David Chavez
• 64 years old.
• Married with three grown children.
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from New Mexico Highlands University.
• Works as a real estate broker.
• Former County clerk and Española City councilor.
Which persons and what activities are important to you in your personal life? How and why are they important to you?
Well I’ve always believed in God. And every business that I’ve ever worked with, including the city, I’ve always put God first and then my family second, and then my job or whatever I do third. But in this case, because I’m offering part of myself to the city, I’m putting God first, my family second, and the people of this city together with my family. Then my business will come third.
Why are you running for councilor? Name your top three initiatives, and explain how specifically you will accomplish them.
The thing that’s most important for people is that they have good water to drink and that they have all their services taken care of, starting with the sewer services because I think those are important. I need to address first the water situation so that there can be drinkable water. People need safety. The Police Department was up to about 40-some people, I think 47, when we were there. We also need to bring in more economic stimulators. When we were there, as a team effort, we did a lot of things. We built City Hall, the detention center, all those things are gone. If you go today, I understand there’s a tree growing out of one of the swimming pools that we built. The other swimming pool has not been used last summer. So where are our kids recreating?
You haven’t run for office since you lost your 2000 Council election. Why did you decide to run now?
I have been in the City Council for 20 years. I have a lot of experience. We’ve done a lot of projects. We have a lot of activity within the city of Española, and I was proud of that. Some of these groups in there. I helped them get elected because I figured new people needed to run City Hall because of new ideas and different things, but it’s not working. We’re at a standstill, and even worse than that, we’ve had businesses that have been closing. I’m a pro-business person, because I know that the Council operates directly from taxes that businesses generate. Things have not been going well. I think that the Council has been too busy on their own personal matters and they have been not giving the city their due. I’m coming back because I think that I can help. There’s several things that have not been attended to. Budgets have not been turned in on time. There’s been audits that have not covered everything that has happened; there has been allegations of different things and people let go. And people that get elected have a responsibility to be a watchdog for the people that put them there.
Which of the two mayoral candidates do you support?
I will work with either one of them that gets elected, because you cannot get anything done unless you’re a team.
Do you support retaining Acting City Manager Veronica Albin and Public Safety Chief Julian Gonzales, or replacing them? With whom would you propose replacing them?
I believe the young lady is doing the best she can. . . That’s up to the mayor to propose that, and for us, the Council to ratify her. And if she’s kept, I know that I can work with her.
Plummeting revenues have forced the city to slash its budget several times over the past two years. How do you propose keeping the city solvent in the long run?
First of all you have to stop the bleeding. I understand there’s been some stealing going on. Now you heard last night that there’s a budget shortfall of 400 and some thousand. But if the stealing amounts to 200 or 300 of that, why is there a shortfall? Somebody was not watching the finances. The next step is to stimulate more businesses coming in here, and to provide incentives. That stimulates the economy, and that’s what balances the budget.
Last year, the city lost two of its three auto dealerships and its only department clothing store. What will you do to keep businesses in the city and attract new business?
So my intention is to work with the businesses. The City Hall has a friend in businesses, and businesses have a friend in City Hall. Stimulate one anchor store right here in town, and you’ll see new hamburger stands, a little clothing store, maybe “Ma and Pa” operations, but if you get a good anchor store right here in town so that people can shop here instead of going to Santa Fe.