BY LISA SHIN
Chair
Party of Los Alamos
Editor’s note: The Reporter has not fact-checked the contents of this letter.
Election Day is Nov. 5, 2024, and I urge all citizens to educate themselves on the issues, local and national, and exercise their sacred right to vote.
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Councillor Derkacs’ accusations that members of the RPLA have misrepresented her public statements, positions, and voting record in letters, on the web, and on social media. Let me just say that the highlighted issues were carefully chosen to be the ones where her stance had the least public support. Reminding voters of a candidate’s least popular actions is standard practice in politics. Our candidate infographic is based on facts that are well-documented in the County Minutes.
Sirphey:
While it is true that she was not named as one of the 16 defendants in the State case or one of the 24 defendants in the Federal case, the bottom line is that in March 2022, she could have voted with a small business owner against County overreach and persuaded her fellow Councilors to do the same.
Moving forward, our newly elected County Council should consider a reasonable cap on how long our County can litigate on tax dollars. Citizens are forced to spend their own time and money fighting for justice and their rights, while our County can use public resources to outlast and outspend them. The Courts have ruled against the County with a scathing rebuke. It is now time for the County to fully compensate Sirphey for damages, legal fees, and lost income.
*Small business and downtown revitalization.
The Facebook comment specifically refers to Councilor Derkacs’ double standard on the NM Anti-Donation Clause. She cites this as the reason for not doing more for small businesses, but has no problem with giving “millions of taxpayer dollars…in collaborative developments” to Columbus Capital, a private entity. You cannot evade the Anti-Donation Clause by finding a loophole, then fail to comply with the specific requirements of that loophole. Her vote to create Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA) boundaries for fully occupied buildings that do not meet MRA criteria did exactly that. Notably, Councilor Reagor voted against these boundaries.
In its $31.5M public funding request to County staff, Columbus Capital stated that “high interest rates, high construction costs, and inflation have created economic headwinds” for their Mari Mac project, and that in its current state, is not viable. Councilor Derkacs claims that the “County has no plans to allocate $31.5M to Columbus Capital.” Does that mean the Columbus project will not move forward, or that it will be downsized and instead of $31.5M, it will be $20M in public funds? Will she give us more details? Or will the public be kept in the dark until
it comes up for a Council vote?
Her suggestion that the MRA Board will be “likely composed of Councilors” instead of citizens with direct experience in redevelopment and business ownership means that there will be no independent review or oversight.
Councilor Derkacs concludes her 2 part defense of her voting record with “Transparency and Engagement.” This is truly mind-boggling, in light of her belief that County Staff are not subject to the NM Open Meetings Act and the public perception that she is the least transparent of them all. The OMA says that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them.” Fact: There have been many closed Zoom meetings between County Staff and Columbus Capital over the past 2+ years. Through IPRA, citizens can view the email and attachments for these meetings, but not the actual meeting itself. Clearly, this goes against the spirit and intent of our Sunshine laws.
Moving forward, our newly elected Council should declare that: “In our commitment to transparency and public engagement, we will to do more than what the law dictates and require that all Zoom meetings between County staffand property developers (and other private entities) be recorded, become a part of the public record, and be made available to the community.” It would be an excellent way to rebuild the public trust in our local government.
One thing for certain: David Reagor is a far better choice than Denise Derkacs!
Email him at reagor4council@gmail.com. Check out his campaign video.
Upcoming events:
*Flag and sign waving at Ashley Pond/Trinity on Nov. 2, 10:30am-12:30pm.
*Election watch party on Nov. 5, 7pm at Open Door Bible Church. Bring a
snack to share.
*Central Committee Meeting/Thanksgiving Potluck on Nov. 6pm at Open Door Bible Church. Bring your favorite dish.