Big challenges ahead for commissioners, lawmakers

Congratulations to the newly elected local officials sworn into their offices Dec. 31. They have their work cut out for them. Rep.-elect Kristina Ortez won’t officially take office until Jan. 19 when the Legislature gets underway. She’ll be joining fellow Democrats Roger Montoya and Susan Herrera in representing Taos County at the state capitol in Santa Fe.

Sen. Roberto “Bobby” J. Gonzales will be the county’s voice in the state Senate.

As a veteran statesman, he’ll be expected to lead the charge on issues facing the region and lend his guidance to his newer lawmaking colleagues on the House side.

Their priorities should be to ensure state department’s overseeing the pandemic response have the funds needed to do the job properly, shore up the state’s revenues, diversify the sources of those revenues, support small businesses that are struggling to recover, ensure educators are well compensated and continue to support the state’s efforts to address climate change.

Some of those priorities should also top the list of Taos County’s newest county commissioners, Darlene Vigil and AnJanette Brush.

They are coming into a tough situation, with an economy in shambles and the ongoing need to address COVID-19 cases so the region can reopen.They have some smart people on the board with them and together they could move the county forward.

This will be the first time a majority of the commission will be women, with Brush and Vigil joining Candyce O’Donnell. Will this mean they make different decisions, better decisions, wiser decisions than if they were men? That remains to be seen. But make no mistake, there will be people judging their actions in part based on their gender. They will have to work harder, in many respects, than if they were men, to overcome biased perceptions. They will have to play the political game better and more astutely to accomplish what they said they wanted to do while they were campaigning.

Here are some areas the county commission should address this year:

They should require that the Taos County Adult Detention Center pursue and obtain accreditation from the Adult Detention Professional Standards Council, which will reduce liability costs;

They should request a quarterly financial report from Holy Cross Medical Center regarding how bond issue funds are being utilized and an update on how the hospital is doing;

They should seek ways to publicly support small-scale agriculture and the effort to build a local food hub across the county – both as means for a viable economic boost and community security;

As part of that they should take a hard look at how to work with property owners, farmers and developers to discourage building houses on arable land since there is so little left in the valley;

They should become familiar, if they are not already, with the Headwater Economics 2018 report on the Taos County economy, which details disturbing income inequality trends that have worsened in the last year and potential areas of economic growth;

They should urge their planning and zoning staff to identify empty, abandoned buildings and work with property owners on ways to make those spaces available for other uses with the help of federal funds;

They should collaborate more with the town of Taos (and town officials should be willing to do so) to address issues that affect both – lack of affordable housing, the need for a long-term drug treatment facility and a joint effort to attract new businesses and support entrepreneurs;

In 2019, the commission approved a resolution recognizing a climate emergency. Now they should take action and work with experts within the region to draft a 10-year climate change resiliency plan that could be a model for other counties.

Best wishes to all of the new officials. May their energy and ideas lead to a great 2021 for Taos County.