Stepping away from the swamp
Two candidates for municipal office are pulling away from a citizens group associated with questionable social media comments. That’s a good thing. One member of the group, Santa Fe Power, sent a racist meme to a critic, comparing a respected black congresswoman to an orangutan. Later, a second member put up a questionable poem about Mexicans on a reporter’s Facebook wall (and then quickly removed it). We wrote Tuesday that candidates supported by the group — which says it wants to emphasize the basics in city government — needed to denounce such actions.
Even before our editorial (“Leave ugliness out of city election,” Our View, Aug. 8) had published, District 3 City Councilor Jim Williamson issued a statement saying, “I am shocked and disgusted by the offensive photo and poem recently posted online. I personally hold myself accountable for my own actions, so I have removed myself from the Santa Fe Power group.” He had proudly been a member of Santa Fe Power, which is seeking to put together a like-minded group of candidates for the March 2018 city elections.
Current City Councilor Ron Trujillo, a candidate for mayor, is being supported by at least some members of the group. He did not denounce the posting of the racist photo immediately, but on Monday, Trujillo said that “racism in any form is unacceptable.”
“I am asking for everyone to stop this type of behavior immediately, as it’s hurtful and is uncalled for,” he wrote on his Facebook wall Monday evening. “Please treat everyone with the utmost respect.”
Trujillo is correct, as are all the good people of Santa Fe who said loudly they do not want ugliness in their city election. It must be denounced, and quickly, whenever and however it appears.
In his statement, Trujillo expressed gratitude for people who had stood up for him during the sugary drinks tax special election earlier this year. He opposed the tax and said in his recent statement that, “I was the target of Pre-K for Santa Fe during the sugar tax with a racist photo of me depicting me as an angry Hispanic who hates children. I was fortunate that some of my colleagues on the council denounced this type of racism, but again, there were members of the council who said nothing when this happened.” The point is, when you see ugliness, call it out. Now, with respect, perhaps the campaign can turn to a thorough exploration of the issues — the need for affordable housing, improving public safety, increasing wages, making it easier to do business, maintaining medians and parks, fixing potholes and all the rest. Interest is up and people are talking. Together, let’s start solving problems.