Town Backs Off Public Meeting, The Fixer is Coming

The Command Center workshop scheduled at Taos County on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013 at 9am. will be held at the County Commission Chambers. Commissioners Gabe Romero and Larry Sanchez will introduce guests and discuss the issue with the public.

Town Councilors Fred Peralta and Andrew Gonzales, however, will not represent the Town of Taos. Apparently the two town councilors wanted a backroom meeting with the commissioners but word leaked out that the public was invited so the townies backed out. Despite all the publicity about the Command Center, officials have remained a bit vague about the history and details of the proposed safety facility.

Candidate Wants to Fix Town

(The fix ain’t in but the fixer is coming.)

Insiders close to Fritz Hahn, say the only announced candidate for Town of Taos Council has revealed some of the issues he considers important for rejuvenating the Town of Taos. A spokesperson said Hahn will campaign initially on collaborating with the county and sharing administrative expenses and will call for a “return to fiscal responsibility.”

Hahn, an activist during the Duran administration, wonders how all the millions stashed in town coffers were spent. The county offered the town financial support for the airport, both for the expansion and for half the operating expenses but the town refused and is in the process of annexing a six mile strip to the rural airfield. Hahn has told his supporters he can’t figure that one out but he’s against the annexation. He said, “We’ve got to work together with our friends at the County.” Someone needs to call Frank Cruz and ask him what happened to the Town’s rainy day fund.

Hahn also supports “rejuvenating the acequias,” a historic complement to modern worries about food security and sustainability. He wants to help fix streets, fix sidewalks, fix drainage and fix water pipes.

As Nervous Jervis and leader of TAWSS (Taosenos Against Walmart SuperStores), Hahn frequently said, “the fix is in” but when Mayor Duran voted to stop the behemoth from expanding, Jervis said he wanted to become “a fixer” himself. Now he’s running for seats occupied by Mr. Contracts (Michael Silva) and Mr. Annexation (Fred Peralta).

Longtime Coop and Town activist Jerome Lucero, a retired electrical engineer, is considering a run for council. Lucero says the town council and Coop appear to be “out of control” on the Command Center issues.  He says the town has stonewalled parciantes of the Spring Ditch and thrown up barriers whenever acequia members have approached Mayor Darren “The Legend” Cordova.  “We’re going to write a farewell Corrido for Cordova,” said Lucero. “He’s only a legend in his own mind. We need  a working man at Town Hall.”

Maybe we need a man with work gloves. Running a Town is more about nuts and bolts than singing the blues or whining on the radio about your enemies.