Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Socorro City Council; Ward 2

2008 Municipal Election Special

1. Please describe your vision for the city of Socorro.

Chavez-Lopez: My vision is to see the City of Socorro have the benefits of a big city, but still keep the values of the small hometown community that we have now.

Jones: Continuing to operate the city within the state and federal regulations while keeping the cost of living in Socorro affordable to all citizens and increasing the quality of life.

R. Lopez: Socorro is a very fast-growing community. We must prepare ourselves for the future, not just put out fires as they come. We depend a lot on state appropriations to expand our infrastructure. We have no clue as to what that type of funding will be available in the future.

I have a plan that if we put pennies away today, they will turn into dollars and then into thousands of dollars in the future. They must be earmarked for our infrastructure and not spent on any thing else.

In my last term as solid waste committee chairman, I proposed we make a very small levy on our garbage bill, so small you could not even notice it. The result is about a quarter of a million dollars to date.

We need to work together as a council and mayor to make ideas like this a reality. As developers build we must also think of what is available for water, sewer and gas. We might look at putting some money away by setting a small impact fee, again, saving money for the future. I have plenty of ideas, but I need to get elected.

Settu: I want to see Socorro as a city that grows in terms of business and better job opportunities, providing amenities for all the families, thereby making it a comfortable place to live.

2. What sets you apart from your opponents and makes you most qualified for the position?

Chavez-Lopez: What sets me apart and makes me the most qualified is that I have had the wonderful privilege of working for a government entity (the Socorro County Housing Authority). I develop budgets and proposals for different funding. I know how funding works, as well as how the budgets fit the funding. With the type of business I am in, our survival is based on funding, budgets, etc.

I have increased our funding from $88,000 to approximately $2 million. I have increased staff from two employees to eight employees. I also have administrative experience, which enables the other aspect of my qualifications.

I also have served in three state boards and two regional boards.

Jones: My 29 years of service

R. Lopez: Experience, knowledge, honesty and energy

Settu: I am a young, energetic and honest man who is asking for an opportunity to serve Socorro.

3. If you have previously served as city councilor, what was your greatest achievement in that position? If not, what has been your greatest contribution to the community in other roles?

Chavez-Lopez: My greatest contribution to the community has been to have the knowledge of developing a proposal and applying for and receiving the funding to assist individuals, elderly and families in remodeling their homes. To see the expression on their faces when their homes are completed is the most rewarding experience I have ever had.

Jones: a.) I served as interim mayor in 1989, when Mayor (Angelo) Meloro suddenly vacated the position.

b.) I have served the city as an elected official for 29 years, elected to seven terms as a city councilor.

c.) I served as budget committee chairman for the past eight years and have implemented policies which were have kept utility rates at a minimum.

d.) As utility committee chairman, I have managed to keep residential solid waste fees below $10 per month.

R. Lopez: I have served two terms, one in the 1980's and one in the 1990's. As chairman of the utilities committee, we built a new sewage treatment facility. Total cost was $8 million, (and) I worked very hard to get the attention of our governor then. We ended up with about $2.5 million from the state, about $4 million for the feds and a loan for the balance. Without hard work on the funding, our bills would be much higher today.

As chairman of the Clarke Field committee, I helped take an old football field full of tumbleweeds to what we and our children enjoy every day.

As chairman of the solid waste committee, I helped pioneer the first full-fledged recycling program. I also helped take an old load-by-hand-into-the-garbage- truck collection system to a fully automated tipper-and-tilt-bin system we use today. I was fully involved in every issue the city addressed during my terms.

Settu: I have contributed to the society as a U.S. Army veteran, teacher and president of New Mexico Tech Young Democrats. Out of all, serving the youth of Socorro as a teacher has a direct impact on the future of our community

4. If elected, what are the most important topics and needs you would address in the city, and what specific actions will you take to meet them?

Chavez-Lopez: There are so many important topics that need to be addressed, but at this time I would like to address these:

1.) to extend the sewer system to individuals and families within the City of Socorro who right now do not have this privilege, and

2.) increased wages or benefits for city employees.

As soon as I learn how city government handles those types of things, I will network with the other councilors and the mayor to achieve those things.

Jones: To improve the quality of life for people in Socorro by improving streets and roads and utilities. And then, since I'm on the utilities committee, we usually go through the budget committee to make sure there's money for it, so we don't have to raise utility rates. The utility rates have gone up very little in the past 20 years.

R. Lopez: Restart the Recycling Program, but take a realistic approach on the objectives. Yes, we need to recycle, but it needs to be effective. If we recycle cardboard and paper, we must have an effective result, like saving trees and not transporting for hundreds of miles and contributing to the emissions problems. There must be a positive result for everything we do.

(More) personnel and equipment in the fire department. This is a must. There is no way that we have the New Mexico Firefighters Academy in Socorro and have an understaffed fire department. This effects everybody and not to mention insurance premiums.

Form a police commission.

Set up guidelines for our police department to protect our citizens and enforce it.

We can make sure the budget for the animal shelter is being used in the most professional way possible, and I believe we need a new shelter manager.

I have heard many questions as I have campaigned. Weeds? We have an ordinance; let's enforce it.

Striping on roads? High school kids, bucket of paint, tape measure, string line and a roller brush.

Streetlights on Sean Street? Take lights from over-lighted areas and move them there. There are also other areas in town that need lighting. A survey should be done to see where lighting is required for safety.

Speeders? More speed humps and get our police units more visible. This will help deter drug trafficking if our officers are seen in every corner of our city.

Paramedics? We need to get there eventually, but sooner than later.

Street vendors, why some and not others? We need to be fair with our ordinances.

Involvement with the Local Emergency Planning Committee? The police department is involved. We need to have our utility people there as well.

Fast cash loans? Offer education on the downside of borrowing from these places. I have had at least one volunteer to promote and teach our citizens.

Boys & Girls Club (of Socorro) out of money? Come on Socorro, we need to be there, and I will.

Bickering in City Council meetings? I cannot stop that, but there are the Robert's Rules of Order that we are obligated to follow by law.

Again, my platform is to work on real issues; if I can get them on the agenda, that will be my focus, as (it) should (be for) everyone involved. Socorro is a beautiful place to live, and it is the obligation of the city government to be accountable for all of their actions.

Settu: Some of the important issues that I would address in the city are business development, more job opportunities and sports centers for teens such as a bowling alley and miniature golf course. This can be achieved by looking at other cities in New Mexico that have grown in the past decade and catering to business including national chains to come expand their businesses in Socorro.

5. How will the budget be affected by your actions stated in the previous item, and how will you get the necessary funds?

Chavez-Lopez: This would very well affect the budget, but I would dedicate my spare time to look for different funding so that it would not affect the existing budgets that are there now, and I am known by other people around the state as being dedicated and very persistent when it comes to doing a job and doing it well.

Jones: There's always outside funding. We can go to the legislature for repairs and replacements for streets and roads, and for utilities.

R. Lopez: We will just have to re-evaluate our budget and make funds available for fire and police protection. We get about $3.2 million in gross receipts and lodgers tax. Which has been steadily increasing over the years with our growth?

Bring in new clean jobs with our industrial park. Keep a hawk's eye on any type of funding the state or federal government has and apply for it, even if we have to pay the South Central Council of Governments to do it.

With a $17 million budget, we surely can find a way to keep Socorro in the forefront. We have the history, science and technology, wildlife and our children to keep Socorro a great place to live. Yes, Socorro, we need to start planning for the future. I am willing to give it my best if you elect me.

Settu: The funds for the projects mentioned above are self-generative. We will have services available for Socorro if we bring these businesses. These new businesses will create revenue from gross receipts tax, which could be used to develop the city and pay the city employees better.

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