SANTA FE COUNTY COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 1
Four-year term. The person in this office, together with other members of the County Commission is responsible for County government budget, County ordinances and resolutions, and zoning and business regulation in unincorporated areas, and sets policy for the operations of County government. Minimum qualifications: at least 18 years of age and a resident of the district from which elected.
1. What prior experience and education prepared you for this position?
For close to 30 years, my wife Sandra and I have lived, volunteered, led initiatives, and built successful businesses like Dashing Delivery in Santa Fe. I’ve used my MBA from UNM and expertise in economic development and urban planning on revitalization projects like the conversion of Camel Rock into a film studio, the Santa Fe Railyard redevelopment, and the Ft. Marcy Dog Park. With a district that includes 5 tribal nations and spans from Chimayo into the City, my experience on the RediNet board, Pueblo of Tesuque Development Corporation, and the Santa Fe Planning Commission taught me where the issues are in our County and how we can work together to solve our unique, complicated issues. Learn even more by visiting www.justingreene.com
My prior experience begins with me being born and raised in Santa Fe County District 1. My education is K-12 at Pojoaque Valley School District, class of 1986. I then went on to earn a BS in Civil Engineering from the UNM in 1994. In 2009, I was first elected to the Pojoaque Valley School District Board of Education where I have served 3 consecutive terms from 2009 to 2021, while I was on the BOE, I was elected president of the board for 5 consecutive years. The PVSD has over 1800 students, 250 employees and a $28M budget.
My work and experience over my career has prepared me to be a county commissioner for my community and district 1 in Santa Fe County, so that I may represent Santa Fe County to the best of my abilities.
2. What is the most pressing problem in Santa Fe County?
Housing. The County cannot solely carry the burden of sprawl when the City produces the majority of the need. We also cannot ignore the impacts of growth on our limited water supply. The housing issue is related to other pressing issues such as public safety and economic development. Santa Fe’s lack of affordable housing for our workforce hinders the recruitment and retention of staff throughout government, front line workers, and our major industries (arts, hospitality, technology, film). Housing can take many forms but we need to work on Santa Fe’s sustainable regional planning via the Regional Planning Organization, encourage public/private partnerships to address housing shortcomings, and help the City update the General Plan.
There are many issues that we face in Santa Fe County, but I think the biggest issue that needs to be addressed that will have the biggest impact is that of being able to maintain a quality of life within district 1. So, individuals can continue to live within their cultural and traditional ways of life, such as irrigation and farming of the lands, maintaining quality roads, maintaining clean drinking water, if that be from a well or a regional water system, continue land use codes that allow for proper growth within Santa County District 1.
3. What are your suggestions for reducing violent crime?
It’s time to start addressing the root causes of crime and that starts with addressing economic and social inequality. If everyone had access to a good paying job, safe and affordable housing, quality childcare and educational opportunities – we would watch our crime rates plummet. We can help alleviate law enforcement’s struggle to fill positions by expanding drug treatment programs and investing in innovative solutions like specialized mobile units with social workers and public health professionals to assist in non-violent and behavioral calls. Finally, we can further deter crime and build a stronger community by ensuring our first responders, teachers, and mental health professionals have access to affordable housing in Santa Fe.
I think to reduce crime is a three (3) tiered process; 1st is to increase funding for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to increase manpower and patrols throughout the county and district 1, 2nd develop strategies that will better educate and prepare individuals to be vigilante to help detect and report suspicious activities and report them to the authorities and 3rd to continue to educate and inform the community of ways to help in the prevention of crimes.
4. Do you support creating dedicated open spaces for people experiencing homelessness? Explain.
The pandemic, just like homelessness, is something no one sees coming but we can all acknowledge people’s lack of access to stable employment and the continued rising inflation of consumer goods and housing will continue to exacerbate this issue. Although a dedicated space for a homeless encampment isn’t ideal, it does allow the community to establish a centralized location that can be used to provide ‘wrap around’ services to address underlying issues causing homelessness in our community. This solution can be quicker than developing a new facility, costs much less, and can be temporary as needs shift in the community.
As a commissioner, I believe that we must provide individuals that are in need, a place to live so that they are not on the streets. If that is a designated area of open space so that they can set up a place of shelter to live until they get back on their feet again. We as humans we must try and provide for the less fortunate as we move forward in these current events that we face.