EDITORIAL: Are All Socorro Hotels Created Equal?

By John Severance, Editor
and Gary Jaramillo, Publisher

Are we all in this together or not?
These tough economic times have devastated a lot of residents and businesses in Socorro.
Hotels have been hit especially hard. From what I have heard, there are obviously other people concerned by virtue of feedback and letters to the editor we have received.
Hotel owners have been told it’s up to the individual emergency first responder where he or she stays while taking courses at New Mexico Tech’s EMRTC.
That’s fine. I’m all for everybody making their own decisions.
But in this tough climate, shouldn’t the two most powerful people in Socorro – Tech president Daniel Lopez and mayor Ravi Bhasker – step in?
The majority of the emergency first responders that come to Socorro stay in the Holiday Inn Express and Best Western, which also happen to be owned by the mayor. All Socorro hotel owners pay the same taxes and franchise fees. Isn’t it the responsibility of the mayor to make sure that everybody shares the wealth?
What if Lopez and Bhasker set a rotation system so everybody gets a share of the pie? In today’s climate, that seems fair.

Term Limits?

I realize that in America anyone can run for office. The goal and hope that voters have however, is that there is a solid qualified group of men and women to choose from after filing day. I believe that everyone running in this municipal election are good people, but I don’t believe that many of them should have filed “yet again”, judging from their past history of consistently garnering less than 200 votes and much less than that each and every time they’ve run, and run, and run and run.
I do believe that most people in Socorro just throw their arms up in the air and laugh, when in fact this is not supposed to be a laughing matter. All elections are a serious part of our lives, and those who perpetually run for office “just cause they can”, with the same results year after year are hurting the process and perhaps keeping other candidates who might just be great elected officials, out of the mix in local politics.
I think it’s time our city leaders work on some sort of qualification resolution for perspective Mayor and Councilor candidates in the future. It’s not taking away one’s right to have to qualify to be a councilor or the mayor, it’s simply setting a standard for those who would be elected to those positions.
I also think it’s time for everyone in Socorro to have the opportunity to vote in referendum on term limits for the Mayor and Council positions. As we’ve all witnessed in past months and years, the problem (even in Washington) of elected officials being in their position for too long can be very dangerous and actually turn new young prospective candidates away from the process of running for office and bringing new blood and ideas into the realm of politics.
Elected officials who have been in office for decades are greedy and dismissive of the thought that someone else just might have a new and better idea for the future of Socorro. This problem of elected officials being in office in Socorro for much too long is caused by the complacency of the voters in Socorro. Voters need to speak their minds at meetings and in the media about this very important issue.
If you want new blood and different thought that will help Socorro grow in wonderful new directions, open your mouth and vote your conscience each and every time the elections roll around. This question of term limits should have been put up for referendum long ago by the City of Socorro and should be put to the people in the next city election. Officials are elected to serve for a time and move on, not move in.

EDITORIAL: Are All Socorro Hotels Created Equal?