Town Council/Mayoral Candidate Forum Questions Submitted by the Public
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Subject: Transparency
Do you have obligations such as running a business and how much time would you devote to being mayor?
First, do you have a website or other source where we can look for your campaign information? During your two-term tenure as mayor, there were several occasions when decisions were found to be in process without being discussed in Council meetings or otherwise opened for public input (Couse pasture, term extensions, cloud seeding). Please share your thoughts on what information Taos residents should expect in your third term regarding Town commitments about development, contracts, grant applications and the like.
Mistrust of government all levels is on the rise. What in your background and in your governing plans will inspire trust and confidence in the people?
Do you or your family own property that will be affected by the Town’s plan to expand airport services?
Why did you suggest to extend term limits in June of 2021? You attempted to extend your term by 1 year and 10 months without any input from the public.
How will you address a conflict of interest that may arise given your marriage to a county commissioner?
Some have expressed frustration with what they perceive as a lack of transparency, responsiveness and meaningful citizen participation in Town policy making. What specifically will you do to bring true democratic government to Taos?
Do you or your family own property that would be affected by the Town’s plan to expand the airport and extend water and sewer lines out to the airport industrial zone?
Your campaign ads tout that there’s interest from several companies in developing over 400,000 square feet of industrial space around the airport. What companies are interested? What actions will be taken to ensure worker protections are in place if a company like Amazon opens something here, for example?. When will the public be able to get more information about the development plans and people behind it?
Do you have any land or business holdings that stand to increase in value if the airport is expanded and highway 64 becomes more of a commercial corridor?
The Town spends money buying full page and half page ads in the Taos News every week to promote things like the bag ban and holiday events. At the same time, important and sometimes controversial ordinance changes like the proposal in June of 2021 to extend the terms of the mayor and two councilors were posted in small print in the legals section. Would you support using the ad budget to promote more than just what seems like feel-good messages?
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