Taos Candidates Challenge Apathy and Promote Cultural Change
A Choice, not an Echo!
In this off year election a dozen candidates have filed for two council seats at the Town of Taos: five Gringos and seven Hispanics. From the community point of view, you can say “name recognition” is at an all time low. Personally I’ve never heard of many of these candidates and barely know some of the others. Track records are brief to non-existent. But we’re going to have some fun as we scour the record and get to know the new names.
If Robert Molina, the former meter maid, is the least popular figure to run for public office, Pavel Lukes must be the most tireless: he’s running for the fifth time and after telling everyone the community didn’t deserve him? Eh? Eh? He’s never looked so good comparatively speaking—despite some say the realtor’s unseemly commitment to airports and building condos in Canon. At least Pavel can add, subtract, and has experience on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Planning appears to be an afterthought in this government.
Of those candidates with a track record, Meliton Struck, the “quiet man” stands out. The veteran politico and town councilor stood up and voted against the mayor and manager in the past on behalf of the citizens and small business. Struck voted to stop the Kachina Casino project, keep the post office where it is, and against the Super Walmart juggernaut for starters. Meli, as he is known, keeps his own counsel but generally works for the community.
Meli is also from here and comes from the well-known Struck family in Ranchos de Taos and married into the equally well-known Jeantete family in the La Loma area of Taos. He had one singular weakness when he was on the council: Meli voted against anything Gene Sanchez supported. Still Struck brings a necessary element of grass-roots governing back to the Town Council.
If you think the community has been hijacked by insensitive outsiders and want more of the same, Cynthia Spray is your candidate. She’s considered an influential power broker behind the scenes of the Bellis/Barrone administration. She is also the “faux” arts and cultural administrator, who couldn’t quite work out the map to Silver City. Her detractors refer to her as the “Valley Girl.” She’s the public or symbolic face for names like Mitch Miller, Atlas (Shrugged), the marketing firm, the new planning director, Rick Bellis, and all those folks who string up Christmas tree lights and appear to be intent on blowing out the farolitos and closing the Plaza to traffic.
Spray, Hahn, and the social engineers want to squeeze off traffic until business dies so they can gentrify and turn the Plaza into a museum. Kill the acequias by turning them into exhibits for a museum as the Town did the Spring Ditch.
The historic district merchants, a mixed bag, are still alive and breathing on the Plaza at least until KCEC raises electric rates and the County and Town pass more taxes through on behalf of their favorite charity in what appears to be a set of high cost policies that are “anti-business.”
When the County made Cynthia Spray the “manager” of the old County Courthouse or alleged “administrator of the arts and culture district” she repeatedly “bad mouthed” many of the merchants on the Plaza and in particular, the Coop Gallery in the Old County Courthouse as well as Commissioner Gabe Romero. The County, under the persuasion of Bellis and Barrone, who worked there at the time, hired Spray at a grotesquely high salary to help Barrone buttress his credentials as Mr. Arts and Culture when he ran for mayor.
After the election and because the “arts and culture” maven didn’t return phone calls, respond to inquiries for rental space, and cost the County a ton of money in non-productive ads, the County Manager fired her. She transferred back to Town Hall where the Bellis/Barrone administration and an “intimate friend” welcomed her into the fold as advisor. Now Cynthia has registered to run for office at her friend Judith Rane’s apartment in the Dunn House complex at “124 Bent St. Suite N” where she does not live but claims she rents “a bed” from the retiring actress.
Course Mayor Peralta did not “live” at the Lilac Shoppe when he ran the first time and Mayor Cordova kept an apartment above the radio station and actually “”lived” in the County. Similarly I’m told Mayor Barrone actually “lives” in the big house up “on the hill” in Lower Las Colonias up behind the saw mill in the County: not on Zuni St. that is, according to observations, friends, relatives.
According to the statutes you can register to vote “where you intend to live” but must run for office from your “official residence.” But who knows what that means?
Meanwhile I see the “Sign Man” is pushing his own candidate, David Cortez. I’m inclined toward true eccentrics, not the phonies, who would snuff out the lights of the farolitos or let the frail and homeless die while closing the Plaza. Thousands for Christmas lights bit not a cent for heating the de-tox center! Cortez and Northrup actually live in Town. Cortez was the worker bee behind the successful elections of Councilor Cantu and Commissioner O’Donnell. Don’t underestimate him.