Task force has big job, little time

Group to overview department, study which service calls could be handled by other professionals

A retired District Court judge and the director of a statewide drug policy organization are among nominees selected to serve on a new task force that will examine policing and the role of law enforcement in the city of Santa Fe.

Other high-profile applicants, including presumptive District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, former Santa Fe City Attorney Geno Zamora and Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, didn’t make the cut.

“We had a great group of people to try to choose from and to narrow it down to simply nine people was a difficult task,” said City Councilor Chris Rivera, who will serve as co-chairman along with City Councilor Renee Villarreal. “We did the best we could to narrow it down to a committee that we thought was representative of the entire city.”

Villarreal on Monday said the city had a “very impressive” pool of applicants.

“That’s a wonderful thing because you know that people care about this issue,” she said.

Mayor Alan Webber’s appointments to the Community Health and Safety Task Force, which he created amid nationwide calls for police reform, will go before the City Council for confirmation Wednesday.

The task force will have a big job and a relatively small amount of time to complete its work. It will meet virtually twice a month and is expected to finish no more than six months from the date members are confirmed by the City Council.

The panel is being asked to examine how the city’s community health and safety services infrastructure, which include police and community services, can collaborate and improve the overall well-being of the community.

Among its duties: assessing the Santa Fe Police Department’s internal operations, policies and procedures, plus studying the types of calls for service that could be handled better by other professionals, such as social workers.

More than 60 people with diverse backgrounds and experience applied to serve on the task force. The city sought applicants with expertise or knowledge in community health,

public safety, restorative justice and social and racial justice.

In addition to the two city councilors, the task force will include nine residents, with at least one representative from each of Santa Fe’s four council districts.

“We did go through a very vigorous vetting process,” said Villarreal.

In a statement, Webber said the task force appointments represent “the next step in our work to address the serious moment we’re in.”

“Across the country, people are calling for a new accounting and a fresh approach, where we bring together social and racial equity, policing and public health,” the mayor said. “This is an excellent group with diverse experiences and community connections.”

Here are the appointments the governing body will consider for confirmation Wednesday:

◆ Raashan Ahmad is a musician, artist and activist “who is rooted in racial and social justice issues as well as community and cultural work,” according to his letter of interest.

“I am a Black father with two Black boys,” he wrote. “The issues that are to be addressed by the task force are close to my heart. My personal encounters with the police have honestly been fraught with trauma and fear. I love the idea of possibly re-imagining a more effective way for police and other health and safety departments to engage in a more effective way with the public at large and lending my voice to this conversation.”

◆ Monica Ault, a local attorney, is the state director for the Fines and Fees Justice Center, which seeks to eliminate fees in the justice system and ensure fines are equitably imposed and enforced, according to its website.

“I would love the opportunity to bring my expertise in criminal law and public health policy, and set of skills in program innovation, administration, and policy analysis” to the task force, Ault wrote in her letter of interest.

◆ Marcela Díaz is the founding executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant advocacy organization.

“I am greatly encouraged by the possibility of a more holistic and less punitive approach to public safety in our city,” Díaz wrote in her letter of interest. “Because of my work at Somos Un Pueblo Unido ... I am in a strong position to share what I have learned about community health and safety and also to serve as a link to the immigrant community in Santa Fe.”

◆ Naja Druva is a therapist with seven years’ experience in behavioral health and social service, according to her application.

She has worked at Las Cumbres Community Services since 2018.

“This is an excellent opportunity to address issues and improve trust in community services such as the police force, while relieving them of some duties that could be better provided by other professionals,” Druva wrote.

◆ Bruce Finger retired in 2015 after spending 31 years in Chicago as a railroad special agent and training officer, according to his application. Finger, who moved to Santa Fe after his retirement, trains security officers in New Mexico and has assisted with training at the police academy, he wrote.

◆ Emily Kaltenbach is the executive director of New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance, whose work is “aimed at dismantling the inequities in our criminal justice and behavioral health systems so that our children can be born into and grow up in healthy and strong families and communities,” she wrote in her application.

◆ Mary Ann Maestas is a campaign organizer for Santa Fe-based Earth Care. She previously worked as a field organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.

◆ Mary Louise Romero-Betancourt coordinates a restorative justice program for the Santa Fe school district’s middle and high schools. She previously oversaw an alternative detention program for the Santa Fe Regional Juvenile Justice Board.

“Investing in our community as a whole, repairing the things that might be getting in the way of our city from living up to our reputation as the City Different, is my passion,” Romero-Betancourt wrote in her letter of interest.

◆ Finally, the mayor is seeking the confirmation of retired District Court Judge Michael E. Vigil, who spent 17 years as an attorney specializing in criminal law and civil rights litigation before taking the bench.

A resolution creating the task force required members to be city residents, which disqualified about 10 applicants, including Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias, said Rivera, the city councilor who will serve as co-chairman.

Padgett Macias submitted a joint application to serve on the task force with Carmack-Altwies, who is running unopposed in November and will assume the role of district attorney in the First Judicial District in January.

In a text message, Carmack-Altwies said she didn’t feel passed over.

“It’s the mayor’s decision, and I look forward to working with him when I’m sworn in,” she wrote.

Villarreal, the other co-chairwoman, said the task force likely will have a couple of forums to allow the public to participate.

“I think there will be opportunities for the public to weigh in and share their lived experiences as well,” she said.