E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Mayoral Hopefuls Spar at Forum
By Kiera Hay
Journal Staff Writer
The best way to rev Santa Fe's economic engine sparked spirited debate among the three candidates for Santa Fe mayor Tuesday night.
City Councilor Miguel Chavez stressed education, incumbent Mayor David Coss touted his 4,000-job blueprint, and former City Manager Asenath Kepler emphasized supporting the private sector.
Their comments came during a forum Tuesday night hosted by local chapters of the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women and attended by about 80 people at Santa Fe Prep's auditorium.
It was the third public mayoral forum of this election, which will be held March 2, and the first of at least five planned over the next week.
Economic development
Jobs turned out to be the biggest bone of contention between Kepler and Coss Tuesday. Coss touted a program he proposed that identifies areas he believes can be expanded through private/public partnerships. Coss has pegged the cost of his job plan at $320 million, but says details will be developed later.
"There are many areas this community has worked on, and can move on, if we all work together," he said.
Kepler called his blueprint "woefully lacking" in "meat." Kepler said she wants to focus on the private sector, in part by recruiting appropriate businesses to Santa Fe. City government, she said, can't provide jobs.
"Let's get it straight. We have an economy that is driven by the private sector and we need to take full advantage of that in Santa Fe," she said.
Chavez said the city's economy needs "to be as broad and diverse as possible."
Asked how to create high-paying jobs, Chavez said the focus should be on education and imbuing the workforce with the right skills at all stages of development. The city should work with the state Legislature to encourage more educational funding, he said.
Arts and culture
The candidates were also asked how they would strengthen the arts and culture segment of the city's economy.
Coss touted past actions the city has taken in that arena, including purchasing the College of Santa Fe, hooking commercial airline service and supporting organizations such as Warehouse 21.
"We spent $1 million a year promoting Santa Fe. Galleries and hotels spend even more than that. You work together on those events," he said.
Kepler said the city should focus on luring arts-focused visitors. "What it's going to take is a concerted effort to market the city of Santa Fe to those areas that are going to patronize the arts," she said.
Kepler also suggested creating a program that would bring young people from the art world to stay in Santa Fe for a certain period of time.
Chavez said that "I can appreciate this question maybe more than most," noting his long history as a furniture maker and woodworker.
He said the city should implement all parts of a Culture, Arts and Tourism Plan developed several years ago. Important issues, he said, include maintaining and supporting authentic crafts, as well as supporting the convention center's Community Gallery, where unknown artists can sell their work.
Northwest Quadrant
Views differed somewhat on the Northwest Quadrant development, whose master plan was approved by the city council last year.
"Our culture here is entwined with that land in the Northwest Quadrant. Once it's gone, it's gone," Kepler said, adding, "I will do everything I can to keep us from destroying that last pristine part of our heritage from the King of Spain."
Kepler said she doesn't think the city is doing all it could to put affordable housing into existing neighborhoods.
Chavez said the Northwest Quadrant "distracts us from the growth areas in the southwest sectors" and noted concerns, including the city's decision to allocate water for both affordable and some market rate housing.
Coss was the only candidate who came out firmly in support of the proposed development, saying, "It provides a lot of opportunities for Santa Fe families to have housing downtown in a beautiful neighborhood."
Why they're running
At the evening's start, candidates told why they were running for mayor.
Chavez said he wants to find a way Santa Fe can recruit an effective city manager and guide that person to work with residents to prioritize needs "based on available funding, and provide services to residents in a cost-effective way."
"The main reason I'm running is to better define the duties and responsibilities of the city manager," he said.
Coss said, "There is still so much to do. We need a strong economy. We need good jobs." He referred to a plan his campaign released this week that lays out an outline for creating 4,000 jobs in four years.
"In the last three years we have lost a piece of our soul, because we are not paying attention to the needs of the people," Kepler said.
City government needs to stop spending, get more police officers on the street and push a vigorous economic development plan that relies on the private sector, she said.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
