SPEECH TO THE NEW MEXICO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE (August 2002)

 

 

Mr. Chairman, fellow Delegates, thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself.

 

I admit at the outset that I do not have the municipal experience of my colleagues on this podium. I have been a Councilor in Los Alamos County for about a year. But, though I am new to public office, I am not new to public service. Most importantly, I am not new to the areas of organizational management, analytical problem-solving, and the other skills necessary to contribute to this Board.

 

I have had a diverse career as an engineer and program manager. I helped start and grow a small research firm, served on the Executive Committee and then led the largest professional society of engineers in Northern New Mexico, and have managed complex engineering efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In service to my County, I held the maximum of two terms on our Planning and Zoning Commission, the last year as chair. I was subsequently appointed to a Charter Review Committee, where I tackled complex issues related to the unique aspects of our combined County/Municipal structure. I was given a central role in explaining to our citizenry the proposed changes. I am proud that, so far, all proposed changes have been approved at the ballot box.

 

Los Alamos is in many ways a microcosm of the issues facing communities in New Mexico, and my tenure as a Councilor has informed me about these issues. We are a community of 18,000, but with the demands for fire, police and emergency services of a city many times our size. We are probably the only community of our size in the nation with a fire department with a professional staff of 150. Like other communities dependent on a single employer, whether science, or energy or mining, our fortunes are closely tied to those of the Lab, and it is difficult to diversify away from this dependency. We are an isolated mountain community and at the same time an employment nucleus that draws thousands of commuters from as far away as a two hour-drive. We have the burdens of a rapidly aging population and economic development hindered by limited available land. Moreover, in Los Alamos, county and municipal responsibilities are intertwined, which is both a hindrance and an opportunity for efficiencies. I believe these unique circumstances give me experience of value to the New Mexico Municipal League.

 

My perspective on the role of the Board of Directors is focused on its most critical and difficult task: that of advocacy. We rely on the League to support the rights of municipalities for self-governance, and to help organize opposition to encroachment upon these rights. We are very fortunate that Bill Fulginiti, Regina Romero and the rest of the League staff have grown an organization that is respected and effective.

 

There are some initiatives that we have pursued with some success in Los Alamos that I would like the League to consider. We are increasingly using social media to facilitate public involvement and coalition-building. Several of our Northern New Mexico neighbors as well as Carlsbad participate in new organization named the Regional Coalition of LANL communities which may be a model to be replicated to support other common interests and facilitated by the League. But I will remember that, given the successes of the League, my first responsibility as a board member will be, like that of a physician, “To Do No Harm.”

 

I thank you for your time and attention, and I would very much appreciate your support today.