Finally, after intense resistance, Edgewood voters will have their Special Election in August, as petitioned by the citizens and afforded to us by law. Watch May 27 Council ReCap video here
It was disturbing that it took the New Mexico Secretary of State to step in, advising the mayor that the law requires him to call the election. More disturbing, he did nothing to address the Secretary of State’s clear direction. Even after her letter, Councilors Abraham and Jaramillo had to ask a judge to order Mayor Bassett and Councilors Holle and Abrams to follow the law.
It is unheard of in New Mexico to have to get a judge to order a mayor and councilors to simply follow the law and hold a legally required election. Worse, the mayor refused repeated requests to even communicate on this matter with Abraham and Jaramillo and left them no other alternative. It is negligent to intentionally withhold information from elected town officials.
Unfortunately, the problems don’t end there. The town has now received a Qualified Audit, which means there are so many errors and violations of law in the town’s handling of public matters that Edgewood citizens need to be seriously concerned. Open Meetings Act violations, mishandling of town funds, violations of permit for the town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, a continuing trend in poor audits, each year getting worse.
The flurry of recent activity to get a failing wastewater treatment plant to a legal operational status (after six months of ignoring the problems) only happened after an Edgewood citizen notified the NM Environment Department that the plant was exceeding the legal limits of pollutants by up to 1100 times! And now the Mayor wants to take over operations of our drinking water system!
Instead of fixing the massive violations at the wastewater plant, the mayor’s focus and efforts have been on things the community does not want:
1. Hostile take-over of a residential water system without the funding or expertise to do so, and racking up big legal expenses in the process.
2. Millions of dollars wasted on unwanted residential sewerline extensions to the mayor’s family property, while the wastewater plant remains in violation of safe operational levels month-after-month. Meanwhile, the promised commercial district sewer lines go unaddressed and roads go unpaved.
3. Grabbing two additional years in office without a vote of the people, while trails, parks and recreation have received little to no attention and the equestrian center is closed with no effort to work with Santa Fe County to re-open it.
4. Failing to respect Edgewood voters’ rights by attempting to manipulate the system and evade the duty to call a legally required special election in August.
The citizens of Edgewood are being short-changed and will be facing big expenses for things they don’t want while essential services go wanting. The time is long overdue for the mayor and his two councilor buddies to stop playing games and start respecting the community, their fellow councilors, and to put fiscal responsibility and safe and effective operating of town facilities as top priorities.
Bassett and his two lock-step councilors have over-extended the town, ignored vital infrastructure needs, and pursued a costly hostile takeover attempt of a drinking water system they couldn’t possibly safely manage.
Edgewood needs a government and leaders who will effectively manage what we already have, live within our budgetary means, and maintain appropriate staffing and overhead levels. That change begins with your vote on August 24, 2020, at the Edgewood Special Election.
