By GARY STRADLING
Republican Candidate
Los Alamos County Council
Government is intended for the benefit of the people. It is best when it embodies the principles of our US Constitution: liberty, governance as delegated by the people, equal standing of all, and representation in law making.
Los Alamos County Council represents us in making the rules under which our county operates. The Council conveys the will of the people to the county management. It is, and must be, the boss of the county staff. As I have served in senior government organizations in Washington DC, I have seen that when leadership is weak or inattentive, the staff can take charge and run things. We have talented staff in our county government, with time and resources to develop great ideas. But I think that recently the Council has let staff take the reins and lead the County. The reverse should be true. The Council must exert leadership, set the agenda, and give direction.
Government works best the closer it is to the people. Our local government should be the most aware and responsive of any government institution. We can work together to meet local and long-term needs that cannot be accomplished individually: safety and health issues including emergency services and law enforcement, housing developments, utilities, roads, schools, parks, business facilitation and oversight, and etc. Most of our county are frugal with their resources. The County management should reflect frugal care for our resources. The county should not micromanage residential properties outside of legitimate health and safety concerns—we are not an HOA. County vision must be long term while responding to immediate issues.
The Council must take responsibility for errors, and right the wrongs that sometimes occur within official county actions, not obscure them. It must, first and foremost, represent the people. It must listen to all, not just special interest groups. Conflicts of interest must be declared and appropriate recusals made. It is better to not choose representatives that are conflicted with county interests.
When the county electorate speaks, the government must listen. If a proposal is rejected by the people via referendum, repackaging it and executing it in another way, without reference to the electorate, angers the people. If a rejected proposal is to be repackaged, the people should be asked again to approve it. We have had several recent examples of the Council overriding referendums with follow-on acquisition. I hear a lot about this when I am knocking doors in the neighborhoods.
A benefit of having a county council of seven at-large representatives, rather than a mayor, is that the diverse views of the county can be represented. A clear weakness of our county charter is that when vacancies occur on the County Council, the remaining councilors select a replacement by majority vote, potentially amplifying any existing dominance on the Council. To avoid this, I would advocate for a change to the charter, e.g., that any vacancy be filled by holding a special, short-notice, at-large election.
From my many visits with the people, in their homes in White Rock and Los Alamos, I feel that these principles of county government are generally supported by the people.
