William Melhado
Cover, May 4: “Vote!”
Khalsa but not Colón
I’m glad you chose [Dev Atma] Khalsa [for magistrate] as I had him on my list. I can follow your reasoning and vote the others too, with the notable exception of [Brian] Colón. Why would his deep ties to powerful interests and networks work best for the state? We already suffer from the deeply entrenched old boy networks.
I believe [Sen. Martin] Heinrich endorsed Raul Torrez. I’ll follow him on that one. Thanks for giving us an informed look at candidates—while also crucially reminding the public when and where to vote.
Laurie Maitre, Santa Fe
Unreal
I’m so disappointed in your endorsement of my opponent [for state auditor]. As a native of Santa Fe who’s devoted so much time and effort to public service, I truly feel that the Reporter is so disconnected from the real people of Santa Fe. Very sad.
Joseph Maestas, Santa Fe
For Bustamante
This letter is to endorse Camilla Bustamante for the District 3 county commissioner. She is the president of the La Cienega Valley Association Traditional Historic Community (THC). Camilla understands what THC’s face: unbridled growth by the City of Santa Fe thus raising property taxes; a city using maximum water sources to the detriment of downstream users; a city building high-end living units that forces affordable housing into more rural areas; combating the lack of city-county cooperation and long range planning since the city disbanded the Long Range Planning Office in 2018, and has refused to participate in any joint planning bodies since February of 2009.
Camilla understands the challenges and opportunities facing traditional historic communities. We are special places existing for upwards of 400 years. Places that people want to preserve and protect their unique identities. This is survival. Find out more about her: Bustamante4District3.com.
William Mee, Agua Fria Village THC
CORRECTION
Editor’s Note: Last week’s endorsements gave the wrong first name for Henry Roybal, a Santa Fe County commissioner running for the state House. Also, Zack Quintero ran for office before in Albuquerque. The story said otherwise.
Online, April 29: “South Meadows Sold”
Feeling Furious
I want to express my frustration at this issue.
I have lived in the South Meadows area my whole life. My parents bought the home I currently live in back in the late 90s/early 2000s. As Mexican immigrants, they became homeowners in that area. The house is not a mansion of course. It only has two beds and two baths. Regardless, it is my home. I grew up there. The open space in South Meadows was empty. I saw it empty way before those other new homes nearby were built. My mom would take my sisters and me on walks on that open space. It is part of my childhood. When I found out what Homewise and Jenkins + Gavin wanted to do with that space, I was furious. I still am.
Santa Fe does not need more development. People cannot afford to become homeowners due to various factors. One of them being, we are not paid enough. I cannot rent a studio for myself in the city I grew up in. How can anyone expect me to become a homeowner when I am paid less than $20/hour? I have a college degree, by the way. At the age of 24, I still live with my mom and my sisters and that is OK. There is no shame in that but part of me wants to move out so I can experience my own space but once again, that is not possible and it will not be possible if Santa Fe keeps catering to the gentrifiers.
That is another reason why so many of us who are from Santa Fe cannot afford to live here. The gentrifiers continue to take up space in a city that is not theirs. Nevertheless, no one talks about that. Homewise will not give you that answer either. I am tired of the word “affordable housing” being thrown around without mentioning the cause and effects of gentrification. I refuse to stay silent on this issue. That open space you want to destroy is my home. My neighbors and I have every right to be angry.
Odalis Pacheco, Santa Fe
Sale is Mismanagement
This is a travesty of county mismanagement. The city has now the responsibility of deciding on an issue not of its own making. Big issues are at stake, and it looks like residents who love this space may be the losers. Development and money seem to be the determining factors. Santa Fe needs to pause and reflect. We are in danger of losing a cherished open space and in the longer run, continuing on a path to destruction. As Ed Abby said, “Growth for growth’s sake is the ideology of the cancer cell.” Water crisis looms, infill is reducing a beautiful high desert town to urban sprawl. Are we to be relocated along with our environs to decayed remnants of a once beautiful life or can we wake up and truly learn to cherish nature and find joy in creation?
Caleb Parson, Via Facebook
Online, April 21: “Playground Partition”
Lost and Locked
What I love most about New Mexico, and our country, is its diverse communities. Likewise, what is most disturbing is when institutions make unnecessary decisions that drive communities asunder. Case in point: the recent high walled, chain linked and locked enclosure around the very heart of our South Capitol community: Wood Gormley Park and Playground. As a longtime resident, I am writing to express my dismay...
Miraculously, so many working and middle class people still call the South Capitol neighborhood home—despite rising housing costs and inflation...Why, Why, WHY in heaven’s name would a school of all places purposely close off a community from that level of connection? With no warning or discussion, no less? That park is a living, breathing heart that belongs to us all. It fosters the diversity, community, sharing, and openheartedness that are precisely the values that Wood Gormley School should be instilling in children.
I hope that generosity of spirit will prevail—and that the park will reopen.
Erin Currier, Santa Fe
