By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos
This year I will not be voting in the November election.
One reason is that I have prior commitments and the other reason is simply disgust.
The gubernatorial debate was pretty much a shouting match. There is little more to be said. It is difficult to know what a candidate may or may not do after they are elected. I have heard the traditional advice that it is a good idea to vote for the lesser of two evils. Why does this have to be the only path forward?
Some time ago, I wrote to Christine Chandler about an issue (that is, the low-quality driving habits of New Mexico drivers). I never received a response.
Some time ago, I wrote to Ben Ray Lujan about the same issue I forwarded to Christine Chandler (that is, low-quality driving habits of New Mexico drivers). I never received a response. What I did receive was a newsletter. When politicians no longer respond to issues raised by constituents, it is time to throw out the baby, the bathwater, the tub, the plumbing, and the house.
Will Rogers once said, “I don’t belong to an organized political party – I’m a Democrat.” With that said, I also have trouble with the Republican agenda. I overheard a couple of men in Los Alamos talking to each other over the weekend. One of the men commented, “Are you listening to the Democratic news or the Republican news?” Again, there is little more to be said. There is no truth, there is only the agenda.
I used to send any concerns I had about Los Alamos County to the County Council. The County Council typically sent me an email expressing their thanks and routed the concern to the County Manager, appropriate Los Alamos County Department, or the LAPD Chief of Police. I stopped communicating with the Los Alamos County Council after the shabby treatment received by Anna Dillane related to the biased Quality of Life Survey/Nuisance Code. Around that time, I began to route my concerns directly to the County Manager and the LAPD Chief of Police. Both were and continue to be responsive to my concerns. This begs the question, “What do I need with the Los Alamos County Council?” Come back when you can’t stay so long.
During the Zoom presentation for County Council, one candidate expressed concern for the environment. Saturday, I visited downtown Los Alamos. There were dozens of empty candy wrappers found on the Central Park Square and USPS sidewalks. What happens to those candy wrappers? They end up in the storm sewers, the Rio Grande, and then float around on the surface of the ocean. Bits of micro-size plastic on the surface of the ocean work to kill off aquatic life. I recognize that the children with their trick or treat prizes/empty candy wrapper-discard habits and the parents of those children have no regard for the environment. I guess that North Carolina is not the only state which raises hogs.
I have complained bitterly about nuisance code enforcement. One of the County Council members seemed recently to be obsessed with tight-fitting car covers. Another County Council member did not want to contravene the guidance provided by the board (that is, the Community Development Advisory Board). I sent an email to the County Council asking why Los Alamos County has a nuisance code. I never received a response. It would appear that County Council members suffer from the same affliction as Christine Chandler and Ben Ray Lujan.
I have great concerns when infrastructure fails (that is, electrical, natural gas, water, sewer, roads/curbing/sidewalks, telephones, internet, etc.). I have not received satisfactory responses from County Council members/candidates about allocations for infrastructure versus allocations for recreational facilities. When County Councilors give the Los Alamos public what they request and ignore infrastructure, I believe there is a problem in the way municipal government functions. I would hope that County Council members have enough of a spine/knowledge to know what the County really needs and can make reasonable decisions without having to implement surveys. To do otherwise indicates a lack of clear thinking, independency, and integrity.
What I find even more troubling is that County Councilors do not provide a rationale for their decisions. They may vote a certain way (yes or no) on an issue; however, it is not clear what motivates them to vote in a particular way. You could call it good politics, but to me it appears as little more than obfuscation. I don’t know what sort of deals are being made behind closed doors (a lack of transparency). I also do not know the effect which special interest groups or funding from Political Action Committees have on County Council candidates. All of this serves to create suspicion and distrust.
As near as I can tell, the rigorous enforcement of the Nuisance Code was originally approved (and continues to be approved) for implementation by the County Council as a result of complaints from Los Alamos County realtors. I noticed recently that a Los Alamos County realtor is advertising a $1 million home for sale. That means an income of $20,000 to $30,000 for a realtor when the home sells. In the event that a neighbor does not have a tidy yard or a tight-fitting car cover, then a realtor might miss out on some portion of the $20,000 to $30,000. So, the realtor would instruct the homeowner to call code enforcement personnel and scream bloody murder about the neighbor. What chaps me is that an entire County is held hostage by a “for-profit” entity.
