The Fun Begins
Folks have been asking me what I plan to write since the campaign has ended. Quite frankly, now the fun begins. Campaigns are nerve wracking. Governing is where we citizens find civility and satisfaction. Right now there is a window, an opportunity for a change in the way the political culture operates at the County and especially the Town. The change in culture was obvious at the swearing-in ceremony yesterday at Town Hall. It was as if there was a “friendly takeover” by the community.
In the past, the mayor of the Town of Taos generally came from the ranks of the council. The council is imbued with certain protocols, a pretense to formality, symbolized by councilors who wear suits and ties, ladies dressed up as if going to a formal tea. But yesterday there were three interlopers in the house, Dan, Judi, Fritz, members of the community. They did not bring that patina of formality with them. Rather they brought the informal but polite culture of the community into Town Hall as well as the experience in Mayor Barrone’s case, of friendly County Government.
The outgoing Mayor, Darren Cordova, was unfailingly polite and diplomatic as was out-going Councilor Silva. (Councilor Abeyta didn’t show.) I want to congratulate Darren on his appearance and manner. Incumbent Councilors Gonzales and Peralta seemed a bit nervous, in shock, you might say but they, too, were polite. Basically, Town Clerk Renee Lucero and Judge Dickie Chavez kept everything going in the right direction even as the “peaceful takeover” continued.
Since the culture, especially in Town Hall, begins at the top, I think employees and citizens will find a friendlier and more relaxed municipality under a Barrone administration. As I watched and listened to the new Mayor, I sensed that you can take the lumberjack out of the lumberyard but you can’t the lumberjack out of the Mayor. Even in coat and tie, Dan looks like Dan, the sawmill man. My wife Deb, who has known the Barrones much longer than I, referred to Dan as “Hoss” as in Dan Blocker of Bonanza fame. He’s a big friendly guy who dominates the center of the tiny table, where the Town Council sits during the swearing in ceremony.
Fritz, of course, does not own a suit or jacket. He’s just Fritz the social worker. Call me, he says and he means it. And Judi portrays her passion for the people consistently and candidly admits to her lack of experience as a public speaker, while eloquently stating the case for the Town Hall and council as the people’s forum. So here are the challenges and some speculation (who can resist?) about what will happen.
The clock is ticking in terms of legal pressures and money being wasted in spurious lawsuits. As soon as there is a manager on board or legal counsel, or as soon as Barrone can find the files, I imagine the annexation lawsuit and Spring Ditch lawsuits will go away. Perhaps a decision will be formally adopted at the first council meeting next week. As a County Commissioner Barrone is familiar with the proposed JPA governing the E911-Dispatch operations and Command Center. I expect that the County and Town will take a last look at its various options, while including its potential partners, whether Questa, TSV, the Forest Service or BLM. The Town needs to pick up its responsibilities, too, at the Ancianos Center, which it built during the Phil Lovato administration.
None of us know how much money the town has or its financial state. But a sit-down with Marietta of the town’s finance department should resolve that one.
The County has been carefully holding off any number of decisions while waiting for the election results. If anyone is breathing easier in the aftermath, it is County Manager Steve Archuleta and Commission Chair Gabe Romero. The public mandate, signified by the way the incumbents got “clobbered,” has vaulted Barrone, Cantu, and Hahn into the spotlight.
It’s shocking to sit at Town Hall and think that we in the community now have a mayor and two councilors, who support actual collaboration, embody it really i.e. policy that mutually benefits town and county. Of course government works slowly but given the fusion of culture, something good is bound to happen. However, just as restaurants with “fusion dishes” sometimes miss the target and offend the taste buds when the spices and ingredients clash so laws and regs governing Town and County municipal government will create bumps in the road.
I have no inside knowledge about the personnel, or who will carry out the directives of Mayor and Council. I suspect Deputy County Manager Rick Bellis might be in line for a transfer to Town Government. Certainly he is familiar with the County and Town in terms of planning, the arts and culture district, as well as E911 and Airport annexation. Under his auspices the Taos County Housing Authority has been revived and appears to be operating on a frugal bare bones budget.
The Community doesn’t have time to screw around with headhunter searches or educating new outside professionals. I don’t ever want to go to Judge Paternoster’s court again and hear how the town’s legal council doesn’t understand the issues about the “Spring Ditch” or hear in a public meeting that “the County has no standing.” As for legal assistance, the Town could contract with a local attorney for immediate representation, somebody like Jake Caldwell, for instance, who has a preternatural calm about his person and the kind of experience peculiar to Taos governance i.e. he’s been fired for doing the right thing.
Contrary to what has been said on DMC Broadcasting, the Chicano Chamber, Gene Sanchez, Arsenio Cordova, Juma (RIP) and I have no power to influence politicians or community leaders. But we lobby like the rest of you: keep our fingers crossed, light candles, and we are actively cheering them on. Like everyone else, we expect results: pronto.
It’s a good day to be a Taoseno: Taos has a new Mayor.