Bella Davis
Santa Fe needs a new city manager. In a surprise press release Tuesday afternoon, John Blair announced his resignation from the role to take a job in Washington, D.C.
“The opportunity to make my hometown a better place to work and live has been a career highlight, and I’m incredibly proud of the work that Team Santa Fe has accomplished over the last three years,” Blair, who grew up on the south side, said in the release from the city.
Mayor Alan Webber appointed Blair as Santa Fe’s 27th city manager in January 2022. Blair replaced Jarel LaPan Hill, who came into the position in January 2020. Blair served as the city's first openly queer city manager.
In the release, Webber said that the city manager “hit the ground running in building a great team” from the day he took over the role.
“John gave his all to the City of Santa Fe as our City Manager, and I’m enormously grateful to him. While I’m sorry to lose him, I’m not at all surprised that he was recruited away from us, given his talent, experience, professionalism, and strength of character,” Webber said. “Everyone who worked with him in the City was made better by the opportunity, and we all wish him nothing but the best in his next undertaking. They’re very fortunate to get him on their team.”
Communications Director Regina Ruiz tells SFR Webber will now begin the hunt for a new city manager. The timeline for that search remains unknown.
Webber tells SFR Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar will post the position by tomorrow, and he will hold a special governing body meeting Oct. 25 to discuss finding both an interim and, later, a permanent city manager with the City Council.
“They may have candidates they would like to recommend or improvements on how to do a better job of hiring and interviewing a city manager," the mayor says. "There’s a lot of work to get done, and so finding a qualified candidate who can step in without dropping any kind of a stitch in our knitting and go to work right away that's the goal. We’ll balance doing a very thorough search with the need to fill the position quickly."
District 4 City Councilor Jamie Cassutt tells SFR she wishes Blair well and looks forward to the Friday meeting.
“We’re going to miss him. John is a very hardworking caring kind individual. I think he has done some really great things at the city, and I appreciate what a challenging position this is," Cassutt says.
However, she adds she's now focused on working "to get somebody in this position quickly" and would love to see it be someone who already has experience in the City of Santa Fe or a neighboring municipality.
"We want to really make sure we get somebody in there who, from my perspective, understands Santa Fe. We know what a complex, different, wonderful city we are, and that takes a special person," Cassutt says. "Having that person there to carry out the will of the governing body and make sure crucial projects go forward, we can't wait very long."
Blair highlighted several accomplishments during his tenure with the city in the release, including helping the city catch up on late audits and initiating renovation for the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
Local leaders applauded Blair’s leadership in statements. CHRISTUS St. Vincent President and CEO Lillian Montoya said the city manager’s commitment to the job “was real.”
“To stay informed about our community needs, he would reach out to understand what CHRISTUS St. Vincent was experiencing in terms of local health outcomes,” Montoya noted. “His engaged leadership style was appreciated.”
Kiwanis Events Chairman Ray Sandoval said Blair “will be greatly missed.”
“I have known John Blair for years, and I’ve always been impressed by his remarkable ability to navigate the complexities of managing a city such as ours. His brilliant intellect is only surpassed by his exceptional interpersonal skills,” Sandoval said. “John has a unique talent for dissecting multifaceted problems, listening to all parties involved, and crafting effective solutions.”
Blair received a degree in political science and communications from the University of Kansas, as well as a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. His resume includes numerous roles in government. Prior to taking on the city manager position for Santa Fe, he served as the deputy secretary of state for the New Mexico Secretary of State, the director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs for the US Department of the Interior and the legislative and communications director for Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, when he was a representative, among other positions.
Blair's last day with the city is Nov. 1. He earned a salary of $182,000 in the position.
