We’ll miss former interim city manager Joe Duran. He threw off that bulky title July 18 when he became fed up with Mayor Alice Lucero’s style of management. We don’t know how Duran did the job he did for almost three years with sub-par pay and minimal management support while maintaining his building inspection duties.
The mayor complained Joe wasn’t in his office much and wasn’t a good communicator. No doubt Joe spent a lot of time around the many projects going on in Española ensuring things continued to move smoothly after a public works director left. He probably did some time at the sewer plant after that supervisor left.
And there are those pesky building inspections. We want growth in the city but apparently the mayor didn’t like Joe out of the office ensuring new construction and remodels meet code and are done properly.
When we compare the mayor’s and Duran’s communication style, there’s a clear divide. When we need an answer from Duran, he’s always accessible and that is not hyperbole. Between email, cell phone and an open door policy, Rio Grande SUN staffer Ardee Napolitano can always get Duran to answer a question, provide a document or give direction to someone who can.
The mayor, not so much. She breaks appointments without notice and often doesn’t return calls when she says she will. Her vague political way of speaking makes it difficult to decipher what exactly she’s saying and what she’s trying not to say.
And it really was a punch in the gut that Duran would stay in that job, put up with two solid years of city council abuse (and that is the right word) and never get a raise. He worked two jobs for 33 months and saved the city easily $300,000 in salary and benefits during that time. His reward was an offer to his replacement of $20,000 more per year to do one job, not two. Anyone would be a little resentful. A lot of communication needed to take place between the mayor and Duran before she publicly humiliated him with the first catastrophic job offer to Timothy Dodge, of Las Vegas.
You can count on the mayor publicly thanking Joe at the next council meeting. Maybe he’ll get a plaque or a gift certificate for something he doesn’t need, or a resolution that means pretty much nothing. Then everyone will give him a standing ovation. Some of the councilors’ past actions make it clear they’re not grateful for Duran’s service and he knows who they are. The mayor has made it clear she’s not happy with his work.
We’re not the stand up guy Duran is. We’d skip that meeting and let them all congratulate themselves in that fake politically correct way.
Duran can take comfort that for the past two years and nine months, almost every day was Joe Duran day in Española. While most Española residents and the additional 20,000 people who frequent the city didn’t know it, they all benefited from Duran’s skills and dedication.
Thank you, Joe.