Councilor Wants SF City Attorney to Look at Fluoride Vote

Santa Fe City Councilor Peter Ives said today he wants the city to take a closer look at whether the City Council followed correct procedure earlier this week when it decided to stop adding fluoride to city water.

Ives said he has questions about if the proposal to eliminate supplemental fluoride was properly noticed on the council’s agenda. He’s asked City Attorney Geno Zamora to look into the matter.

The ordinance that was publicly advertised would have aligned the fluoride levels in municipal water with standards recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, after public testimony and discussion, Councilor Chris Calvert suggested the council eliminate adding fluoride altogether.

The council eventually voted in favor of the proposal, with support from Calvert and Councilor Ron Trujillo, Carmichael Dominguez, Bill Dimas, Patti Bushee and Chris Rivera. Ives was the lone dissenter, though non-voting Mayor Davis Coss also expressed opposition to the motion.

“Given the introduction of an amendment which had the effect of not changing but eliminating (fluoride levels), was this properly noticed?” Ives, an attorney, said Friday.

The council’s vote, taken late Wednesday night, caught many in the community by surprise. Calvert, however, said at the meeting that eliminating supplemental fluoride was discussed at a city Public Utilities meeting and part of the public record. He also said the idea was reported in local media.