New, reelected members ready to work, learn
Several tout their key issues while aiming to get along with fellow city councilors
The first Santa Fe City Council meeting of the new year Wednesday will include two new people on the dais, both of whom say they want to learn the ropes but are eager to jump into the work of city government.
“Given the length of our terms, I think I can be more effective if I take some time to learn,” said newly elected District 3 Councilor Pilar Faulkner, who said support for police, improving the city’s PrimeGov portal and early neighborhood notification process, and increasing south side residents’ access to city government are some of her priorities.
Alma Castro, who won the election to represent District 1, said she views her role as “the working class advocate” and a supporter of city employees. She said she wants to bring her experience as a small-business owner to bear and is particularly interested in examining how the city handles public-private partnerships.
“My job is to advocate for workers, and I really believe the more we are not critical but careful with contracts, we are giving out and making sure workers and good pay are at the forefront, we’re going to be much better off,” she said.
Voters in November elected Castro and Faulkner as well as returning two incumbents, Michael Garcia in District 2 and Jamie Cassutt in District 4.
Independence and transparency were buzzwords throughout the campaign, with Castro, Faulkner and Garcia all campaigning on the need for the council to exert more of a check on the administration of Mayor Alan Webber. Post-inauguration, the councilors emphasized their willingness to work with everyone.
“I know I am going to do my best to work collaboratively and effectively with every single member of the governing body,” Garcia said.
Castro said she’s described herself as “the enigma” in conversations with other councilors, and doesn’t want to be pegged as an ally to any one specific constituency or cause.
“I really want to work with everyone,” she said.
Faulkner said she hopes she and Castro will help create a more united council.
“I know certainly coming out of the box swinging is not going to be collaborative, it’s going to be divisive,” she said.
There will be plenty to keep the council busy as the city works on getting back in compliance with audit requirements, addresses a malfunctioning wastewater treatment plant, continues development of the midtown campus, and updates its land use code and general plan.
Cassutt said her focuses will include working on improvements to parks and infrastructure in her district as well as increasing access to child care and improving public safety. Garcia is preparing legislation to support pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly infrastructure, plus an ordinance creating an inspector general’s office, a charter amendment he unsuccessfully pushed for last year.
Affordable housing is a top-of-mind issue for many Santa Fe voters, who overwhelmingly passed a tax in November on high-end home sales, with the money
raised earmarked for affordable housing initiatives. Cassutt said she hopes to build on the success of this initiative, while one of Garcia’s focuses will be to change the city’s fee-in-lieu structure to encourage the development of more affordable housing units.
As the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year begins, Garcia said, he plans to call on Webber to commit the city to continuing to put $3 million from the general fund into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which he said is something residents have requested “loud and clear.”
Cassutt also said she would support funding the trust fund for an additional fiscal year to bridge the gap, since the new tax won’t go into effect until May.
“I’m willing to introduce legislation, but I want to have a conversation with Mayor Webber to see if that’s part of his plans,” Garcia said.
Rather than make an “ironclad commitment” to one particular fund, Webber said he would prefer to see how the city can best use its resources to increase the supply of affordable housing.
“I think the question has to be, how do we get the most new housing out of our investment in addition to continuing what we already do?” Webber said.
The two new councilors may not be able to shift the balance of power on the council, which has generally supported the mayor.
Candidates’ level of support for Webber was a campaign issue, but former Mayor Sam Pick noted most residents care more about whether councilors can get basic city services delivered than their ideological bent. He urged the new members to start small.
“Everyone talks about affordable housing, and it’s a tough problem, and everyone talks about homelessness, and it’s a tough problem, too, but new people should look at the basics,” Pick said. “If they want to do more ambitious things, God bless them, but they need to do the basic things the city expects.”
Pick declined to speculate on whether this council would be more independent than those in the past.
If the councilors and the mayor are focused on trying to deliver for residents, he doesn’t see a reason for major disagreements.
“This isn’t Congress or the Senate where you line up like lemmings and vote one way or the other,” he said. “Just pick up the trash.”