David Coss has been mayor for five months, with mixed reviews.
You could say David Coss was the Al Gore of the last Santa Fe mayoral election. He was intelligent and thoughtful with just enough charm and charisma to prove he had a
pulse. He was a consensus-builder. A
uniter, not a divider.
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He was also about as controversial as a basketful of puppies.
And yet, since becoming mayor in March, Coss has surprised some around City Hall and beyond with his aggressive restructuring of city departments and push to implement his administrative agenda. From Coss' botched attempt to reshape the Planning Commission to his administration's forceful efforts to pass a property tax hike, the new mayor has proven more Bill Richardson than Bill Nye the Science Guy.
"I think the mayor is much stronger than most people imagine," says City Manager Asenath Kepler. "He is a man with a vision and he's committing to seeing that vision through in this administration and he will do whatever it takes to make Santa Fe a better place during his four-year term."
For some, however, the Coss administration has struggled at times to communicate that vision to the City Council. In particular, Coss has found himself mired in a political
morass on two occasions. The first came last month when the mayor asked for the resignation of four Planning Commissioners-who promptly refused to step down-and was subsequently forced to abandon the move when it became clear he did not have the Council votes to
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remove them [Outtakes, July 12:
.
"I expected a little bit more political savvy based on his past as city manager, but with the Planning Commission situation he didn't handle that well at all," says Fred Flatt, a neighborhood activist and member of the city's Ethics Campaign & Review Committee. "I think he could have been more effective so far; he's been a little clumsy."
The second incident came at a July 31 Finance Committee meeting when Kepler-a Coss appointee-got into a shouting match with City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer
over Kepler's insistence that Council approve a property tax hike to pay for more police and fire personnel [see
].
Some city councilors, however, wanted to put the issue to the public before any move was made. For Heldmeyer, the problem was that Kepler and the Coss administration had not adequately communicated their stance to councilors before addressing the issue at the Finance Committee meeting.
"I think this administration is still working out what the relationship is going to be between the mayor, the city manager and the governing body," Heldmeyer says. "I think the
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administration and the governing body need to be partners in forming policy as opposed to policy just kind of being sprung on councilors."
City Councilor Miguel Chavez agrees with Heldmeyer that the relationship between the mayor's administration and the City Council has gotten a little "bumpy" at times.
"I think that while the city manager should be helping the mayor move policies and procedures forward, she also has to work closely with the Council and that's a very demanding job," Chavez says. "It's hard to get anything done without communication and an exchange of information."
Kepler, who says she speaks to the mayor several times each day, says that she is working to strengthen lines of communication with each of the councilors. Roger that, says
Captain Coss.
"I think what we're hammering out right now is the communication with the city councilors," Coss says. "As far as programs go, we're very close to being on the same page, if not exactly the same page, and I think there's really a great opportunity to get things
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done with the Council being a progressive council."
That communication should come with time, say some familiar with the machinations of City Hall and the growing pains of a new administration.
Former mayor Larry Delgado says that it's always tough during one's first term in office and that amidst shifting priorities a new mayor will inevitably make unpopular decisions.
"He's had a rough start and he's had problems reaching his Council, but this is something that every mayor has to deal with," Delgado says.
Delgado also notes that he was able to forge a cordial relationship with city staff because of bonds cultivated while serving as a city councilor prior to taking over as mayor. Coss, a former councilor himself, has developed similar bonds but still appears to be finding his feet as mayor.
While Coss has struggled at times to connect with his Council, several councilors say he has proven adept at communicating his message to the public by hosting a series of forums-or "coffees"-with various factions of the community. Moreover, for
City Councilor Matthew Ortiz, the new mayor has also helped expedite the
passage of bills that have loitered for too long in a bureaucratic netherworld.
Specifically, Ortiz cites the affordable housing investment fund passed a month ago and sponsored by Ortiz and five other councilors as a primary example. Ortiz says he had
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sponsored that same bill-which creates a fund to assist buyers of affordable housing-on three previous occasions to no avail. Ortiz credits the mayor for not standing in the way of this and other important bills.
"I've been comfortable with his policy provisions and we've been able to push things forward and get them through," Ortiz says. "I wish the communication would be a little better, but he's working on that."
It's not the only thing he's working on. Coss says he hopes to make progress in the near future on a variety of fronts, including: a $3 million rehabilitation of public parks; improving river restoration efforts and watershed conditions; engaging the city's youth in the political process; and ensuring that urban design plans meet the city's climate change goals. While his first months haven't been entirely smooth, Coss says he is pleased with the direction in which his administration is helping steer the city.
"I think there have probably been a few more kinks than we expected," Coss acknowledges. "But we're always working at improving our programs and our communication. I've been very pleased with the way city staff has responded to the new administration and I'm also very pleased with the outreach we've done. Overall, I'd say the first four [five] months have been exciting for me and I think for the community as well."
