By JIM REDMAN
Los Alamos

I’ve been a vocal opponent of the County nuisance code for many years (link) and (link) and so am indebted to community members and candidates for making the county intrusion and overreach enshrined in this code an election issue. It seems my political positions align very rarely with Lisa Shin, but I agree wholeheartedly with her expressed opinions on this matter (link).

Recent incumbent councils have failed us. The upcoming Chapter 18 code revisions don’t make any effort to address the major problems. We hear repeatedly that council would like to focus enforcement on health and safety, but this is not reflected in the code revisions and shows a naive understanding of council role. The county council is primarily a legislative body, with limited control over county staff and administration. As long as legislation is on the books it’s reasonable to expect vigorous enforcement. Without major legislative revisions, our tax dollars will continue to be used to criminalize citizens, especially some of the most vulnerable in the community – the elderly and infirm and the lower income employees, too busy balancing work and family to measure the height of the vegetation.

This obnoxious code needs to be radically revised and the excessive oversight by the County needs to stop. Perhaps with this election we have a chance for positive action and I will be voting for the candidates mostly likely to fix the problem regardless of all other issues, and especially disregarding party affiliation.