Yesterday evening I attended a house party for Mayor Marty Chavez. Melinda did a great job and the party was very successful. Her house is up for sell and people should take the time to look at it (4300 Anderson SE). To be perfectly honest I was not sure what to expect from this party since I have received different reactions from people when it comes to our current Mayor. I personal don’t know the man very well but friends have warned that he can be very difficult to work with or for but I did not see that last evening.I saw a very charming, caring humble man who loves his city and is willing to work hard to make it a great place to live. At no point in the evening did he attack either of his two opponents which I found to be a very pleasant change. When he spoke it was about what he wanted to do to deal with issues faced by our city now and in the future.
He has over the past few years worked to make our city one that encourages green development. When asked about that he said that by moving in this direction our city has avoided older manufacturing jobs that have harmed the environment of other large cities in this country.
I asked how he planned to support redevelopment in the International District of this city. He said that coming soon is a community garden on what was once a Lovelace hospital parking lot and that the food produced would go to senior centers around the city. He encouraged people to vote for the bonds that would provide funding for communities centers and mass transit along with street upgrades like the ones now starting on Lead and Coal. He did say that if he stays mayor that he would like to see a light rail system at some point for our city as is common in all of the larger cities in the southwest.
When it comes to women’s safety in the city he pointed out that the cases on the west mesa are at an end and they don’t feel this is a future cause for concern to the women of this city. He did say that the local media would not report on the missing women until it became a major case and that our local police chief had done his best to try and get the word out. I would encourage both to contact local bloggers on these issues in the future as we would be more than happy to spread the word to the public.
He point out the sexual assault division that has been place downtown with all of its support services. He wants Kendra’s Law pasted and stronger laws against stalking. He said that he will continue to be hard on sex offenders as to make this a very unfriendly city for them to live in and I have to agree with him on this issue. He did say that his administration will not go after families just because they are here in the country illegally so as not to break up mothers and children but if anyone breaks the law then their status will become an issue.
It was a very nice evening and the mayor answered questions in a friendly and polite manner even when the questions were difficult ones. He did point out that he is receiving questions on issues like healthcare and the war which as a mayor he has about as much control over as any other voter in the public. Still we should encourage him to make his views on these issues public because he is a mayor of a major city in the southwest.
