By Sam LeDoux
City Councilor
Española’s 4th district
When I was campaigning for city council, the thing most often brought up by voters was that they didn’t feel the city was being honest. This is because, to put it kindly, we haven’t been the best at communicating our goals. What most people see is a city that is just trying to figure out how to make it through the day rather than a city that has a bold idea of where it wants to go.
Looking at the City of Española’s master plan, which was written almost 8 years ago, you can tell it was a different world. The current plan was filled with ideas about a city on the rise. The council at the time envisioned a riverwalk; instead, we have a homeless encampment on the Rio Grande. When the plan was written, the economy was on the rise and the idea of a deadly pandemic altering our way of life was only seen in the movies. Of course, in government, things rarely go as planned. As someone who’s dealt with bureaucracy, I have often had many of my projects thrown into the trash. However, the lack of a plan can be really bad. Governments that only respond and never come up with concrete guiding posts for the future often end up unable to do anything and find themselves unable to tackle the stigmas and judgments that come with that.
When I am asked what Mayor Vigil’s priorities are, the answer is that I’m not sure. I know Mr. Vigil has had a lifelong and deep passion for his hometown. I love Española, too. I ran for office so I could help make things better and not get into arguments at city hall. So here are some ways the City of Española can quickly turn things around and how we on the council can help.
First, be more transparent. City Council, committee, and commission meetings stopped being live streamed and accessible to the public. Let’s bring them back! According to Mr. Vigil, the streams have ceased due to security issues. Well it has been over half a year, let’s fix it already. I submitted legislation that would require the city to have these streams and in addition bring voting records of City Councilors and Committee assignments to the website. We could become one of the most transparent city governments in the state and I know it will go a long way to restoring people’s trust in our government.
Next, we need to completely scrap the city master plan and establish a new system that can be adjusted when necessary. Let’s admit it, the current plan written two administrations ago is wildly out of touch with how Española is today. Restarting this process will allow the community to hash out its issues with you and the way things are going. It will allow you to confront your critics in a constructive way and allow you to repair some of the disunity we currently experience. With these new ideas, we can formulate realistic goals and start working towards them. We also need to be honest that the 10 year model master plans are just unrealistic in this fast-paced society.
Finally, bury the hatchets Mayor. When I was young, I faced many challenges and made many enemies along the way. I had to learn to ask for forgiveness from many of the people I had conflict with in my life. We have a lot in common. We both had to prove ourselves after being doubted for so long. You cannot lead this city alone. Make those hard phone calls and move forward. You will be shocked to find out just how forgiving people can be. So let’s work together, Española desperately needs us to.
