artdirector@sfreporter.com
Cover, Oct. 11: “Endorsements”
Supply and demand
I disagree with SFR’s support of the 3% mansion tax on this year’s ballot. How does making housing more expensive solve the affordability problem? The Reporter states that the money will be used to continue programs including down-payment and rent assistance, transitional housing and other services to assist the homeless. This type of assistance increases demand for housing, not the supply. An increase in demand but not supply will make prices go up. While I am in favor of making Santa Fe housing more affordable, a mansion tax is self-defeating. Vote no on the Mansion tax and tell the city to come up with a better idea.
Jonathan Edelfelt, Santa Fe
Obvious question
Several recent articles and the voter’s guide in the Reporter discuss the so-called “mansion tax” in which 3% of the excess over $1 million of a home’s sales price would be devoted to promoting affordable housing. It’s deeply distressing that Santa Fe housing prices have risen to the point where the people who keep our city running: the teachers, restaurant workers, first responders and many others cannot afford to buy a home in the city they work in. So the emphasis on affordable housing is timely and welcome.
While I generally support the “mansion tax,” I think it is also important to have a policy for how the funds it raises will promote the city’s affordable housing goal. If new development is being proposed as pathway to affordable housing, I believe it is imperative for proponents to specify precisely how enough water will be provided in the future for the population growth that will accompany new development. Perhaps some thought should be given to how affordable housing can be implemented without excess new development. I don’t pretend to know the answer here, but the water question is as obvious as it can be.
Michael Tortorella, Eldorado
Stockton for SFPS
Santa Fe families deserve better than Sarah Boses. Boses fought against school re-opening in the spring of 2021, when the [Centers for Disease Control] said kids could safely return to school, as studies emerged showing schools were not super-spreaders and closures were causing profound negative effects on academics and student wellness. When asked at a candidate forum how to respond to closure-related learning loss, Boses minimized the effects and falsely claimed that [COVID-19] is the third leading cause of death for children in the US (not even close). She claims to “lead with love” but stokes fear. She lacks introspection and understanding and is out of touch with real families who suffered and continue to suffer because of school closures. We cannot trust Boses to make decisions based on data, the recommendations of experts, or what’s in the best interests of our families. In this non-partisan race, Boses and team bring up national political issues to stoke fear (again), framing the race as partisan. Don’t let them fool you. One school board member cannot unilaterally change policy or ban books. I’ll be voting for Patricia Vigil Stockton, the best alternative.
Martha jackson, Eldorado
Correction
Last week’s endorsements gave the wrong information about how the city calculates the number of signatures for voter initiative and referenda. Calculations are based on the number of voters who cast ballots in the most recent mayoral election. With approximately 20,600 voters who took part in the 2021 election, about 3,090 signatures would be required to reach the 15% threshold proposed on the ballot. (There’s also a proposal on the ballot we failed to mention. It would change this calculation to the number of voters who voted for mayor instead and would apply to all three direct democracy options: initiative, recall and referendum.)
Online, Oct. 12: “Southside Clinic Aims for Integrated Health”
Bottom of the barrel
The politicians here are largely owned and controlled by corporate and profit driven healthcare agencies, most of which are run by people from outside of the state of New Mexico. This is one of many reasons New Mexico is at the bottom of the barrel regarding our health care outcomes.
Renae Moreschini, via Facebook
Food, Oct. 11: “Sweet as Honey”
Honest and true
I lost my wallet last week behind [Santa Fe Bees] restaurant while taking a photo of a purple Harley. They delivered it the next day with $200 of cash in it and all my personal info and cards. Truly honest, hard working people running a family oriented business. Oh yeah, and the food is so fresh and incredibly delish. Please show them some love.
Maryel McKeown, via Facebook
Tasty bet
This place is great. The half chicken plate is a favorite, and supposedly they are going to make green chile stew this winter. I bet it will be tasty as hell.
Spencer Windes, via Facebook
Online, Oct. 7: “Taking Root”
Cooking with Kids!
From all of us at Cooking with Kids, thank you for the great recent coverage of Cooking with Kids and our work with Santa Fe Public Schools! It was wonderful to meet reporter Mo Charnot at the garden-building event at Kearny Elementary School, and then to read the article that gave such good insight into how the Kearny, SFPS and Sprouts Farmers Market communities came together to help make this happen.
We were also honored to have been featured in The Fork’s recent Tia Sophia gift certificate contest. We all got a laugh out of this line: “Cooking with Kids: it’s about teaching kids to cook, not literally cooking dishes that feature children!” Keep up the good work, with accurate reporting and clever approaches!
Anna Farrier, executive director, Cooking with Kids
