Editor,

Partisanship is so tedious.

In this week’s Los Alamos Daily Post, every council candidate has a statement or a prominent endorsement.  Of these, only one cites naked partisanship as the rationale for a candidate:  former Congressman Bill Redmond argues we gotta have David Reagor on the council because he’s a Republican.  https://ladailypost.com/letter-to-the-editor-vote-david-reagor-for-county-council-to-protect-our-rights-and-our-freedom/  

He posits that the state has been dominated by Democrats for 75 years.  That’s not only irrelevant to our small-town council, it’s not even true.  Republicans have occupied the governorship about half of those years.  And since most of us were born, in New Mexico the two parties have closely split the federal House of Representatives — something he should know since Mr. Redmond served out departing congressman Bill Richardson’s remaining term.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Representatives_from_New_Mexico

Confusingly, Mr. Redmond also claims our Governor continues to repress our churches in the name of COVID.  Like you, I’m not seeing how this is a germane argument for a council race endorsement.  Moreover, perhaps he’s unaware that the May 2020 state quarantine order permits  all houses of worship to operate, with the proper social distancing and reduced room occupancy required for all meetings?  This echoes Mr. Reagor’s manufactured outrage that Democrats are picking favorites when in fact there is uniform stated policy for all of New Mexico about what precautions are required to operate. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Reagor’s strident remarks are also ill-timed bad ideas.   On April 11, he demanded that all closures be eliminated, just as New Mexico was heading into its first COVID peak (see plot).  Then he repeated this again on October 24th and went further by buttressing his philosophy with quotes from the Great Barrington Declaration which argues for herd immunity as the only solution. https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/10/13/reagor-lockdowns-create-poverty/   It’s a synchronized master stroke of bad judgement, coming just as NM hospitalization rates are again surging at 25% per week (see plot). 

Plot Courtesy Charlie Strauss

That, by the way, is the fastest state growth rate of hospitalizations in the nation — not in total number of course, but as a rate of growth. It’s an early warning to take action before numbers grow too large.https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/10/14/extremism-unsuited-for-county-council/

Mr. Redmond’s and Mr. Reagor’s undesirable partisanship is in full cry.   Mr. Redmond’s wandering endorsement of Mr. Reagor  takes a cheap shot at Jane Fonda.  Seriously, the old Hanoi Jane Workout is an argument for Mr Reagor??? (And taking her joking statement out of context to boot.)  Likewise, Mr. Reagor published his opinion that Liberals are morally unfit to run cities or manage states. https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/06/22/progressive-democrats-abandon-the-moral-code-of-abraham-lincoln/

We really don’t need rampant partisanship on our County Council.  Ironically, Mr. Redmond seems to agree with me on just that.  While I make no endorsement, it’s a welcome contrast to Mr. Redmond and Mr. Reagor that one of our candidates, an independent, actually endorsed another candidate, with different politics too! (And vica versa) Those candidates said they didn’t see the other as a morally unfit opponent, but rather as a desirable future colleague on the council.  Now that’s a laudable attitude for community council government!  Sadly, Mr. Redmond, simply impunes Democrats and Liberals, and then overlooks the obvious that his endorsement of an extremist  because of his party affiliation isn’t solving what he says he dislikes.  If he truly fears Democrats are taking dictation from Jane Fonda, then why didn’t he mention the more even-tempered candidates who represent multiple parties or independents as alternatives?  Diverse opinions on the council are healthy, provided they are also restrained and collaborative in attitude

As you vote, imagine Mr. Reagor had been on our council in April when he argued that “Compared to influenza and other illnesses, COVID-19 is a far lower threat to otherwise healthy people…. Just open everything, stores, recreational facilities, restaurants, and services.”    He actually doubles  down on that in his  letter published Oct. 24 demonstrating inflexibility in the face of new information and past mistakes.  https://losalamosreporter.com/2020/04/20/reagor-reopening-our-economy/

Mr. Redmond is right to promote diversity, but let’s not put a person who sees everything through an inflexible, partisan, and extreme lens on the council. 

Charles Strauss