{Note: i’ve revised this post to update it with current status and to correct things i said that have long since proved untrue. Anything in bolded text represents a revision}

I used to work for the City of Santa Fe in the Human Resources Department. Which was always a bad idea. i am a clinical decision systems architect holding a long career in technology strategic planning. I have only myself to blame. The thing is, I’ve never really seen an environment such as the one in which I now find myself. and i still haven’t. the City of Santa Fe is a harsh environment and the Webber administration doesn’t help. It’s lack of leadership extends a really bad tone and allows bad juju to breed.It’s not only busy due to the volume of work as a whole, but it’s also culturally very difficult to get anything accomplished. Now, it’s my mission to ensure that a whole new system gets implemented (and soon) and I work within a strong team and I am certain that we will succeed. But we will do so in spite of intense negative energy of which I and others with whom I work have received. It is this intense negative energy that makes the City of Santa Fe a very difficult place to work. I succeeded, yet there are two (2) Directors, Finance and IT, that have now routinely blamed me for any problems their lack of leadership has created.

This intense negative energy borders on evil and the thing is, the criticism that I and others have received publicly isn’t really warranted. At all. I came to the City for no other reason than the love I have for my community and I show up every day confident that what we are doing will improve internal and external operations such that we can build a better overall Santa Fe. But when newspapers, current and former employees, and even City Councilors join forces to bash the current administration and its leadership, it becomes easy to question my love of Santa Fe. Therefore, I am compelled to speak to some of the more prevalent criticisms that I and teammates have received so that i can maintain my love of my city. I will always love my community, but this administration will turn on anyone who disagrees with it

First of all, both the Mayor and City Manager are good men. This is still true, regardless of what anyone says. Eric left, but Mayor Webber means well, he just has really bad people around him. They believe in the best of people and act through that belief, every day. Second, Bernadette Salazar is the most by the book and objective HR Director I have ever seen. She bases her actions on policy and does what she can show is right. She is not related to Ashley Barela (the Assistant HR Director who works practically two (2) shifts a day) and treats people with nothing but respect, even though she’s often disrespected. Mary McCoy is among the most intelligent people I’ve ever known and is passionate about the City’s Finances and ensuring that we are all aware of, and accountable for, our fiduciary responsibilities. Mary is smart, but she doesn’t know how to lead or manage people. Plus, her plan to outsource internal operations is short-sighted and naive. Patrick Lucero is, and has been, harshly criticized, but in my experience working with him, he does his job to the best of his abilities and is simply trying to get things done that need doing.

As for me, I’ve been called everything I the book. But I don’t really care about what anyone says about me. I love my Santa Fe and when I’m really old and looking back, I want to be able to say that I did the best I could to save my city’s soul. However, I do have a couple of things to say about me and my employment with the City: 1) I am first and foremost a voter in District 4 and I won’t regret my vote, ever again; and, 2) I will perform at the best of my abilities regardless of what hate-filled people say about me and my teammates. However, I will no longer stand down while unfounded criticisms are flung at me and my teammates.

We inherited a giant mess. Do things take a while to get through HR? Yes, they do. But the process is paper-based and bureaucratic and is at least thirty (30) years old and the City outgrew most of its processes twenty (20) years ago. People are being criticized by certain leaders when those leaders should realize that the processes that dictate our workflow are our common enemy. I assure you all that we are going to uproot it and replace it with an automated process. I agree with a recent statement that ERP isn’t an excuse. It’s not. It’s the solution. The thing is, though, that the ERP system, Munis, enabled city operations during the pandemic. But it’s convenient to blame a tool….like the saying goes…

Anais Nin said, “We see the world as we are, not as it is” and I agree with her. So, to all of those people who criticize and spew half-truths: Your statements say quite a lot about you. If you call me a crook, perhaps it’s because, down deep, that’s how you see yourself. If you’re a current/former employee and feel that me and me teammates are doing did things wrongly, then it’s probably because you’re afraid that we the community will find out just how incompetent you truly were. Either way, I don’t really care. What I do want to say to you is: If you’re a former employee and are thinking about running for office on a platform of hate, please don’t. Your hatred will ultimately betray you. I still think hatred and hateful city employees sow and will reap bad karma. but the average employee just wants to do his best and then go home. But, i will NEVER associate myself with the Webber administration, ever, ever again..,