather. Whatever Patti undertakes we can all rely on her experience and leadership. She really cares and has earned the title of our future Mayor.

JEAN JARVIS



With years of experience in leadership in higher education and in operating a professional coaching school ,  we naturally pay attention to leadership qualities, including integrity, the capacity to listen and discover and act on creative solutions through diverse and collaborative relationships. Paying attention to substance and to how the person leads, Javier Gonzalez is our unequivocal choice for mayor.

His long list of endorsers from the environmental, educational ,economic sectors, 10 current and past members of the city council, and many community members is further evidence  that Javier is a leader who will work hard for people and for the environment.   

It is noteworthy that neither Councilor Bushee nor Mr. Dimas has been endorsed by city councilors  they worked with in the last 15 years.   To us, this speaks volumes. Therefore, we are voting for Javier Gonzalez for Mayor.

ROXANNE HOWE-MURPHY AND JIM MURPHY

Mayor's race: I cannot believe that people could vote for Javier Gonzalez after reading his parst record as shown in the New Mexican. Under his guidance the Democrats lost 8 seats and we got you-know-who, whose office called the SF Reporter left-wing (shades of Mcarthyism), didn't pay his water bill, involved with Manny Aragon, has to appear before the Ethics Board because of the PACs. As for Patti Bushee - read the minutes of the council meetings - very dictatorial. I'm voting for Bill Dimas - honest, former judge, a clean record and as for the gays saying he's anti-gay because he didn't vote for the same-sex marriage - he was merely following the law - which is needed in this city what with all the crime.

ANTHONY ENSANA

With the city election around the corner, it is now silly season. Bushee, who tried to raise private money and failed and Dimas who took public money and then refused to participate in any public forums, are now complaining that Javier Gonzales has broad support in Santa Fe.

Bushee, who tried hard to get the Sierra Club endorsement, now says that the Sierra Club is part of the "political machine" because they endorsed Javier.

Then Dimas and Bushee, both of whom fought hard to get union endorsements and failed, are calling them "special interests": and are shocked - shocked I say- that Labor is doing what it always does, trying to inform their members about who they endorsed, this year Javier.

This must be why not 1 of the city councilors who served in the last 15 years has endorsed either Dimas or Bushee. Nine endorsed Javier.

FRANK X CORDERO

Javier Gonzales epitomizes concept of “servant leadership.”   In my 20 years of working with Javier, he has shown uncompromised integrity in both word and action.

I have been a small business owner in Santa Fe for over 24 years, and firmly believe that the Santa Fe business community can no longer continue with “business as usual” model—profit above all else.  Businesses must balance the bottom line while attending to employee rights and environmental considerations.  Javier Gonzales is only mayoral candidate whose campaign focuses on this triple bottom line.

I believe that it is dangerous to think that our next mayor should have only City Hall experience. Being entrenched in City politics for decades is not necessarily a good thing. Especially with our water issues, Santa Fe needs a mayor with regional, statewide and national experience & relationships.  Our future together! ¡Adelante Javier!

KIM SCHIFFBAUER

Serving on the City Council, it has been my privilege to serve with City Councilors Bill Dimas and Patti Bushee for the past two years. During that time, I have come to appreciate their intelligence and passion for the issues and for our City of Santa Fe. Councilor Dimas’ leadership on the problems of crime and drug use has resulted in the LEAD Task Force being established to try to break the cycle of drug abuse and property crime. Councilor Bushee and I have introduced measures to evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act on health care delivery in the Santa Fe community, and have been working toward common ground to ensure that the future health care needs of our community are served by quality care and that no one is left behind.  I sincerely look forward to continuing to work with them in the coming months.

After long consideration, and in keeping with the theme of my own campaign for District 2 which focused on visionary leadership for Santa Fe’s sustainable future, I will be voting for Javier Gonazales for mayor in the upcoming election on March 4.  I have been very impressed with Javier’s passion for our City and his vision for Santa Fe’s future. The multiple conversations he has organized and led for the community during his campaign highlight his approach to leading our City. That approach is to bring intelligence, active listening and compassion to exploring the issues that face us, all while bringing people together and building consensus points of view. Javier’s experience, not only growing up in Santa Fe, and serving as a Santa Fe County Commissioner, but working in our business community and collaboratively with New Mexicans all over our state, uniquely positions him to lead Santa Fe forward into that sustainable future.

My vote is one vote and only one vote in this election. In that it is equal to vote of every other eligible citizen of the City of Santa Fe.  I urge everyone to be an active participant in our democratic process. Get out and vote!

PETER IVES

All three mayoral candidates claim to be “collaborative” or say they can “bring people together.” These are crucial qualities. The next Santa Fe mayor has big problems to address. We need a Mayor who is respectful, listens, and is - yes - collaborative. We can tell who has these qualities.

All three candidates have worked around here for a long time. In the last 15 years, aside from Councilors Dimas and Bushee, 17 people have served on the City Council. Of those 17, nine have endorsed Javier Gonzales for Mayor. Not one of the 17 has endorsed either Bushee or Dimas.

In fact, in Bushee’s District 1, two of the three other District 1 councilors, all of whom worked with her, have endorsed Javier.

ORLANDO LEIBOVITZ

This tells me a lot about who will be a trusted, collaborative leader of our city. Javier Gonzales is not only a great listener, but he has the extensive governance background and mature thinking I would expect in a mayor. We should be grateful for how he has made his campaign a model for a modern, publicly financed campaign. So far he has held 70 house parties involving close to 1,500 people where there have been some wonderful discussions about the future of Santa Fe. He has also, so far, held five large public "conversations" with experts on the environment, women and family issues, education, human rights and the arts. Another 900 people have attended them. More conversations on community health, creative entrepreneurship, and arts and culture are in the works. All of these have concerned the most pressing issues facing the city and include concrete suggestions from the panelists and the audience about what the city can do. Sign up and learn more at javiergonzales.com. 

LORALEE FREILICH

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