Weber outlines housing, safety and justice priorities in Santa Fe State of the City

Mayor Alan Weber delivered the City of Santa Fe’s annual State of the City address, urging “smart change, guided change” to preserve the city’s historic character while focusing on housing, public safety, parks and a broader civic goal of justice for residents.

Weber said the city must balance preserving Santa Fe’s architectural and cultural legacy with meeting modern needs such as more affordable and workforce housing, better parks and recreational facilities, and strengthened public-safety responses that include mental and behavioral health services. “What we don't need is change for the sake of change. Or on the other hand, no change for the sake of preservation,” Weber said.

The mayor placed housing at the top of his list of needs, calling for “a diverse mix of housing to enable a diverse mix of people” so that people who work in Santa Fe can live in the city. He also highlighted ongoing work to update the city’s general plan to decide which elements should remain and which should change, and said the city will “soon begin the work to design an anti-displacement strategy for the Hopewell Mann neighborhood,” identifying it as the city’s first neighborhood stabilization plan.

Weber listed a range of existing city programs he described as part of the city’s “sense of purpose”: an eviction-prevention program for low- and moderate-income residents; an early-childcare workforce development program (APREENDe); the Escalones program to support home-based childcare providers; a community youth violence-prevention program; a safe outdoor space program; a mobile hygiene unit; a park ranger program; and a non-congregate shelter program. On seniors’ services, he said the city provides “congregate meals, as many as 250 every day,” plus respite care, homemaker services, transportation and durable medical supplies.

Weber said the city has directed recent unanticipated revenue to safety initiatives, social policies and homelessness response, and invoked that spending as part of a broader contrast with federal actions. In his remarks the mayor said, “We have already taken more than $1,414,000,000 dollars 14 million dollars in unanticipated revenue and put that money to work to help the people in Santa Fe who need the most help.”

He criticized actions by the incoming U.S. administration, saying executive orders in the early days of the federal administration threatened civil and human-rights protections and described those moves as “nothing less than an assault on justice, an attack on civil and human rights, and a repudiation of this country's core values and traditions.” The mayor said Santa Fe has responded by reasserting local policies: reappointing the city’s immigration committee, continuing the search for a director of the city’s office of diversity, equity and inclusion, and defending the city in litigation when federal policy threatened funding for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.

Weber framed the city’s policy history as rooted in local values: he noted Santa Fe was an early adopter of a living-wage policy, early in adopting inclusionary zoning and accessory-dwelling-unit policy tools, and an early practitioner of aggressive water- and energy-conservation measures. He also cited partnerships with local organizations and institutions — including Somos un Pueblo Unido, Guadalupe Credit Union, the Chamber of Commerce and local home builders — in programs to support immigrants on paths to citizenship and to expand work-based learning opportunities with Santa Fe Public Schools.

The mayor opened with ceremonial acknowledgements and blessings. Governor Earl Samuel of Tesuque Pueblo offered remarks in his language wishing the mayor, elected officials and the city well; Archbishop John Wester led an opening prayer. Poet laureate Tommy Archuleta read a poem and Esteban Gonzalez served as master of ceremonies. Weber thanked city staff, the city clerk Andrea Salazar and catering and music partners for the event.

Weber closed by reiterating his two central themes — the city’s sense of place and sense of purpose — and called for a course of “smart change” that maintains Santa Fe’s cultural and architectural identity while advancing equity and services for residents. He said the general-plan update, neighborhood stabilization work for Hopewell Mann, and continued funding for safety and social programs would guide that work going forward.