Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Candidate Q&A

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    District 2 responses
    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 Do you believe it should be repealed or amended in any way?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?
    District 2 City Council

Rebecca Wurzberger
    ADDRESS: Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, 87505
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
    OCCUPATION: Owner of small business: Wurzburger 2— a construction management business which helps homeowners act as owner-builders.
    FAMILY: son, Morgan, 24, and daughter, Riana, 19
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: City Councilor for District 2 since 2002; Committee service has included Finance, Public Utilities, Regional Planning Authority, Water Rates Advisory; negotiation team for San Juan Chama water allocation; vice-chair Buckman Diversion Board; chair of Business & Quality of Life Committee; city representative, Regional Economic Development Commission; chair, City Economic Development Review Committee; campaign director, California Proposition 12: Nuclear Freeze.
    1. I am running for a second term because I believe the difference that I have made in bringing a long-term and regional perspective to city policy is still needed. I very much want to have the opportunity to use my planning and consensus building skills to see that: the Civic Center and Buckman Diversion Project are built, the promise of being a UNESCO Creative City is fulfilled, and the Downtown Vision Plan is vibrant and widely accepted. I also want to lead the development of a Sustainability Plan for Santa Fe.
    2. Santa Fe should continue to grow as the Water Budget Ordinance requires— only as we have water to do so. We must meet future growth needs without continuing to restrict basic quality of life concerns of current residents. Trend projections underlying the developing Long-Range Water Plan may be too high as they do not reflect our current growth rate of less that 1.5 per cent nor our policy of zero net increases to water use. We must better understand what constitutes projected growth (births vs. immigration) and how water is actually being used by different segments of our community.
    3. Expanding Santa Fe's water supply is a critical component of ensuring water availability for future generations, as is conservation and demand management. The city must proceed quickly now with the completion of our analysis of alternatives for creating a Long-Range Water Plan. Twenty options for addressing our long-term needs have been analyzed over the past two years. The Public Utilities Committee will select from preferred alternatives and I will support whatever plan we mutually agree has the best probability of providing a sustainable future for Santa Fe including options of increased gray-water use, return flow credits and conjunctive water use and acquiring additional water rights.
    4. I have supported the Living Wage since its introduction and voted for its continuation in December 2005. I drafted the December amendment proposed by Councilor Bushee which requires a full analysis of the law before we go to $10.50. This was approved by the Council with a 7-1 vote. Depending upon the study results, I would be open to expanding the ordinance to businesses with fewer than 25 employees, for equity reasons.
    5. I was a co-sponsor of the Santa Fe Homes Program and I am strongly committed to its success. This will require creative, supportive incentives including the overhaul of the City's review process and the development of tax incentives and financing alternatives to minimize the effect on middle-income prices. I was very disappointed that the transfer tax failed and will pursue it again.
    6. No.
    7. No.
    8. No.
    9. No.

Marilyn Bane
    ADDRESS: Canyon Road
    EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree, University of Texas-Austin
    OCCUPATION: Retired former senior vice-president for advertising and consumer marketing, Maidenform, Inc.
    FAMILY: Single, no children; one fabulous dog.
    POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Board of directors: Historic Neighborhood Association; Old Santa Fe Association; League of Women Voters.
    1. To do a significantly better job than the incumbent. I want to conserve and preserve what is authentic and vital about Santa Fe. This includes making neighborhood voices count, stopping suffocating infill, working for a living, sustainable economy, and limiting growth to on-line water availability.
    2. Yes. We can't play the growth game on the mere hope that water will be available when needed. Unless we tie growth to on-line water availability, we sacrifice the long term interests of those who live here for short-term profiteering by a handful of speculators and the politicians who support them.
    3. Encourage additional conservation measures and effluent re-use. Get the Buckman Direct Diversion on line by 2009. Continue to require developers to bring water rights to the table. Pursue aggressively the purchase of available water rights along the Rio Grande. Work with state and regional authorities to achieve long-term goals.
    4. I support the Living Wage ordinance on both moral and practical grounds. When employees are valued, they give value back. An enthusiastic employee encourages repeat sales and enhances profitability. I would like an amendment to provide for an apprenticeship program for trainees with a stipulated time period for advancement.
    5. Yes, but in its present form the ordinance is too simplistic. The "unforeseen consequence" is polarization of pricing and elimination of middle-class housing. The city should lease (not sell) land in the Northwest Quadrant and build homes that are energy efficient with sustainable features to ensure future savings on utilities.
    6. No.
    7. No.
    8. No.
    9. No.