Mayor Javier Gonzales used his third annual State of the City speech to highlight successes over his tenure, defend controversial proposals including a tax on sugary beverages to fund early childhood services, and rebuke President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies.
“The state of our city is stronger than ever,” said Gonzales at
the Convention Center ballroom to an audience of roughly 400 guests.
Gonzales bragged about Meow Wolf, the city’s $4.5 million surplus and Santa Fe 4th
place ranking on Travel + Leisure’s
list of the “Best Cities in the US.” He promised to work with City Council to
invest in affordable housing, broadband Internet, and the Santa Fe Airport.
Here's a graphic showing the words that appear most frequently in Gonzales' speech:
The mayor also introduced a few new proposals, including a 5 percent, across-the-board raise for the city’s 1,500 employees, an idea met with applause. “When the workforce is struggling we should invest in them, not ask them, after years of cuts, to tighten their belts once again,” the mayor said.
He announced an initiative focused on equipping locals with “the 21st-century skills that help us compete and grow in the global economy.” Innovate Educate, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs, pledged $100,000 to help launch the project, called Santa Fe Advance, but Gonzales did not say whether any city funds would go to the program.
Of all his policy ideas, Gonzales devoted the most time to defending a proposed tax on sugary beverages to improve early childhood services. The mayor stressed that most of a child’s brain development happens before they turn 5.
“I’m tired of watching our kids fall short of their potential. I’m tired of watching generations of Santa Fe’s young people caught in the criminal justice system,” he said.
Gonzales invoked the names of two parents, Leah Chavez and Joanne Kind, who don’t make enough income to afford the high quality pre-kindergarten services. Driving home the point, he chose Danila Crespin Zidovsky, an early childcare advocate, to introduce his speech.
Gonzales’ plan would raise tax on certain sugar-sweetened beverages by 2 cents per fluid ounce, the revenue of which would be used to fund grants to meet a $7 million gap in pre-kindergarten programs. The Chamber of Commerce and local beverage distributors oppose the plan.
The mayor also lambasted President Donald Trump's "un-American" executive order
to pull federal funding from so-called "sanctuary cities," a term for jurisdictions
that don't commit resources to helping deportation authorities. Santa Fe implemented
sanctuary policies in 1999.
"I've been asked if I'm really willing to risk all those federal dollars just
to take on a fight over one simple policy," the mayor said. "My response is
simple. Every time we're faced with a choice between standing up for our values
or caving in to a bully, we will stand strong."
Notably absent from Gonzales' defense of the city's immigration policies was
the word "sanctuary," a term that Gonzales used freely when he defended such
policies on the national media circuit late last year. In order to put Santa Fe
on better legal footing, city councilors recently pulled the word "sanctuary"
from a resolution that aims to reaffirm and strengthen local immigration
policies.
In closing, the mayor preached to the choir, holding up Santa Fe as a bastion
of inclusivity and progressiveness as the Trump presidency hurls the nation
towards a dark future.
"It's hard not to feel anxious these days. Or angry. Or even afraid. I get
that. I feel it too," Gonzales said. "But standing here, looking out at all of
you, it's impossible not to feel something else too: inspired."
Santa Fe Reporter