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Residents, cultural leaders press county after Fiesta Court barred from public building; commissioners promise policy review and external review
Summary
Dozens of speakers criticized county staff after the Fiesta Council and its court were prevented from entering a county building; speakers called the action discriminatory and asked the board to adopt policy changes. Commissioners agreed to pursue policy review and an external evaluation.
Public comment at the Sept. 30 Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners meeting focused in large part on complaints that county staff prevented members of the Santa Fe Fiesta Council and its court from entering a county public building during recent Fiesta activities.
Dozens of residents, former county employees and local leaders spoke during the meeting’s public comment period, describing the incident as discriminatory and urging the commission to adopt a policy guaranteeing access for cultural events.
What speakers said - "It is not legal to bar an ethnic or cultural group from a public building," said Nicholas Raymond Aranda, who described civil‑rights and equal‑protection statutes and urged immediate action. "Barring an ethnic group from a government building is a racist behavior. Plain and simple," he told the commission. -…
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