Council Candidates Focus On Business At Chamber Forum

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on October 29, 2022
- 11:07 am

Los Alamos County Council candidates prepare to speak at the Los Alamos Chamber Forum held Oct. 20 at UNM-LA. From left, Randall Ryti, Suzie Havemann, Melanie Hand, Theresa Cull and Sharon Dry. James Wernicke and Gary Stradling are not pictured. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com

By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com

The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce held a forum Oct. 20 for County Council candidates with a special focus on small business. Chamber Director Ryn Hermann was the moderator. Republican candidate Reginald Page Jr. did not attend.

The Democrats went first and Randall Ryti, who is running for reelection was the first speaker. His said that his chief concerns are housing, local business, public health and the environment.

“Business owners are telling me their concerns are high rents, infrastructure and finding workers,” Ryti said.

Suzie Havemann was raised in Los Alamos and explained that she has served in many roles in the community, both volunteer and various jobs including at LANL, the County and during her role as director of the Chamber of Commerce started Chamberfest and Trick or Treat on MainStreet.

Her main areas of focus are housing, small business, good governance and environmental sustainability, Haverman said.

Melanee Hand is running to retain the council seat to which she was appointed earlier this year.

“I have personal experience through my husband’s business the challenges of workforce recruitment and retention,” she said, adding that she has learned how the Council has been addressing many of the concerns expressed by residents.

Candidate Teresa Cull said she “pretty much agreed” with her fellow Democrats about the priorities they mentioned.

“My priority is to listen to the community and small business to try and understand what it is you think we need,” Cull said.

The Republicans were up next, starting with Gary Stradling.

“I’m laser focused on the issue and the issue is demographics and that means the issue is housing,” he said.

Stradling used a chart to illustrate that the demographics of Los Alamos residents are heavily weighted toward high earners) and that this trend has escalated in recent years. He points to this data to show why businesses can’t find workers and to raise up the need for housing affordable to lower income people.

“We need a new approach to the Lab,” Stradling said of efforts to work with LANL on securing land.

Sharon Dry is a Los Alamos native, with four generations of her family living in the town.

“I’m focused on business,” she said.

Dry said her priority for Los Alamos is for it to a good place for her grandchildren and for the whole community.

“Fleur de Lys leaving was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me,” Libertarian James Wernicke said of his decision to run.

“I’m very open-minded and eager to change,” he said. “I know we’re a kind of a risk averse community, and I hope to push back on that some.”

Wernicke brings his Libertarian principles, he said and defined those principles as “Government letting you do what you want without hurting other people.

“I’m very open-minded and eager to change,” Wernicke said. “I know we’re a kind of a risk averse community, and I hope to push back on that some.”

“The biggest thing I can do for small business is addressing the accountability, Wernicke said. “What happened to UnQuarked should never happen again.”

Increasing transparency would mean ending closed council sessions except for those involving personnel issues, he said.

When asked what, other than affordable housing, could attract potential workers to Los Alamos:

Wernicke said there needs to be more for young families to do.
Dry pointed to more retraining for skilled trades and more technical degrees available in the area. Work-study programs might bring more younger people into the workforce, she said.
Stradling doubled down that housing was the main problem at the root of Los Alamos’ business woes.
Cull wondered what is keeping young people from working and how it can be addressed through schedule modification and other means.
Hand pointed out that higher paying employers hire away workers from small businesses once they are trained because they can offer more to them. Business people should reconsider this practice, she said. “It just shoots the County in the foot,” Hand said.
Havemann said she would like to see a transit hub in Los Alamos to facilitate transportation for workers.
Ryti said we need enhanced job training and to look at how UNM-LA could be expanded. “If we had more students at UNM-LA there would be another population in addition to high school students [to provide workers to local businesses],” he said.

The candidates tossed around a lot of ideas to address the ongoing problems of lack of housing, workers, businesses and land. To watch the entire forum, click here.