Voters Guide Purpose: Retake Our Democracy spent six months developing the following list of priority policies for Santa Fe. All Mayoral candidates have completed the survey and the results were published two weeks ago. Click here to review the Mayoral responses. We asked City Council candidates to respond to the same survey so that you would be able to vote for the candidate that has committed to policies that you support rather than having to base your voting decision on rhetoric and rumor. I also received responses from every candidate for City Council. I reached out twice to try to receive a response, but have never received one. I wrote again today, inviting him to submit a response and offering to update the Guide once/if he did.

I would like to say that, especially in District 2 and 4, responses were very illuminating and it was apparent that the candidates provided thoughtful responses. I think anyone voting in those districts would benefit from a close review of responses.

Below are the questions and responses of each candidate organized by City Council District, so to view responses from District 2 and 4, you will have to scroll down the page.

District 1

Budget & Revenue 

1. Budget Prosperity, Not Austerity. Santa Fe’s dependence on Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) is regressive, unreliable, and inequitable. This dependence has led to painful service and infrastructure cuts, and lack of investment in low-income neighborhoods. It is a significant contributor to Santa Fe’s equity crisis. To begin the process of shifting Santa Fe’s dependence on GRT, the governing body should initiate a community education campaign to address community skepticism about the value of public investment in infrastructure and community services and supports. It should also work with local organizations to mount a campaign seeking voter approval for a package of progressive tax strategies tied to specific infrastructure improvements, internet service, early childhood education, and other broadly supported policies. So, the question has two parts, if elected to the Council will you use the bully pulpit to educate your community on the need for new progressive taxes and will you commit to advocating for a commitment to a package of new progressive taxes?

• Campos:  More Info. No Comments provided.
• Lindell:  Support.  I am not aware of service and infrastructure cuts.

Community Oversight and Engagement

2. City Accountability Commission. Potholes remain unrepaired, “nimbyism” stalls efforts to address affordable housing, parks remain neglected, living wage laws are not enforced, and the City was entirely unprepared to implement Ranked Choice Voting, despite almost a decade to prepare. If voters are going to approve increased tax revenues, they need to trust that those funds will be used wisely. The City Accountability Commission will be an independent, resident-directed commission that will review major city contracts and monitor implementation of voter-approved policies and programs. It will ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the will of our residents, and it will ensure that City funds are spent as intended. Would you support creation of such a commission?

• Campos:  More Info needed. No Comments provided.
• Lindell:  More info needed. No comments provided.

3. Reinvigorate and reform the City’s Neighborhood Association Network to make it a more robust and vibrant framework for neighborhood level community engagement, education, or social/civic action, with monthly meetings, policy discussions, presentations by local organizations and elected officials, and planning for neighborhood community service. Historically, the Neighborhood Associations have been the locus and launching pads for NIMBY responses to progressive initiatives. With City support, we could reclaim this Network and focusing on creating social justice in all neighborhoods of our community. Would you support the reinvigoration of the City’s Neighborhood Association Network?

• Campos:  More Info needed. If an oversight commission was created (suggestion #2) perhaps the members could be made up of the presidents of the neighborhood associations/ homeowners associations.
• Lindell:  Support. No comments provided.

4. Create and pass an ordinance to pay City Council members a $45,000/ year salary with benefits. Currently, City Council members earn between $14.22 and $16.35 an hour for ‘hours worked.’ This level of pay deters many working class individuals from running for office, effectively limiting our pool of representatives to those with a most forgiving employer or for individuals whose personal incomes or wealth allows them to serve on the Council, estimated to be close to a 40-hour a week position. Would you support an ordinance to pay City Council representatives a salary?

• Campos:  More info needed. Looking at creating full-time councilors positions to enable a greater pool of people that are willing and able to run is something I would strongly consider.
• Lindell. More info needed. I would certainly like to see more full-time Councilors, but I’m not sure that a larger salary is all that it takes to achieve that goal. 

5. Resident Police Oversight Commission. Create a resident Police Oversight Committee that has authority to conduct investigations, subpoena information and people, impose penalties, and review appeals. Oakland and San Francisco have excellent models from which to learn. Would you support creation of a Police Oversight Commission?

• Campos:  More info needed
• Lindell:  More info needed. The City has an existing contract with the Police Officers Association, and any proposal that addresses personnel matters would be part of new contract negotiations.

Affordable Housing & Neighborhood Development

6. Expand access to affordable housing for the lowest income residents by prioritizing new housing development as listed below, highest priority to lowest, and consider utilization of Community Land Trust framework for ensuring that housing remains affordable in perpetuity.

• Very low-income rental development;
• Low-income rental development;
• Low-income multi-family development for homeownership;
• Moderate income home ownership development.

Would you support the prioritizing of housing development according to the above criteria?

• Campos: More info needed. I think our housing development needs to focus on providing low-income to medium income housing needs as the main priority.  I would like to see a housing needs assessment done that will help determine what our local population needs.  There are a variety of instruments that can be utilized to assure affordable units stay that way like rent controls in various forms.
• Lindell: Support. No comment provided.

7. Utilize a Community Land Trust approach to organize and sustainably develop publicly owned properties with the purpose of creating a range of sustainable, affordable housing and mixed-use employment/small business development enterprises with resident governance, ensuring that the goals of each enterprise align with resident priorities. Do you support the use of a Community Land Trust?

• Campos: More info needed. More info Needed. No comments provided.
• Lindell: More info needed.  While I am attracted to this idea, land issues and trusts are complex issues, particularly in a city as old as ours so I would need more information.

8. Citywide Plan for Affordable Housing. To counter NIMBY responses and support expansion of affordable housing in Santa Fe, identify 5-7 city owned lots appropriate to affordable housing development with at least one lot from each council district, and develop a single plan for phased development of affordable housing in districts across the City. Would you support the use of a Community Land Trust to govern these developments with a governance structure that puts oversight and future development in the hands of a resident council?

• Campos: More info needed. More info needed.  Comments: Are you thinking that there would be a pre-determined group of low-income people that will occupy this housing and they would be the stewards of that development.
• Lindell. More info needed.  I’m in favor of creative solutions to our City’s housing issues, but since this type of ownership is complicated, it needs more in-depth analysis.

9. Santa Fe University Art & Design Development. A public process should be initiated to develop a multi-use plan for SFUAD, and the City should continue to fund payments on this property until such a process is completed. A priority for development will be to create mixed use, high density, affordable housing with a significant investment in low and very low-income rental apartments. Incorporate a Community Land Trust for all or part of this development with strong resident governance and incorporate bike trails and walkways as part of the development. Would you support this form of participatory process?

• Campos: More info needed. More info needed. There needs to be a very careful assessment done to determine what the people of Santa Fe decide to do with SFUAD.  The city should take the long-term development decisions slow, and in the meanwhile find short-term income earning uses that will help offset the loan payments and that do not significantly change the asset until final decisions are made.  The scenario you are presenting has strong potential.  However, there are many details to be considered.  Again, in placing a CLT what will the criteria be to establish the directors?  Will they be elected?
• Lindell. Strongly support. This is happening right now!

Equitable Sustainable Economic Development

10. Actively Enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage Laws. Housing affordability is directly tied to a living wage. Fair Housing laws are designed to help ensure that people who work in Santa Fe can live here without harassment and discrimination. The Living Wage law has established a higher minimum wage in Santa Fe ($11.09) than either the state ($8.75) or national ($7.25) minimum wage. But neither fair housing violations nor living wage violations are enforced. Would you support directing the City to fund retaining wage and housing law experts to investigate and enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage laws?

• Campos: More info needed. More info needed:  We need to find an enforcement solution for sure.  Normally the state handles fair housing law and wage and hour/labor standards violations. Before adding a city labor department, we should work with the state to get better enforcement that includes local government wage and hour/labor standards. That might take state legislative changes. There should be heavy City penalties and fines tacked on to those imposed by the state and federal government.
• Lindell: Support. I fully support enforcement of Living Wage and Fair Housing laws. The City’s minimum wage is now $11.40, so I’m not sure if this justifies an FTE. 

11. Equal Pay for Women. The city of Albuquerque was the first city in the nation to offer an incentive in contracting to employers that demonstrate low gender pay differentials between women and men in the same job categories. The Pay Equity ordinance became law on July 1, 2015, requiring city contractors to report their employees’ pay by gender and job category – only average pay gaps are reported; personal information is not collected. To receive preferential ratings for all City contracts, companies can have a pay gap of less than 7%. Would you support such an ordinance in Santa Fe?

• Campos: More info needed. Racial and gender based gaps should be looked at for preferential ratings.
• Lindell. Strongly support.  No comment provided

12. Paid sick leave. Employers with ten or more employees shall pay at least 5 days of paid sick leave annually and employers with less than 10 employees shall provide 40 hours of unpaid but protected sick leave annually (based upon state of Oregon law). Would you support creation of this ordinance?

• Campos: No level of support indicated. I’m not sure formula based on the # of employee is the best possible option.  I do strongly support mandating paid sick leave, however there may be a better formula than what is presented here.  For example, if there is a multimillion dollar company with 7 employees don’t you think those employees should have paid sick leave?
• Lindell:  Support.  No comment provided.

13. The City should implement a True Connect, low-interest loan program such as has been implemented by the Town of Bernallilo, Dońa Ana County and the Santa Fe Public Schools. Through this program, the city or any large employer can create a low-interest loan program for all employees. Loans are capped at 24% and serve as an alternative to predatory pay day lenders who can still charge up to 175% in NM. Would you support creation of a True Connect, low-interest loan program for City employees?

• Campos: Support/More info.  Employees should be able to get pay advances, prior to having to take out a loan.  The rules around how this would be structured would influence how I would vote.
• Lindell: Strongly support. I have started to work on this.

14. Strengthen Public Transportation. Car-dependency contributes to climate change and can perpetuate a cycle of poverty. Santa Fe Trails bus system is a cornerstone for many Santa Fe residents, helping people break their dependence on cars, reducing car-generated pollution, and delivering low-income residents to their place of employment. Private transportation is entirely subsidized, from our roads to our rails to our airports. Is it time for Santa Fe to subsidize transit for our under-served populations and consider following Denver’s model and making public bus transportation free? Specifically, would you support City Council resolution to ensure that 100% of the revenue from the 1991 Gross Receipts Tax for transit go to Santa Fe Trails and to develop a plan to eliminate all fares for public transit?

• Campos: Strongly Support/More Info.  develop and implement a plan that provides riders with efficient service (transfer waits for no more than 15 min. between stops) and free public transportation.
• Lindell: More info needed. Our city bus system has to be able to pay for bus replacements, and federal support has decreased. More analysis would be needed to keep a subsidy program from adversely affecting other under- or unfunded programs.

15. Sustain the effort to create a Public Bank to democratize our local economy. The Task Force will not likely have answered all the questions or explored all the options involved in a Public Bank, so would you support the City continuing researching and developing a Public Bank and will you support funding to secure the technical input of national leadership and expertise to advance this initiative.

• Campos: More info needed. No comment provided.
• Lindell. More info needed. No comment provided.

16. Improve south, west, and midtown resident access to healthy, affordable food using zoning changes and incentives to promote development of an array of community food gardens, greenhouses and a network of mercados that allow sale of local and regional farmers’ produce and food produced in the community gardens rather than seeking major corporate markets like Albertson’s. Do you support this form of development, instead of big box, national markets?

• Campos: Strongly support.  One of the first things the city can do to make community food production viable is to lower the cost of water, so we can afford gardening. 100% support for zoning changes and incentives to promote development of an array of community food gardens, greenhouses and a network of mercados that allow sale of local and regional farmers’ produce and food produced in the family and/or community gardens.
• Lindell.  More info. I do support this, but the Airport Road overlay district needs a grocery store. Entitlements are in place for this to happen. I also strongly support nutritional education for school children. I work with the Food Depot and the Verde Fund to make sure that none of the children in our community go hungry.  We have to ensure that school breakfast and lunch programs offer children meals that they will actually eat. Perfectly good food goes to waste if we don’t provide food options that kids find familiar and appealing

17. Pass a Buy Local Ordinance. Pass a resolution that provides local business with significant bonus points in competitive bids for all city services and acquisitions. Would you support this ordinance?

• Campos: More info needed. I am not sure having an automatic bonus point system is the best solution.  Having a local preference policy helps.  An RFP needs to be designed carefully to give local preference but at the same time not result in an inferior quality vendor at a higher price or create a noncompetitive bidding process because one local vendor has a monopoly.
• Lindell: More info needed.  I just sponsored a change in the procurement ordinance that does create a scaled local preference, but being locally owned is not enough. Hiring local is now part of the planning.

Renewable Energy

18. Create an energy conservation division within the Public Utility Department to support development of energy conservation options for low-income Santa Feans. Would you support funding to create this activity?

• Campos: More info needed. Energy conservation options are one way to lower the cost of living.  The affordable housing fee given by developers may be used for funding for low-income homeowners assistance.
• Lindell: More info needed. CDBG (Community Development Block Grants) monies to Homewise have supported this type of programming.

19. Solarize City facilities. Because PNM has lobbied successfully to prevent community solar from becoming legal in NM, the City has limited options in terms of solarizing city-owned facilities. The city should lobby in the Roundhouse to seek passage of Community Solar so it can issue an RFP to seek competitive bids to solarize its facilities. In the meantime, the City should assess which of its 22 facilities are certain not to be consolidated or moved, and where rooftop solar can easily be mounted. Would you support the City seeking competitive bids for installing rooftop solar on those sites, as recommended by the Sustainability Commission.

• Campos: More info needed. Solar roofs rather than solar panels is a more advanced system with better aesthetic values.
• Lindell: Strongly support. No comments provided.

Sustainability

20. Would support expanding development of walkways and bike paths throughout the City?

• Campos: Strongly support. No comments.
• Lindell:  More info needed.  The City has a master plan, and I would need to know in more detail what expansion is being requested.

21. Fund and Implement SWAN Park Phase 2. Santa Fe’s Airport Road Corridor is one of the fastest growing areas where a large portion of Santa Fe’s young people live, but it disproportionately lacks investments in city amenities such as parks. Completion of SWAN park will be an important step toward addressing this problem and increasing equity in the city. Would you support the governing body fully funding construction for phase 2 of SWAN Park?

• Campos: No level of support provided. No comment provided.
• Lindell: Support. This is totally money dependent. The design RFP was released in March of 2016 with a $4.5 million budget for phase 2 to be CIP funded. I believe the current Council wants this funded, and Rep. James Trujillo has been helpful with the legislature with this project.

Children & Family Services

22. Expand Funding for Health and Human Services for Children and Adults. Currently, the City’s Human Services Committee disperses two percent (2%) of the gross receipts tax to local nonprofit programs addressing the essential health and human service needs of Santa Fe’s adult residents. The Child and Youth Commission disperses three percent (3%) of the gross receipts tax to community programs that promote the healthy development of children and youth.  These two revenue streams are inadequate to meet the growing need for services.  Would you support the City raising the percentage of GRT contributed for health and human services by 1% from each of these two funding streams?

• Campos: No level of support provided. No comment provided.
• Lindell: Strongly support.  On January 10, 2018, the City allocated an extra 1% for Children and Youth, predicted to yield an additional $400K annually.

23. Would you support a proposal to fund Pre-K in Santa Fe through a sustainable, progressive revenue structure?

• Campos: No level of support provided. No comment provided.
• Lindell: Strongly support. No comments provided.

24. Trained Responders to Domestic Violence Incidents. Domestic Violence remains a severe problem in Santa Fe. Police departments in other cities equip their officers with additional resources to effectively respond to 911 domestic violence calls. Would you support funding for trained DV counselors to accompany patrol officers on DV calls and should equip patrol officers with cell phones so that the Santa Fe Police Department can fully implement a Lethality Assessment Protocol?

• Campos:  No level of support provided. No comment.
• Lindell:  Strongly support. No comment.

District Two

1. Budget Prosperity, Not Austerity. Santa Fe’s dependence on Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) is regressive, unreliable, and inequitable. This dependence has led to painful service and infrastructure cuts, and lack of investment in low-income neighborhoods. It is a significant contributor to Santa Fe’s equity crisis. To begin the process of shifting Santa Fe’s dependence on GRT, the governing body should initiate a community education campaign to address community skepticism about the value of public investment in infrastructure and community services and supports. It should also work with local organizations to mount a campaign seeking voter approval for a package of progressive tax strategies tied to specific infrastructure improvements, internet service, early childhood education, and other broadly supported policies. So, the question has two parts, if elected to the Council will you use the bully pulpit to educate your community on the need for new progressive taxes and will you commit to advocating for a commitment to a package of new progressive taxes?

• Arellano:  More info.  I do not support continuing to raise the GRT, but I would need to review the actual tax package.
• Downey: Support.  I am very much in favor of progressive taxation, and I would certainly work to educate the public as to its benefits and help lobby for this at the legislature. Changing the state tax code, however, will be no easy task, so I would want to focus on more immediate priorities, such as #2, below.
• Wirth: Completely agree GRT is regressive. I would work with the state to reform the GRT and give the City other revenue options. 2. Given the conclusions of the McHard report, new taxes right now are a last resort. I would support revenue neutral transition away from the GRT to more progressive alternatives.

Community Oversight and Engagement

2. City Accountability Commission. Potholes remain unrepaired, “nimbyism” stalls efforts to address affordable housing, parks remain neglected, living wage laws are not enforced, and the City was entirely unprepared to implement Ranked Choice Voting, despite almost a decade to prepare. If voters are going to approve increased tax revenues, they need to trust that those funds will be used wisely. The City Accountability Commission will be an independent, resident-directed commission that will review major city contracts and monitor implementation of voter-approved policies and programs. It will ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the will of our residents, and it will ensure that City funds are spent as intended. Would you support creation of such a commission?

• Arellano:  Strongly support. We have many extremely qualified members of the community, and a large part of my platform is to more formally include them in the City’s decision-making and accountability processes.
• Downey: Strongly support. The McHard report dated September 27^th, 2018, recommended 80 specific improvements—large and small—for Santa Fe. This commission should use a public, regularly updated checklist to make sure items don’t fall through the cracks. Our community’s trust level will be raised if it is clear that we are addressing these recommendations and that positive changes toward greater transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness are being made.
• Wirth: We need to restore trust in City government’s ability to handle its responsibilities. I am hopeful that the changes to our governance structure in creating a mayor with more authority and responsibility will lead to the accountability we need and require to restore trust without a need for another entity

3. Reinvigorate and reform the City’s Neighborhood Association Network to make it a more robust and vibrant framework for neighborhood level community engagement, education, or social/civic action, with monthly meetings, policy discussions, presentations by local organizations and elected officials, and planning for neighborhood community service. Historically, the Neighborhood Associations have been the locus and launching pads for NIMBY responses to progressive initiatives. With City support, we could reclaim this Network and focusing on creating social justice in all neighborhoods of our community. Would you support the reinvigoration of the City’s Neighborhood Association Network?

• Arellano: More Info. I would like to look more closely at the implementation of this proposal.  I do agree that sometimes NIMBY is a knee-jerk reaction by a community, but sometimes I think proponents of a measure try to label opponents as “NIMBYs” to try to avoid a real discussion of “right development in the right place”.  For example, Morning Star assisted living wanted to build their facility on Old Pecos Trail, which ignored a long-standing policy to preserve the Old Pecos Trail Corridor.  The neighbors who opposed the measure were labeled NIMBYs by some, but now Morning Star is still being built in District 2, right down the road, in a more appropriate mixed use area that can better handle the traffic.
• Downey: Support. I would be very interested to hear about strategies to accomplish this goal, but I am skeptical about the idea of neighborhood associations transforming into vehicles for progressive change. One can hope, but let’s be realistic.
• Wirth: More information is needed. Input from neighborhoods is important and respect for them is required by the City Charter. One candidate for mayor speaks about creating an office of neighborhood associations to build trust and inclusiveness and to break down the current adversarial environment. That’s worth exploring as is my idea to convene a Workforce Housing Summit to put a face on those struggling to meet their housing needs.

4. Create and pass an ordinance to pay City Council members a $45,000/ year salary with benefits. Currently, City Council members earn between $14.22 and $16.35 an hour for ‘hours worked.’ This level of pay deters many working class individuals from running for office, effectively limiting our pool of representatives to those with a most forgiving employer or for individuals whose personal incomes or wealth allows them to serve on the Council, estimated to be close to a 40-hour a week position. Would you support an ordinance to pay City Council representatives a salary?

• Arellano: Strongly support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Support. This makes sense. It’s also more true and more important at the state level, but I think it would be poor form for a candidate for this office to “strongly support” such a measure. My motive for running has nothing to do with compensation and everything to do with the intention to implement measures that will make Santa Fe a much more vibrant and sustainable city, while honoring its rich culture and history.
• Wirth: While I understand the rationale, if I’m elected, I will not advocate to raise my own salary.

5. Resident Police Oversight Commission. Create a resident Police Oversight Committee that has authority to conduct investigations, subpoena information and people, impose penalties, and review appeals. Oakland and San Francisco have excellent models from which to learn. Would you support creation of a Police Oversight Commission?

• Arellano: Support/More Info. I currently serve on the City’s Public Safety Committee.  However, I do feel it lacks authority as sometimes our committee will vote down a measure only for that measure to later be approved by the Council.  So I would like to see a specific plan for restructuring the authority of the committee
• Downey: More info needed. Santa Fe too has issues with police misconduct and we need effective mechanisms for public accountability. While we may well be able to learn from the experience of these cities, I think it may be more important to look into changes that smaller cities can make to improve policing. Our police haven’t gotten a raise in 10 years, so I would probably prefer to use limited resources to address the pay issue and the affordable housing crisis in a way that fosters community policing. Right now, a large percentage of the force commutes. Instead of attacking the symptom of the problem, I think it would be more productive to put resources into the situation’s root causes. I also support reinstituting community-police dialogues to break down barriers and to foster a sense of shared community goals between residents and police.
• Wirth: I am willing to look at such a commission and the models in the progressive cities you cite. We will soon hire a new police chief. This is a critically important position. We need to increase and retain police officers and emphasize community policing and de-escalation training.

Affordable Housing & Neighborhood Development

6. Expand access to affordable housing for the lowest income residents by prioritizing new housing development as listed below, highest priority to lowest, and consider utilization of Community Land Trust framework for ensuring that housing remains affordable in perpetuity.

• Very low-income rental development;
• Low-income rental development;
• Low-income multi-family development for homeownership;
• Moderate income home ownership development.

Would you support the prioritizing of housing development according to the above criteria?

• Arellano:  Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. We need it all, and we need it soon. My plan for the revitalization of Santa Fe University of Art & Design will take dramatic steps in this direction
• Wirth: Workforce housing is the biggest issue facing the city externally. Creating more supply in the rental market is needed. We should start by putting housing on the mid-town campus and on suitable City owned properties recommended by the Community Development Commission. The St. Michael’s Drive overlay district is also an important area to consider. I am proposing a Workforce Housing Summit to 1. lay the ground work for comprehensive solutions, 2. put a face on those struggling to meet their housing needs, and 3. learn from other people, organizations and communities that have worked on this issue.

7. Utilize a Community Land Trust approach to organize and sustainably develop publicly owned properties with the purpose of creating a range of sustainable, affordable housing and mixed-use employment/small business development enterprises with resident governance, ensuring that the goals of each enterprise align with resident priorities. Do you support the use of a Community Land Trust?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support.  I enthusiastically support the community land trust approach, but it comes with administrative costs and other challenges. In the short term, we must accomplish a review of the McHard report and learn more about our city’s financial situation. However, at the same time it would make sense to investigate how the CLT approach might work in association with parts of the 64 acres of the Midtown Campus (SFUAD) and Midtown Overlay District (300+ additional acreage) makes sense.
• Wirth: I am willing to consider the idea of a Community Land Trust and where it might be appropriately used. The New Mexico Inter-Faith Housing group has been an interesting model – we should explore what aspects are worthy of replication. A Workforce Housing Summit would help us learn more. We also need to find a recurring, stable revenue source without raising taxes for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to leverage other state and federal funding.

8. Citywide Plan for Affordable Housing. To counter NIMBY responses and support expansion of affordable housing in Santa Fe, identify 5-7 city owned lots appropriate to affordable housing development with at least one lot from each council district, and develop a single plan for phased development of affordable housing in districts across the City. Would you support the use of a Community Land Trust to govern these developments with a governance structure that puts oversight and future development in the hands of a resident council?

• Arellano: Support. No comments provided.
• Downey: More info needed. As stated above, I would support the use of the CLT approach. Let’s use the Midtown Campus (SFUAD), which is in District 3 (just across the borders of District’s 1 and 2) and the associated remaining Midtown Overlay District property (all in District 2) for a test case for your “resident council” council concept. We probably won’t get to the Utopia you propose in question 3, but we certainly can get some important work done.
• Wirth: More information is needed. The Community Development Commission has been tasked with identifying suitable City owned property for housing development.  A Workforce Housing Summit can help us lay the ground work for comprehensive solutions. I do not support bypassing our historic and land use ordinances.

9. Santa Fe University Art & Design Development. A public process should be initiated to develop a multi-use plan for SFUAD, and the City should continue to fund payments on this property until such a process is completed. A priority for development will be to create mixed use, high density, affordable housing with a significant investment in low and very low-income rental apartments. Incorporate a Community Land Trust for all or part of this development with strong resident governance and incorporate bike trails and walkways as part of the development. Would you support this form of participatory process?

• Arellano:  Strongly support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. I would support the kind of development you describe, but you neglected to mention many more potential components of a successful Midtown Campus (SFUAD) transition that would hopefully be addressed by this participatory process. In addition to “bike paths and walkways,” we need pedestrian and bike permeability through to the businesses on Cerrillos and St. Michael’s.

I would also expect to see the use of stormwater infiltration, roofwater harvesting/recycling, and waterless technologies applied to a type of development that many island nations have. I call it roof-reliant development. The current drought should be reminding everyone that we need to think long-term so that our children and grandchildren have enough water for future development. For this, we need a new source, the sky. City water is available in the area, so it could always supplement these new developments when necessary. Alternatively, after a rain or snow event during an emergency-drought condition, the systems associated with these developments could be an important source of drinking water for our community.

Of course, myriad forms of renewable energy would play a significant role here as would, a community garden, low-water aquaponics greenhouses, as well as healthy doses of natural/permacultural patterns and hopefully plenty of input from students of Christopher Alexander’s essential book, A Pattern Language.

Mixed use makes sense there as does the continued use of the Green Garson Studios, the Screen, the Driscoll sports facility, Benildus Hall, and other facilities that have intended uses. Some of the dorms could be cleanup and used for a small institution that might wish to move to the campus, but the remaining dorms would hopefully (depending on their condition) be renovated and added to in order to support some of the housing we desperately need.

• Wirth: and in fact one is underway at the City. We need to create a vibrant, income generating property. It should be a model development – complete with bike trails, walkways, open space and sustainability features. We should incorporate housing, build on our strengths by expanding our film and tech sectors, create an entrepreneurial zone with high connectivity to diversify our demographics and expand our creative and entrepreneurial sectors. I am hopeful we can make it something that serves all of our community.

Equitable Sustainable Economic Development

10. Actively Enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage Laws. Housing affordability is directly tied to a living wage. Fair Housing laws are designed to help ensure that people who work in Santa Fe can live here without harassment and discrimination. The Living Wage law has established a higher minimum wage in Santa Fe ($11.09) than either the state ($8.75) or national ($7.25) minimum wage. But neither fair housing violations nor living wage violations are enforced. Would you support directing the City to fund retaining wage and housing law experts to investigate and enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage laws?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support.  Along with unnecessarily capitalizing letters in words like “Fair,” “Housing,” and “Living Wage Laws,” wage theft has to be stopped in our community. But I’m always skeptical about solutions that involve paying “experts.” I would prefer to see if we can find an internal solution that does not cost the city. Remember, we aren’t rich. If we can’t fix it internally, fine, let’s get someone in who can, but let’s see what we can do with the strong mayor, and an invigorated, somewhat new council.
• Wirth: Workforce housing is the greatest external challenge the city is facing. We need a Workforce Housing Summit as I have described elsewhere. We need more education for employers and employees around living wage laws. The City should explore creating an administrative process to handle disputes that allows for mediation so that complaints can be resolved with out costly litigation. It may be necessary to contract with outside counsel knowledgeable in employment law. I would like to take stock of the expertise we already have before engaging other outside expertise.  We will be hiring a new City Attorney

11. Equal Pay for Women. The city of Albuquerque was the first city in the nation to offer an incentive in contracting to employers that demonstrate low gender pay differentials between women and men in the same job categories. The Pay Equity ordinance became law on July 1, 2015, requiring city contractors to report their employees’ pay by gender and job category – only average pay gaps are reported; personal information is not collected. To receive preferential ratings for all City contracts, companies can have a pay gap of less than 7%. Would you support such an ordinance in Santa Fe?

• Arellano:   Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. Let’s do this.
• Wirth: Strongly support.

12. Paid sick leave. Employers with ten or more employees shall pay at least 5 days of paid sick leave annually and employers with less than 10 employees shall provide 40 hours of unpaid but protected sick leave annually (based upon state of Oregon law). Would you support creation of this ordinance?

• Arellano: Support/more info.  No comment provided.
• Downey:  Strongly support. When my wife and I employed up to 21 people, we provided a variety of benefits including paid holidays, paid vacation, a monthly check to help offset too-large health-insurance premiums, and more, but we were by no means the norm. Let’s get the McHard report handled. Let’s be sure we have the public trust. Let’s get wage theft eliminated, housing built, roads paved, and kindergarten funded. After that, I would be extremely interested in working with you on this.

In the meantime, I am curious by your choice of the number 10 as a threshold. The nature of people and efficient groups, in my experience as an employer, hovers closer to 7, 14, and 21. The transition of going to a tenth employee was hard for our small business, and this would have made it harder. We would have needed to pay out a greater monthly payroll and need to withstand potentially lower productivity during a time when our company’s economy of scale was not at its peak.

I support workers and their rights. I know how hard hard-work is, but a populated state like Oregon has far greater resources at its disposal than a small city in a small state—especially given the fact that we are not always able to enforce our living wage law, that we are not very good at supporting small businesses looking for a permit to expand, and that attracting new businesses to our city is difficult given our poor education scores and expensive housing. I love the sentiment behind this effort, but realistically we are talking about long-term goals that we should work toward with realistic expectations.

• Wirth: I support paid sick leave. The specifics would need to be worked out after meeting with constituents and stake holders to determine elements appropriate for Santa Fe.

13. The City should implement a True Connect, low-interest loan program such as has been implemented by the Town of Bernallilo, Dońa Ana County and the Santa Fe Public Schools. Through this program, the city or any large employer can create a low-interest loan program for all employees. Loans are capped at 24% and serve as an alternative to predatory pay day lenders who can still charge up to 175% in NM. Would you support creation of a True Connect, low-interest loan program for City employees?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. As an employer, I was occasionally approached by employees to get advances on pay. For years, we were never stiffed because people had to work for us for a while before they would get such a benefit and because advance amounts were always low. Eventually, we were stiffed by an employee who no one ever heard of again. We ended the practice that day. Given the 1,500 employees at the City, I think this idea is worthy of consideration as long as models are fully vetted and significant precautions are taken to ensure full payback with interest
• Wirth: I am willing to learn more

14. Strengthen Public Transportation. Car-dependency contributes to climate change and can perpetuate a cycle of poverty. Santa Fe Trails bus system is a cornerstone for many Santa Fe residents, helping people break their dependence on cars, reducing car-generated pollution, and delivering low-income residents to their place of employment. Private transportation is entirely subsidized, from our roads to our rails to our airports. Is it time for Santa Fe to subsidize transit for our under-served populations and consider following Denver’s model and making public bus transportation free? Specifically, would you support City Council resolution to ensure that 100% of the revenue from the 1991 Gross Receipts Tax for transit go to Santa Fe Trails and to develop a plan to eliminate all fares for public transit?

• Arellano: Support/more info. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. I am a huge fan of the bus system, but I think many of our buses are too big. We should be using smaller vehicles until ridership increases. If it is true that fares do not exceed the cost of collection, someone smarter than I needs to explain why we are charging for the bus at the moment
• Wirth: Strongly support.

15. Sustain the effort to create a Public Bank to democratize our local economy. The Task Force will not likely have answered all the questions or explored all the options involved in a Public Bank, so would you support the City continuing researching and developing a Public Bank and will you support funding to secure the technical input of national leadership and expertise to advance this initiative.

• Arellano:  More Info.  No comment provided.
• Downey: Support. I was very enthusiastic about this idea, but I think we have two important challenges at the city level. One, we first have to get our own house in order and prove to the citizens that the McHard report has been effectively addressed. Two, I would support further study at the city level, but in the short term a public bank may simply need greater capitalization than a small city can provide. On the state level, it probably makes more sense. I’ll call Rep. Brian Egolf, Sen. Peter Wirth, and others about it this spring, but I’m a little busy at the moment, and they must be tired after the session.
• Wirth: Support. No comment.

16. Improve south, west, and midtown resident access to healthy, affordable food using zoning changes and incentives to promote development of an array of community food gardens, greenhouses and a network of mercados that allow sale of local and regional farmers’ produce and food produced in the community gardens rather than seeking major corporate markets like Albertson’s. Do you support this form of development, instead of big box, national markets?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. The urban agriculture ordinance passed in the fall of 2016, was a good start, but we could go further. Exceptions for commercial greenhouses did not materialize in the ordinance, and I think they should have. The limiting factor with respect to much of this is, of course, water. Fortunately, SFCC hired an internationally respected expert, R. Charlie Shultz, to run its Controlled Environment Agriculture Department, and there are now plenty of people in Santa Fe with the skill to run aquaponics and hydroponics greenhouses, but the cost of land in the city is always a major issue. The City of Santa Fe should support all efforts to grow food locally—especially aquaponics, which can grow organic, healthy food using very little water
• Wirth: Strongly support

17. Pass a Buy Local Ordinance. Pass a resolution that provides local business with significant bonus points in competitive bids for all city services and acquisitions. Would you support this ordinance?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. I have always supported this kind of ordinance. The city has one now, and I would look for ways to improve it.
• Wirth: Support.

Renewable Energy

18. Create an energy conservation division within the Public Utility Department to support development of energy conservation options for low-income Santa Feans. Would you support funding to create this activity?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. Conservation is the low-hanging fruit with respect to combatting climate change, and when conservation efforts help reduce utility bill for low-income Santa Feans it’s a win-win situation.
• Wirth: I support development of energy conservation options for low-income Santa Feans. The Sustainable Santa Fe Commission will be making recommendations in their soon to be released plan.

19. Solarize City facilities. Because PNM has lobbied successfully to prevent community solar from becoming legal in NM, the City has limited options in terms of solarizing city-owned facilities. The city should lobby in the Roundhouse to seek passage of Community Solar so it can issue an RFP to seek competitive bids to solarize its facilities. In the meantime, the City should assess which of its 22 facilities are certain not to be consolidated or moved, and where rooftop solar can easily be mounted. Would you support the City seeking competitive bids for installing rooftop solar on those sites, as recommended by the Sustainability Commission.

• Arellano: Strongly support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. I have a long history of activism and have written extensively about alternative energy, and I think the commission’s recommendations should not only be followed, but I would also be happy to lead the charge from the role councilor
• Wirth: Strongly support.

Sustainability

20. Would support expanding development of walkways and bike paths throughout the City?

• Arellano: Support. No comment provided.
• Downey: Strongly support. It’s who I am. I have been biking all over this enchanting city for decades. When we first moved to the South Capitol, thanks to the inspiration of the late Gail Ryba and members of BTAC, I went door-to-door in my neighborhood and got over 200 people to sign a petition to take away half of the parking on Don Gaspar Avenue. This was not an easy task, but the resulting bike lane turned out to be a great asset for the area. We need to get people out of their cars and onto bikes and sidewalks, and I will be certain to do this.
• Wirth: Strongly support.

21. Fund and Implement SWAN Park Phase 2. Santa Fe’s Airport Road Corridor is one of the fastest growing areas where a large portion of Santa Fe’s young people live, but it disproportionately lacks investments in city amenities such as parks. Completion of SWAN park will be an important step toward addressing this problem and increasing equity in the city. Would you support the governing body fully funding construction for phase 2 of SWAN Park?

• Arellano: Support/More info.  I generally support parks in our communities, but I feel the City has some work to do to ensure that parks and open spaces are implemented correctly.  We have some work to do to regain the public trust in this area.Besides the $30.2 million parks bond of which some $2.5 million was “misappropriated”, the City intends to spend another $3 million to redo many medians, including the ones just landscaped a year or so ago.
• Downey: Strongly support. I believe in fairness, equity, and parks, so I believe SWAN 2 would help alleviate the problem that park access is limited on the south side of the city. I am also looking forward to seeing the soon-to-be-submitted parks master plan, but all park planning needs to incorporate stormwater infiltration so that plant material can thrive and little—if any—supplemental water
• Wirth: Strongly support.

Children & Family Services

22. Expand Funding for Health and Human Services for Children and Adults. Currently, the City’s Human Services Committee disperses two percent (2%) of the gross receipts tax to local nonprofit programs addressing the essential health and human service needs of Santa Fe’s adult residents. The Child and Youth Commission disperses three percent (3%) of the gross receipts tax to community programs that promote the healthy development of children and youth.  These two revenue streams are inadequate to meet the growing need for services.  Would you support the City raising the percentage of GRT contributed for health and human services by 1% from each of these two funding streams?.

• Arellano. Support. I do generally support increasing support services, and I believe we need to take a much closer look at how we are spending our money in our existing budget.
• Downey: Strongly support. My understanding is that the city is in the process of doing something along these lines, and I am thrilled to hear it. So many of our problems stem from basic needs not being met, so an investment like this benefits us all.
• Wirth: The Children & Youth Commission has just unveiled its new strategic plan. I would need to have a better understanding of the City’s overall budget picture before I could support increased funding. There is good work going on at the City in this area

23. Would you support a proposal to fund Pre-K in Santa Fe through a sustainable, progressive revenue structure?

• Arellano: Strongly support/more info. I strongly support the City investing in FULL DAY preK for working parents (7:30-5:30), such as programs run by the United Way of Santa Fe County, but again would have to investigate the “progressive revenue structure” being proposed to support it.The Public Schools currently run half day PreK programs and a few “full day” that are actually just a full school day, and they can never fill the half day slots because it is not so helpful for parents to only send their child for a few hours.
• Downey: Strongly support. We should not only work with NM’s next governor and our state legislature, but we should also work with the state land office to see if we can generate enough revenue from a program that leases land for the controlled environment agriculture systems (particularly aquaponics) described in question 16. We could also tax recreational cannabis sales to adults (21 and over) if we were to legalize it in this state. Not only would we see a boom in business transaction in New Mexico and an increase in GRT revenues, we would also get a long-term benefits from a functioning pre-K system. Our neighbors to the north have been doing something similar to this successfully for many years, and the state of New Mexico should follow suit.
• Wirth: Priority number one is to advocate at the state level for fully funding pre-k “above the line”. I also support additional local efforts to fund early childhood education. We will need to work with our educational leaders and the Santa Fe community broadly to determine a path forward.

24. Trained Responders to Domestic Violence Incidents. Domestic Violence remains a severe problem in Santa Fe. Police departments in other cities equip their officers with additional resources to effectively respond to 911 domestic violence calls. Would you support funding for trained DV counselors to accompany patrol officers on DV calls and should equip patrol officers with cell phones so that the Santa Fe Police Department can fully implement a Lethality Assessment Protocol?

• Arellano: Strongly support/more info. I strongly support increased resources and training for our officers to deal with especially difficult situations.  I would need to review the Lethality Assessment Protocol in detail with the Police Chief before committing to supporting it.
• Downey: Strongly support. Improved training for responders in this area is very important, but it goes beyond that. For example, police (in particular) are often not trained in how to deal with mentally ill people, too often resulting in pleas for help resulting in death.
• Wirth: Strongly support.

District Four

1. Budget Prosperity, Not Austerity. Santa Fe’s dependence on Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) is regressive, unreliable, and inequitable. This dependence has led to painful service and infrastructure cuts, and lack of investment in low-income neighborhoods. It is a significant contributor to Santa Fe’s equity crisis. To begin the process of shifting Santa Fe’s dependence on GRT, the governing body should initiate a community education campaign to address community skepticism about the value of public investment in infrastructure and community services and supports. It should also work with local organizations to mount a campaign seeking voter approval for a package of progressive tax strategies tied to specific infrastructure improvements, internet service, early childhood education, and other broadly supported policies. So, the question has two parts, if elected to the Council will you use the bully pulpit to educate your community on the need for new progressive taxes and will you commit to advocating for a commitment to a package of new progressive taxes?

• Coppler: Support/more info.  I am in favor of using the taxpayer’s funds wisely and would advocate for GRT to be appropriated to specific purposes. Before strongly supporting this, I would want more specifics about how this would be put into place and for what purposes.
• Holmes: More info. The City of Santa Fe must first restore the faith in the Public that funds are currently accounted for and not being misused in any way before we can move forward with new taxes. Once this task as been accomplished we can move forward with community talks about new progressive taxes and what there uses might be
• Scargill: Support. The voters of district 4 are supportive of these type of taxes. However, they need to see major reform at city hall first. I will not support the investments needed until we rebuild public trust. Priority items that need to be addressed is increasing transparency, engaging a forensic auditor, addressing all 66 issues within the McHard report, and delivering a comprehensive plan that addresses many of our working class issues at SFUAD. I fully believe that if we work together legislatively to improve transparency, accountability, efficiency, and ensure that every hard earned tax dollar is safeguarded at city hall. If we continue with the status-quo, it will be difficult if not impossible to move forward with financially solving the “big issues” facing our community.

Community Oversight and Engagement

2. City Accountability Commission. Potholes remain unrepaired, “nimbyism” stalls efforts to address affordable housing, parks remain neglected, living wage laws are not enforced, and the City was entirely unprepared to implement Ranked Choice Voting, despite almost a decade to prepare. If voters are going to approve increased tax revenues, they need to trust that those funds will be used wisely. The City Accountability Commission will be an independent, resident-directed commission that will review major city contracts and monitor implementation of voter-approved policies and programs. It will ensure the efficient and effective implementation of the will of our residents, and it will ensure that City funds are spent as intended. Would you support creation of such a commission?

• Coppler: More info. Because we will have a new Mayor and city council makeup, I would want the opportunity to address the city’s issues before adding another layer of bureaucracy.
• Holmes: Support. If a City Accountability Commission is needed to make sure that City Funds are being spent in accordance with city contracts and this will help restore trust in the City then I would support having citizen based commission.
• Scargill: Strongly support. I would support this issue, and also challenge the status-quo as an elected official. I also support the idea of an Office of Inspector General. The commission could possible be the start to a larger level of accountability at city hall.

3. Reinvigorate and reform the City’s Neighborhood Association Network to make it a more robust and vibrant framework for neighborhood level community engagement, education, or social/civic action, with monthly meetings, policy discussions, presentations by local organizations and elected officials, and planning for neighborhood community service. Historically, the Neighborhood Associations have been the locus and launching pads for NIMBY responses to progressive initiatives. With City support, we could reclaim this Network and focusing on creating social justice in all neighborhoods of our community. Would you support the reinvigoration of the City’s Neighborhood Association Network?

• Coppler: Support. Not in My Backyard posturing has harmed the city’s efforts toward affordable housing.
• Holmes: Support. We all need to make sure that the voice of the community is heard and not the voice of a few. Neighborhood Association are a great tool to work closer with a community, But we must help build Neighborhood Association where they do not exist so each area of Sant Fe is heard and has a voice just as important as another.
• Scargill:  Strongly support. No comment provided.

4. Create and pass an ordinance to pay City Council members a $45,000/ year salary with benefits. Currently, City Council members earn between $14.22 and $16.35 an hour for ‘hours worked.’ This level of pay deters many working class individuals from running for office, effectively limiting our pool of representatives to those with a most forgiving employer or for individuals whose personal incomes or wealth allows them to serve on the Council, estimated to be close to a 40-hour a week position. Would you support an ordinance to pay City Council representatives a salary?

• Coppler: More info. I’m not so sure where the $45,000 figure comes from and it may be too high.
• Holmes: Support. Our City Council should be as diverse as our community, giving every person the same chance to represent our city. More talks would be needed to better understand the value given to the 45,000 a year.
• Scargill: Strongly support. I fully support this concept and would even suggest that the pay be connected to the AMI that is currently $53K.

5. Resident Police Oversight Commission. Create a resident Police Oversight Committee that has authority to conduct investigations, subpoena information and people, impose penalties, and review appeals. Oakland and San Francisco have excellent models from which to learn. Would you support creation of a Police Oversight Commission?

• Coppler: More info. I would want to know how this committee will be put together because it is a very specialized field of qualifications that would be needed. Also, I would want to know how this committee overlaps with the public safety committee in place now.
• Holmes: More info. I would need to have more information to decide if this type of commission would be needed in Santa Fe.
• Scargill:  Support. I would want to ensure that each member of such a committee be required to go through the Citizens Police Academy. I also think the direction of this oversight could be supported by the creation of an OIG.

Affordable Housing & Neighborhood Development

6. Expand access to affordable housing for the lowest income residents by prioritizing new housing development as listed below, highest priority to lowest, and consider utilization of Community Land Trust framework for ensuring that housing remains affordable in perpetuity.

• Very low-income rental development;
• Low-income rental development;
• Low-income multi-family development for homeownership;
• Moderate income home ownership development.

Would you support the prioritizing of housing development according to the above criteria?

• Coppler: Support. I am an advocate of and have worked with the Santa Fe Association of Realtors for many for many years to address the city’s lack of affordable workforce housing.
• Holmes: Support. Housing is one of the most important issues facing Santa Fe. Affordable has many different meaning to different people. We have to meet the needs of all citizens of Santa Fe and identify lands for these homes to move forward in a positive way
• Scargill: Strongly support. If elected I would move to amend the current SF Homes Program. 1^st I would put a “temporary” hold on the Fee in lieu option. In regards to affordable apartments, I would increase the required amount from the current 15% to 50% until we hit the national vacancy average of 4.5%. Another key component would be to empower our Land Use Dept. to make City properties turn key ready for developers. By conducting a Market Analysis, Development Plan, and Traffic impact study, this would accelerate develop and show good faith by the city to lead in a time of crisis

7. Utilize a Community Land Trust approach to organize and sustainably develop publicly owned properties with the purpose of creating a range of sustainable, affordable housing and mixed-use employment/small business development enterprises with resident governance, ensuring that the goals of each enterprise align with resident priorities. Do you support the use of a Community Land Trust?

• Coppler: Support. I would want to know more about how this approach will roll out.
• Holmes: Support. No comments provided.
• Scargill: Strongly support.  Santa Fe really needs to stand up a CLT. The City of Santa Fe has been programmatically talking about affordable housing since the late 1990’s. However, we continue to see low/middle income people falling behind and having no options to work and live in this community.

8. Citywide Plan for Affordable Housing. To counter NIMBY responses and support expansion of affordable housing in Santa Fe, identify 5-7 city owned lots appropriate to affordable housing development with at least one lot from each council district, and develop a single plan for phased development of affordable housing in districts across the City. Would you support the use of a Community Land Trust to govern these developments with a governance structure that puts oversight and future development in the hands of a resident council?

Coppler: Support. I definitely advocate for affordable housing. I suggest more than just lots, though. I would suggest parcels

Holmes: Support.  We again must first identify land for housing and put into place a strong plan to commit to build new home is all districts of Santa Fe.

Scargill: Strongly support. : I also think that the CLT would also be able to conduct more effective ENN meetings and be able to educate and win hearts and minds through fact based discussions.

9. Santa Fe University Art & Design Development. A public process should be initiated to develop a multi-use plan for SFUAD, and the City should continue to fund payments on this property until such a process is completed. A priority for development will be to create mixed use, high density, affordable housing with a significant investment in low and very low-income rental apartments. Incorporate a Community Land Trust for all or part of this development with strong resident governance and incorporate bike trails and walkways as part of the development. Would you support this form of participatory process?

Coppler: Strongly support. An avenue for participation in this process has already begun and I fully support that.

Holmes: Support I have stated this before, We should move forward only with the approval and input from the citizens of Santa Fe. This is tax dollars so all areas of Santa Fe should have a say in the new projects that take place at SFUAD.

Scargill: Strongly support. I recorded a video on facebook back in [did not complete sentence.]

Equitable Sustainable Economic Development

10. Actively Enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage Laws. Housing affordability is directly tied to a living wage. Fair Housing laws are designed to help ensure that people who work in Santa Fe can live here without harassment and discrimination. The Living Wage law has established a higher minimum wage in Santa Fe ($11.09) than either the state ($8.75) or national ($7.25) minimum wage. But neither fair housing violations nor living wage violations are enforced. Would you support directing the City to fund retaining wage and housing law experts to investigate and enforce Santa Fe’s Fair Housing and Living Wage laws?

Coppler: Support.  I believe an enforcement arm of the city’s living wage must be emphasized — much more than is now provided by the city attorney’s office.

Holmes: Strongly support. No comments provided.

Scargill: Strongly support. The state of NM min is $7.50. We need to address the neglect of enforcement. The City is not enforcing anything. I believe an OIG could be tasked with carrying out investigations and also coordinating penalties and punishments for those violating our local laws.

11. Equal Pay for Women. The city of Albuquerque was the first city in the nation to offer an incentive in contracting to employers that demonstrate low gender pay differentials between women and men in the same job categories. The Pay Equity ordinance became law on July 1, 2015, requiring city contractors to report their employees’ pay by gender and job category – only average pay gaps are reported; personal information is not collected. To receive preferential ratings for all City contracts, companies can have a pay gap of less than 7%. Would you support such an ordinance in Santa Fe?

• Coppler: Strongly support. Yes, I support fair pay and pay equity.
• Holmes: Strongly support. No comments provided.
• Scargill: Strongly support.  : I would support this type of ordinance. It is hard to believe that this is still an issue. I would also like to see if all populations protected by Title IX be included as sub categories

12. Paid sick leave. Employers with ten or more employees shall pay at least 5 days of paid sick leave annually and employers with less than 10 employees shall provide 40 hours of unpaid but protected sick leave annually (based upon state of Oregon law). Would you support creation of this ordinance?

• Coppler: Support/more info needed. Yes, but I would ask for the business community’s input in defining the numbers. In the spirit of the above questions, where group involvement is suggested in the questions, this so shall also qualify for such input.
• Holmes: More info.  We must have these conversation with all community members, and members of the private sector before we move forward to make better decision about benefits to our working community
• Scargill: Support. No comment provided.

13. The City should implement a True Connect, low-interest loan program such as has been implemented by the Town of Bernallilo, Dońa Ana County and the Santa Fe Public Schools. Through this program, the city or any large employer can create a low-interest loan program for all employees. Loans are capped at 24% and serve as an alternative to predatory pay day lenders who can still charge up to 175% in NM. Would you support creation of a True Connect, low-interest loan program for City employees?

• Coppler: More info. I do not have the comfort level in both trust and integrity in the city right now to manage such a program given it’s financial woes and unaddressed audit findings. Perhaps this can be an idea for the future after trust is regained
• Holmes: More info. Need more information as to how this program works in both City government and Private Sector.
• Scargill:  More info. No comment provided.

14. Strengthen Public Transportation. Car-dependency contributes to climate change and can perpetuate a cycle of poverty. Santa Fe Trails bus system is a cornerstone for many Santa Fe residents, helping people break their dependence on cars, reducing car-generated pollution, and delivering low-income residents to their place of employment. Private transportation is entirely subsidized, from our roads to our rails to our airports. Is it time for Santa Fe to subsidize transit for our under-served populations and consider following Denver’s model and making public bus transportation free? Specifically, would you support City Council resolution to ensure that 100% of the revenue from the 1991 Gross Receipts Tax for transit go to Santa Fe Trails and to develop a plan to eliminate all fares for public transit?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Support. I would support free public transportation, But I would have to review how this would effect the current budget.
• Scargill: More info needed. No comment provided

15. Sustain the effort to create a Public Bank to democratize our local economy. The Task Force will not likely have answered all the questions or explored all the options involved in a Public Bank, so would you support the City continuing researching and developing a Public Bank and will you support funding to secure the technical input of national leadership and expertise to advance this initiative.

• Coppler: More info. Please refer to my comments in question 13.
• Holmes: More info.  : I would need to review the current study being done before moving forward
• Scargill: Oppose.  I support Public Banking. However, I feel it should be initiated at the state level.

16. Improve south, west, and midtown resident access to healthy, affordable food using zoning changes and incentives to promote development of an array of community food gardens, greenhouses and a network of mercados that allow sale of local and regional farmers’ produce and food produced in the community gardens rather than seeking major corporate markets like Albertson’s. Do you support this form of development, instead of big box, national markets?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. : I strongly support
• Scargill:  Support. No comment provided.

17. Pass a Buy Local Ordinance. Pass a resolution that provides local business with significant bonus points in competitive bids for all city services and acquisitions. Would you support this ordinance?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. I think to help Santa Fe move forward we have to agree that buying local greatly improves jobs and keep our money in Santa Fe and our GRT
• Scargill: Strongly support. No comment provided.

Renewable Energy

18. Create an energy conservation division within the Public Utility Department to support development of energy conservation options for low-income Santa Feans. Would you support funding to create this activity?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Support. No comment provided.
• Scargill: Strongly support. No comment provided.

19. Solarize City facilities. Because PNM has lobbied successfully to prevent community solar from becoming legal in NM, the City has limited options in terms of solarizing city-owned facilities. The city should lobby in the Roundhouse to seek passage of Community Solar so it can issue an RFP to seek competitive bids to solarize its facilities. In the meantime, the City should assess which of its 22 facilities are certain not to be consolidated or moved, and where rooftop solar can easily be mounted. Would you support the City seeking competitive bids for installing rooftop solar on those sites, as recommended by the Sustainability Commission.

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. No comment provided.
• Scargill: Strongly support. Let’s find a way to buy the grid.

Sustainability

20. Would support expanding development of walkways and bike paths throughout the City?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. 100%
• Scargill: Strongly support. Nearby my home we have no bike path or sidewalks it is a death trap.

21. Fund and Implement SWAN Park Phase 2. Santa Fe’s Airport Road Corridor is one of the fastest growing areas where a large portion of Santa Fe’s young people live, but it disproportionately lacks investments in city amenities such as parks. Completion of SWAN park will be an important step toward addressing this problem and increasing equity in the city. Would you support the governing body fully funding construction for phase 2 of SWAN Park?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Support. We have to make sure we follow the parks master plan so all districts in our city are up to date
• Scargill: Strongly support. No comment provided.

Children & Family Services

22. Expand Funding for Health and Human Services for Children and Adults. Currently, the City’s Human Services Committee disperses two percent (2%) of the gross receipts tax to local nonprofit programs addressing the essential health and human service needs of Santa Fe’s adult residents. The Child and Youth Commission disperses three percent (3%) of the gross receipts tax to community programs that promote the healthy development of children and youth.  These two revenue streams are inadequate to meet the growing need for services.  Would you support the City raising the percentage of GRT contributed for health and human services by 1% from each of these two funding streams?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. No comment.
• Scargill: More info needed. No comment provided.

23. Would you support a proposal to fund Pre-K in Santa Fe through a sustainable, progressive revenue structure?

• Coppler: More info. I am in support of Pre-K education. I would need more information on the revenue proposals.
• Holmes: More info. I would need to review the progressive revenue structure, we also need to include Santa Fe County and State of New Mexico funding to move forward
• Scargill: More info needed. No comment provided.

24. Trained Responders to Domestic Violence Incidents. Domestic Violence remains a severe problem in Santa Fe. Police departments in other cities equip their officers with additional resources to effectively respond to 911 domestic violence calls. Would you support funding for trained DV counselors to accompany patrol officers on DV calls and should equip patrol officers with cell phones so that the Santa Fe Police Department can fully implement a Lethality Assessment Protocol?

• Coppler: Support. No comment provided.
• Holmes: Strongly support. We must make sure that our First responders have every tool needed to help protect life’s and help people in need.
• Scargill: Support. No comment provided.