Everyone’s a local — or should be

Here’s the drill. Citizens have chosen a new mayor, a decisive win for entrepreneur Alan Webber. He led with 40 percent after the initial round of voting on Tuesday and ended up with 66 percent after ballots were tabulated under the new ranked-choice voting system.

Now Webber must turn his attention to big appointments — for city manager, city clerk, city attorney and the like. He must get to know the new City Council and with its members, start a search for a police chief. He must put together a budget. There are systems to repair, most notably the loose financial accounting methods that appear to put the city at risk for both fraud and waste. So much to do.

On top of those many challenges, though, Webber has a larger task ahead of him — unifying Santa Fe, always a squabbling collection of neighborhoods that must be brought together to make this city the best it can be.

With ranked-choice voting — which produces an instant runoff if no one wins 50 percent plus one in the first round of voting — candidates remained positive about opponents’ records through the slog of an endless campaign. Their supporters, however, were another story, attacking one another in letters to the editor or on social media. It is clear that suspicions of the “other” runs deep. This must change.

On the Facebook group Santa Fe Bulletin Board, this post struck a chord. From a woman raised (but not born) in Santa Fe: “I have never felt more distanced from a town that I grew up in, the only place I know. I almost sometimes feel like a Dreamer. Hearing on this page, ‘why don’t you go back where you came from?’ … Where do I, personally, go back to? I grew up here. I wasn’t born here, (so sue me), but I was so young, I don’t remember much of where I was born. What I do remember are my grade school friends, I was a Kearny Raider. I remember De Vargas Junior High, which memories are being torn down. I graduated from Santa Fe High with my grade school friends. I just retired after working 45 years here.”

The writer is an Anglo woman, married to a Hispanic man, and stated, “I have never felt such division as I have in the past few years.”

That is the new mayor’s job one — healing those divisions. Those between Anglos and Hispanics, between rich and poor, young and old, south-siders, midtown and the east side, Latinos who came here from other countries and descendants of the original Europeans. The divisions split local pueblos from the town and urban Indians from their neighbors. We are a fractured, ornery Santa Fe, one that desperately needs to reconnect and become stronger together.

The definition of the word “local” must be expanded to include all who live and call Santa Fe home. Yes, there will be locals whose families date back to the founding of Santa Fe. Yes, there will be locals who, in the words of ex-Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, “just got off the bus.” Yes, there will be locals who don’t exactly “get” Santa Fe but are trying very hard to adjust. But if you live here, pay taxes here, work here or otherwise care about Santa Fe — you are a local. Period.

Leading this culture shift will be Santa Fe’s new mayor. He was not born here, but he has chosen to live here and share his talents with his friends and neighbors. He believes Santa Fe has its best days ahead of us — and in that, we support Webber 100 percent. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. Now, get to work.

Congratulations to the four mayoral candidates who fell short. Their hard work, ideas and passionate supporters are greatly appreciated; we hope they remain active in civic affairs. Santa Fe needs their wisdom, experience and energy.

Congratulations, too, to council winners — District 1’s Signe Lindell was re-elected; Carol Romero-Wirth won in the first round in District 2; Roman “Tiger” Abeyta, District 3, faced no opponent but campaigned hard for Webber, which he did not have to do; in District 3, JoAnne Vigil Coppler took the win in the second round against two opponents. With this election (and adding sitting District 2 Councilor Renee Villarreal), Santa Fe now has a 4-4 gender split on the council. A welcome achievement and a first for Santa Fe.

And, finally, congratulations to voters — they showed up at the polls. Voter turnout should be close to 90 percent in all elections, but the reality is that in municipal elections across the United States, participation is low. A turnout of 38 percent — with more people voting than in the special soda-tax election last year — is well above average. Facts from citylab. com: “In 15 of the 30 most populous cities in the U.S., voter turnout in mayoral elections is less than 20 percent.” Citizens are engaged, need to stay that way and then become even more involved, ensuring that candidates turn promises into action.

With the new strong-mayor system of government, Webber has a freer hand than his predecessors. He will choose top city officials and put together the budget — as always, a document less about spending and more about what a city values. Most of all, Webber must begin the difficult work of bringing this sprawling, historic city together. We are all locals. We all matter. Now the mayor must make it so.