The Taos News: Tortured Logic and Suspect Motives

Analysis

Our local weekly, The Taos News, engages in the mysterious practice of unsigned editorials and endorsements, the tried and true if hoary practice of virtual neutrality, which masks the motives of corporate journalism. Let us see if we can understand, not the clarity, but the ambiguities of the corporate mind. Below the Friction italicizes excerpts and follows with a critique.

(1) The March 4 town of Taos election has races for mayor, council and municipal judge. Many are seasoned politicians. In the future we would like to see more new faces.

Darien Fernandez and Fritz Hahn are new to politics and campaigning for office.

For Taos mayor, we have three candidates: the incumbent Darren Córdova, town councilor and former mayor Fred Peralta and county commissioner Dan Barrone. Of the three, we endorse Darren Córdova, but with suggestions for his next term if he wins.

This is a tepid endorsement:…“if he wins.”

“We are not in favor of elected officials leaving before the end of their term to run for another office.”

It’s common practice.

Peralta…voted with the rest of the council for every controversial measure since taking office including moving dispatch into the Kit Carson Emergency Communication Center and pursuing annexation for the airport project. How different would a Peralta administration be?

Fred attempted some radical acts and he even got away with a few. But I also saw and heard him listen to his colleagues and, occasionally, the citizens, when he was out-voted. He’s not an extremist like his current colleagues. He’s likeable and civil though he can’t be trusted.

If elected, Barrone said he would remain a commissioner for two to three months. That’s a poor decision and one that would lead to inevitable conflicts of interest while he tries to simultaneously represent town and county constituents in delicate negotiations.

Every candidate at every mayoral and council candidate forum has stressed the need for “collaboration” between county and town. If we want government to collaborate and cooperate then we should elect a commissioner as mayor who has represented the town district at the commission. Barrone’s history of dealing with tough colleagues is a plus. He’s the peacemaker who can make peace.

As for Córdova…we note the speedy settlement of claims made by La Serna Land Grant heirs and successful negotiations with Taos Pueblo concerning the airport expansion. His administration secured many grants and finally rid the town of derelict buildings.

In the La Serna controversy, Cordova’s mentor at the Centinel Bank played a direct role in the settlement. The bankers and realtors benefitted. As for the airport, the Mayor deserves some credit but what about the leaders of Taos Pueblo? And the FAA? Timing is everything.

But Córdova has been unwilling to bend when it comes to negotiating with Taos County. Because of his stubbornness on annexation and the E-911 center, he has fractured the community and halted progress on critical town and county issues.

These words might have been found on Taos Friction or uttered at a County Commission meeting. Cordova cannot be excused for creating the controversy and a schism in the community. The Command Center issue threatens the very economic stability of the town and county. The mayor has failed miserably on the most important issue and continues to support his failed project.

If reelected, Córdova must be willing to get over his ego by learning to compromise for the benefit of the community.

Surely, this Freudian critique of the ego run amok, at once critical, then inflates the very object of its criticism, and strains all credibility. Why would “The Legend” change?

We strongly weighed who we believe would work with others for the betterment of the town. For that reason, we endorse Rudy Abeyta, the incumbent, and Pavel Lukes. For Abeyta, we can count on his experience of eight years in that office. Abeyta can be abrasive, but we at least know where he stands. Yes, Lukes, who is making his fourth run for town council, is another real estate agent…

For nine years, Rudy has demonstrated his obedience to the mayor and/or  big business. He’s a charming rogue, makes jokes, and then bullies Judi Cantu and Jeff Northrup at forums. He’s for Walmart before he’s against it. He’s for hiring locals then he’s against it. He admits that he, Darren, and Alex, are “triplets.” Like Fred Peralta he voted for the Command Center and Annexation. He viciously attacked elected officials at the school board and later disparaged County Commissioners. He threatened former Councilor Sanchez with fisticuffs. “Asbestos, asbestos, asbestos,” he said about the Civic Plaza Drive E911—Dispatch Center, a misrepresentation of the building.

What are his motives? “I want to run for Mayor in four years.” He’s a character but not a leader of men.

For municipal judge, we endorse Richard G. Chávez for re-election…he has demonstrated, no easy feat in such a close-knit community.

You got that right. One out of four isn’t too bad.

Still, one asks oneself, as so many have done, who called and asked: “What’s with The Taos News?” The old saw about “follow the money” applies. The relationship to “real estate” is obvious. Advertising from the Town, the local Bank, and KCEC Coop play a role in supporting the status quo. The tortured use of language suggests the editorial writer couldn’t quite believe in the endorsements, given all the qualifiers, the use of “if.”

The Taos News suffers from lack of institutional knowledge or collective community memory, especially regarding the poor coverage of the enormously interesting changes at County government. The Commissioners built an incredible complex under budget and under deadline—despite occasional disagreements.  Nobody, as Dan Barrone says, went to jail. Eh Manny? Mirabile dictu…

Contrast the County and the Town

If a reporter were to hang around meetings at the Complex, investigate the modern facilities, and listen to the articulate and knowledgeable commissioners and staff, he or she could learn something about the way this county governs and envisions its responsibilities, while also remaining impossibly democratic and open minded to its constituents.

To wit: the Commissioners have reformed a scandal ridden housing authority and introduced a new model of affordable housing governance. Others talk about affordable housing, the county does it.

Commissioner Gabe Romero, speaking softly but carrying a big stick, reminded an arrogant hospital board that the County could terminate their lease. Suddenly HCH is cooperating with the County and the community.

Commissioners designated Deputy Manager Rick Bellis to pick up the ball dropped by the Town at the Arts and Cultural district while reopening the old county courthouse to the public. Prior commissioners threatened to sell the neglected facility and use the proceeds for gravel and roads. Talk about change.

Commissioners have defended acequias and communities in court even as the Town has continued to deny, impair, or try and annex them for the sake of its  flyboy dreams.

The Mayor talks about his role (or lack thereof) in the settlement of the Abeyta lawsuit while the County copes with controversial effects. Listen to Palemon Martinez, Tony Benson, Kay Matthews at the county about water issues and the Mayor might learn something—even as real issues swirl round about the regional water plan and the displacement of water rights.

Commissioners and elected officials serve as agents for a variety of fire departments, community and senior centers, accepting responsibility for the Ancianos in Taos because the state and the Town neglected a project of former town Mayor Phil Lovato’s.

As for the LUDC, a work in progress, we Taosenos have been following this arduous process for decades. The variety of traditional villages, new subdivisions, and new neighborhood associations creates a vast conundrum of opposing forces as individuals and communities express their identities in a particularly democratic process. You can hurry up but you will have to wait. Meanwhile Commissioners and elected officials struggle to preserve ag rights. The County does not forbid  chickens in the back yard like the Town.

As former Commissioner Virgil Martinez says, “I used to feel sorry for Taos County. Now I feel sorry for the Town of Taos.” In a nutshell Virgil grasps the change in the local political culture. Yet The Taos News, one block away from the Complex, doesn’t recognize the differences. The Command Center controversy is indicative of the way the County stands up for its citizens and common fiscal sense—despite the Coop, the Town, the Bank, and DFA. The facts are all on the side of the County while the wind talkers sit in Town Hall.

The real power at The Taos News is cartoonist Bill Baron, who captures in an image the ironic and humorous political life of Taos. Similarly, the sign man’s succinct headlines summarize the controversies and corruption at Town Hall. If you want to sink the Town and County, vote for Cordova, Abeyta, and Lukes, those endorsed by The Taos News. If you want peace, vote for the peacemakers: Dan, Judi, and Fritz.