Whether our families have been here for generations or are recent arrivals, this place we call home holds our hearts, heads and hands like nowhere else. We are fortunate — blessed — to live here.
This last year, the heavy cloud of COVID-19 has made that even clearer. Through this crisis, we’ve stood together, prayed together, worked together, wept together and celebrated together. Now, as we come out of the pandemic, it’s our chance to show who we wish to be as a city going forward.
While the challenges facing us are serious, I’m confident we’ll summon the same commitment, courage, compassion and cooperation after the pandemic as we’ve shown during it.
We know the work that awaits us: more housing — especially affordable housing; more support for our kids — especially after the struggles of this past year; more jobs, better paying and different kinds of jobs; greater investment in sustainability — leading the fight against climate change.
To do these things, we need to keep building a better city government. We’ll honor our history and deliver on the promise of Santa Fe’s future.
I’m committed to this work — which is why I’ve decided to run for a second term as your mayor.
Today is almost three years to the day since voters elected me our city’s first full-time mayor. It’s the greatest professional honor of my life — a call to public service in the best job in the world. Here’s what the job boils down: Take on the problems, big and small, and fix them. Make people’s lives better. Leave things better than you found them.
Small things, big things, all things. Weeds, potholes and medians. Healthy families and safe kids. Affordable housing, public health and community safety. Traditional fiestas and famous markets. Established mom and pop businesses and new startups. Clean water and dark skies. And a city government that is easier to work with, more user-friendly and more efficient. A better Santa Fe.
Before COVID-19 hit, we were getting things done across the board. We saw citywide growth in new housing starts; more family-friendly programs on the south side; and a laser-like focus on the basics that keep Santa Fe livable. We built our budget reserves from $6 million to $14 million, just in case we had an emergency.
Once the virus hit, we met the crisis head on. Because of the outstanding job city workers did to respond to the pandemic, we were awarded $17.5 million from the state. We avoided layoffs and pay cuts below the director level so city workers could take care of their families. We provided $5.2 million in direct support to Santa Fe families and turned the midtown campus into emergency housing to keep people safe.
Coming out of COVID-19, we’re ready for better times. Key crime rates are down. We’re addressing our housing shortage: In spite of the pandemic, our land-use team issued permits for almost 1,000 new units and we put $1.4 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. We’re building our city at the same time that we protect our quality of life.
We’re ready for a renewed sense of community and purpose. We’re ready for hope and healing.
Over the last three years we’ve made steady progress — and I’ve made some mistakes. We’ll keep making progress, and I’ll keep learning from those mistakes. I’m convinced we’re on the right track. I know that we’ve got more work to do. We have a talented and committed team. Our sleeves are rolled up — to get vaccinated and to keep working!
Our COVID-beating pledge, and my ongoing pledge to you, is the Santa Fe Promise: Safe, open, together.
As I launch my campaign for a second term, I ask for your support. Let’s work together for a city that works for everyone.
The Santa Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history.
