On to governing: Let’s open up Plaza

Campaigning is the fun part. It’s the governing that brings headaches, and little since 2020 has caused as many headaches for Santa Fe elected officials as the toppled obelisk in the center of the Plaza.

Come January, the City Council and Mayor Alan Webber need to put the box to rest. Finally.

For inspiration, look at a federal process dating from 2020 that has removed the names of Confederate generals from nine Army bases. Not always a popular move, the Department of Defense persevered. The recent renaming of Georgia’s Fort Gordon as Fort Eisenhower concluded the process.

Instead of Fort Hood in Texas, there is now Fort Cavazos to honor Gen. Richard Cavazos, the first Latino four-star general. Fort Lee in Virginia is Fort Gregg-Adams, honoring Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, a threestar general who served for 36 years, and Lt.

Col. Charity Adams, the first Black officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II.

It was a thoughtful, deliberative process that complied with recommendations made by the congressionally mandated Naming Commission last year. The independent commission was constituted in the wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, which set off protest across the country — including in Santa Fe.

The usual Black-white fissures took on a different complexion in New Mexico. Here, the conflict came over monuments and other tributes to Spanish colonizers, with Indigenous activists asking for removal of statues honoring Don Juan de Oñate and Don Diego de Vargas. Protesters also wanted to see removal of the Soldiers’ Monument in the Plaza, which honors veterans of the Civil War and the Indian wars. It is the latter tribute that has prompted debate for decades, with the long-removed reference to victories over Indian “savages.”

Though that word was scratched out in the 1970s, its presence still stung. But at the same time, local Hispano residents believe the monument honors their ancestors who helped save the Union during New Mexico Civil War battles.

On Indigenous Peoples Day 2020, protesters pulled the obelisk down. It now is covered by a box, with city leaders unable to decide what should happen next. Like the federal government, Santa Fe had a process — the CHART, or Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth project — that involved citizens in making recommendations not just on the Plaza, but on how Santa Fe could heal ethnic conflict.

That process, criticized by some as flawed, also led to no final decisions. Organizers are calling for more work.

Now, the council is establishing an Office of Equity and Inclusion. The new office should not be another place to hand off the problem of the Plaza. The council and mayor need to make a decision about the monument. It’s time for bravery. It’s time for something, even if it’s to remove the remains of the felled obelisk and rebuild it elsewhere, perhaps in the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

What goes in the Plaza? We continue to hold that opening the space in the center is the best next step. Let people dance, watch music and enjoy hanging out. Put a few benches and flowers for the time being. A long-term solution worth exploring is embedding a timeline of history in the ground. Whatever is decided in the future, Santa Fe should not start another summer season with a plywood box dominating the Plaza.

The federal government moves slowly, yet its bureaucracy managed to rename nine bases and honor heroes. Surely Santa Fe can deal with one Plaza.