Sunday, February 12, 2006

Mayoral Candidate Q&A

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    Important dates for the 2006 Santa Fe municipal election:

· Wednesday: First day to vote on an electronic voting machine at the City Clerk's Office.

· March 3: Last day for absentee ballots to be mailed to voters and the last day to vote in person on the voting machine at the City Clerk's Office.

· Tuesday, March 7: Election Day. Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Absentee ballots are due at the Clerk's Office no later than 7 p.m.
Here are the questions that the Journal asked the candidates for Santa Fe mayor:
    1. Why are you running for office? What are your top priorities?
    2. Considering Santa Fe's water problems over the past decade, should city government take new action to limit development, building or growth? How much can Santa Fe grow?
    3. What, if anything, should Santa Fe do to expand its water supply?
    4. Do you support Santa Fe's living wage ordinance? Do you believe it should be repealed or amended in any way?
    5. Do you support the city ordinance requiring 30 percent of most new homes to be sold at below-market prices as affordable housing? What else, if anything, should Santa Fe do to promote making housing more affordable?
    6. Have you or your business— if you are a business owner— ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?
    7. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?
    8. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony? If so, please elaborate.
    9. Have you or your business been involved in any litigation with Santa Fe city government as the defendant or plaintiff?

DAVID COSS
    NAME: David Coss
    PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Otowi Road
    AGE: 51
    EDUCATION: Bachelor's in agriculture, New Mexico State University, 1977; master's in zoology, Southern Illinois University, 1981; Santa Fe High School, 1972.
    OCCUPATION: Retired
    FAMILY: Wife, Carol Rose, and three children
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Formerly held jobs as director, state Environmental Protection Division, New Mexico Environment Department; environmental scientist, NMED; director, Field Operations Division, State Land Office; public works director, City of Santa Fe, and city manager, City of Santa Fe. Current city councilor from District 3; chair, City Water Conservation Committee, member of the Regional Planning Authority.
    1. I have the leadership experience and style needed in our city to bring us together as a community. My top priorities include restoring our Santa Fe River, beefing up responses to our high rates of domestic violence and working with the school board and Santa Fe County to eliminate duplicative expenses.
    2. We can grow at our historic rate of 1.5 percent a year, if it is smart growth. We must implement the Regional Growth Plan, which identifies growth priority areas and links water, growth, and mass transit. We must complete the Buckman Direct Diversion Project and also push water conservation.
    3. Proceed with the Buckman Direct Diversion Project on the Rio Grande, which I negotiated with the County. Promote water harvesting and reuse; restore a healthy watershed. Have developers bring their own water rights for new development, a requirement I co-sponsored on the City Council.
    4. I was a sponsor of the original 2003 ordinance and supported the rise to $9.50 this year. It is important to try to bring living wage advocates and businesses together to see if there are things that they can recommend together about the future of the law.
    5. I co-sponsored the ordinance requiring 30 percent affordable housing. I believe the law must be carefully implemented to increase the supply of affordable housing. We should also open the city-owned land in the northwest quadrant for affordable housing and expand use of the City Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
    6. No.
    7. No.
    8. No.
    9. No.

DONADO "COVE" COVIELLO
    NAME: Donado "Cove" Coviello
    RESIDENCE: Wilderness Cove
    AGE: 62
    EDUCATION: University of Connecticut
    OCCUPATION: Artist
    FAMILY: Wife, Maya Blue
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Activist
    1. To reform government. Serve the people.
    2. It is the growth of government that has caused the problems.
    3. Fix the 30 percent leakage.
    4. I believe in a state living (minimum) wage with no local options to go up or be excluded.
    5. Promote the entire economy rather than separate parts. Treat tourism as good.
    6. No.
    7. No.
    8. No. I have not been charged with or convicted of drunken driving or any felony. I have not been convicted of any misdemeanor.
    9. Witness in a federal suit against the City for re-districting in the middle of an election. Settled with the City in a suit involving the City taking and damaging my artwork.

KAREN WALKER
    NAME: Karen Walker
    RESIDENCE: Camino Ranchitos
    AGE: 66
    EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in economics, master's degree in economics
    OCCUPATION: Broker
    FAMILY: Two sons, Patrick and Jim; grandson, Christopher Patrick
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Planning Commission, 1986-94 (drafted the Ridgetop-Escarpment Ordinance); Home Rule Commission, 1997 (resulted in more citizen control of city government); City Planning Policy Commission, 2000-present; Capital Improvements Advisory Commission, 2002-present.
    1. To offer to all Santa Feans a rare opportunity for better government. I will work to secure a reliable water supply for us and future generations, to improve our support of conservation, local businesses, historic preservation, schools, and the arts and culture. Keep our Plaza and parks clean and green.
    2. Development must be sustainable in its use of water and energy. We need to 'grow' more affordable and mid-range housing for our children. Therefore, a reliable water supply, well into the future, is critical for Santa Fe.
    3. Consistently purchase water rights; fuller use of our surface water rights; re-charge our water table through effluent (99.9 percent pure) flow in our river with weirs to allow for more absorption; and modify our plumbing and building codes to achieve more efficient use of our water.
    4. A living wage is vital, but we should have held the next increase until the results of the UNM research study were available. We need to measure the results of one wage level before we can know if the next level is doable for the whole community. Exempt nonprofits.
    5. It will only work if the land for this construction is either subsidized or leased. If builders pay full market price for land, affordable housing starts will diminish. If some land in the Northwest Quadrant (city-owned) is desirable for affordable housing, we should offer long-term leases to builders and buyers.
    6. No.
    7. No.
    8. No.
    9. No.

DAVID A. SCHUTZ
    NAME: David A. Schutz
    RESIDENCE: Delgado Lane
    AGE: 56
    EDUCATION: Graduated from St. Michael's High School in 1967; graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in architecture with emphasis in urban planning.
    OCCUPATION: Environmental consultant, home builder.
    FAMILY: Grandmother Cecilia Zamora; mother and father, Anna Zamora and Bill Schutz; daughters, Lysa, Nicole, Amanda and Vanessa; granddaughters, Mariah and Adrianna.
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Building inspector Santa Fe (1979-80); Santa Fe County land use administrator (1980-81); city councilor, District 3 (1986-1990); current vice-chairperson of State Transportation Commission.
    1. I have strong leadership skills and a clear vision of where Santa Fe needs to go. My priorities are articulated in my 5-point plan: One, providing basic services; two, ensuring Santa Fe's long-term water future; three, taking Santa Fe into a sustainable future; four, ensuring a strong and healthy economy; five, improving affordable housing and education.
    2. We should implement a "wet growth" water policy. That is, no water, no growth. We cannot let growth outstrip our long-term sustainable water resources. We must insist that any growth be greener, smarter and more sustainable or we must insist it not occur at all.
    3. We need to secure sufficient water rights for our future by establishing a Water Rights Acquisition Fund and begin buying Rio Grande water rights. These water rights are becoming harder to find and very expensive. We must build a strong water rights portfolio if we are to ensure a sustainable water future for our city. Our biggest source of new water is conservation and effluent re-use.
    4. I support Santa Fe's living wage ordinance. I believe it should be amended to allow lower wages for entry-level and temporary positions to provide incentives for workers to move up the wage ladder.
    5. Yes, I support this ordinance. We do, however, need to amend it to make affordable housing available to the middle class: teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses. We need to create an affordable housing system that is profession-driven, not income-driven.
    6. Yes.
    7. Twenty years ago, I was forced into bankruptcy because of a downturn in the economy. I know first-hand how a poor economy can hurt small businesses.
    8. Yes, as I disclosed several weeks ago in my open letter to the people of Santa Fe, published in the New Mexican, I was apprehended in 1983 for driving under the influence. It was an irresponsible act on my part and is something I regret. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience. All of us must continue to combat this problem by supporting stronger anti-DWI initiatives and by supporting more funding for educational and rehabilitation programs.
    9. No.