Opinion

Nebel: Response To Bill Redmond

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By RICK NEBEL
Los Alamos

I was a little surprised that in Bill Redmond’s recent endorsement of Sharon Dry he seemed to talk more about me than he did about her (link).

I’m not running for political office, nor have I endorsed anyone for political office. In fact, given that, I voted for the losing candidate in 7 of the last 8 presidential cycles, I doubt that any candidate would want my endorsement.

However, since Mr. Redmond brought it up there are a few things in his op-ed piece worth exploring. Let’s start with Paul Powell. Paul was a patronage politician and the Secretary of State in Illinois in the Read More

Housing: Thoroughness And Justified Review

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By PHIL GURSKY
Los Alamos

I noticed a letter to the editor from Candidate Stradling saying, in letter to the editor I wrote several days ago (link), I was misstating his projections; then pivoting to a large amount of deflection about the impact of his housing proposal and its potential cost (link). An additional response is warranted.

No one argues a full spectrum community with commercial goods and services” isn’t desirable. That is not the question, it is how to accomplish it and at what balance with other community values and concerns.

I well am informed and experienced in the status of Los Alamos Read More

Retired Congressman Redmond Endorses Dry For Council

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Retired Congressman Bill Redmond and Los Alamos County Council Candidate Sharon Dry. Courtesy/Bill Redmond

By BILL REDMOND
Retired Congressman
Los Alamos

Discernment, honesty and courage are three excellent reasons for Los Alamos voters to vote for Sharon Dry to represent them on the Los Alamos County Council. 

Sharon has taken tremendous criticism for objecting to the current mil levy proposal for schools. I support her in that position. Here’s why.

As a parent and citizen I have chaired committees to raise the mil levy for schools. In Los Alamos I led the committee to raise taxes to extend Read More

Ryti: Candidate Principles

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By RANDALL RYTI
Candidate For Re-election
Los Alamos County Council

As a candidate for elected office in New Mexico, I received a request to endorse the following five principles:

Honest Process. Cooperate with election officials, adhere to rules and regulations, and refrain from knowingly propagating falsehoods about the electoral process.

Civil Campaign. Encourage a peaceful election atmosphere during the pre-election, polling, counting, and post-election periods. Denounce any attempt to intimidate, harass, threaten or incite violence against opponents, their supporters, Read More

Stradling: Cosmetic Nuisance Code – A Distraction Or The Killer Issue?

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By GARY STRADLING 
Republican Candidate
Los Alamos County Council

Dr. Lisa Shin was mocked as a distraction during this election for publishing a letter about our egregious nuisance code (link).

But she is right. 

I listen to the residents as I knock on every door of nearly every neighborhood in my own White Rock and in Los Alamos. (I hope to reach them all by Election Day!)

The second most frequent question I get is about the county Nuisance Code: Section 18 of the County Code. Across the community, many people: residents in beautiful homes, with landscaped well-manicured yards, residents with Read More

Havemann: Elections, Civics And Democracy

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By SUZIE HAVEMANN
Democratic Candidate
Los Alamos County Council

“Thank you for being here; it shows you care about our community and are civically engaged.”

This is how I have prefaced all my speaking opportunities during my campaign for County Council. My parents taught me the value of being informed, volunteering, and voting; therefore, civic engagement is important to me.

I think Los Alamos, the state of New Mexico, and our country are all better off when we all have the opportunity to participate in our governance. So, it concerns me that instead of working to make it easier for more people Read More

Chandler: Why I Don’t Like The Proposal For ADUs

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By GEORGE CHANDLER
Los Alamos

I’m going to tell you why I don’t like the proposal for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) being considered by the P&Z Wednesday night and the Council in November. My reasons are my concern for the livability of Los Alamos neighborhoods, my disappointment that ADU’s are being hawked as the solution to the fabled “housing crisis” (ADU’s are not a solution and the “crisis” is returning to its decades-long “problem” status), and are based on sound legal principles.

ADU’s would be allowed in single-family and some multi-family neighborhoods in all of Barranca Mesa, Read More

DeVolder: Los Alamos Bus Service – Evenings & Weekends

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By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

I can understand when an infant cries they might want a bottle of milk. However, a little more homework (analysis) is needed when someone living in Los Alamos County submits a proposal for bus service on evenings and weekends.

A simple analysis is not beyond the capability of an average high school student. Of course, it is always easier to sit around and say “give me this and give me that.”

The following is a simple framework for analysis purposes.

Bus Service Description – A description of the requested bus service needs to address the capacity / size of the bus, potential Read More

Stradling: ‘I Value All Cultures And Peoples Of Every Ethnicity’

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By GARY STRADLING
Republican Candidate
Los Alamos County Council

My thanks to the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce for hosting a Candidate Forum on Thursday. We have lost many county businesses over the decades, which should cause the Chamber great concern. However, it appears that our economy has stagnated just slowly enough that county leaders are not alarmed at this real and present crisis. However, with my vantage as a 41-year resident, I am alarmed.  

As always, my focus is on the need for Los Alamos County to develop housing for the many thousands of people forced to commute into the County Read More

Op-Ed: Higher Density Housing Is Water-Wise

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By STEPHANIE NAKHLEH
Los Alamos

For a lot of reasons, proposals to increase the stock of high-density, affordable housing in any town are always met with opposition by some residents. Some of the reasons are terrible, and I just wrote a letter about that. But some opposition follows much more reasonable lines, such as this worry about water resources.

Before we tackle water, let’s examine the implicit, possibly unconscious argument behind all opposition, which is that Los Alamos shouldn’t increase its population or its stock of housing, but should stay the same or shrink. That’s a perfectly Read More