By Lynn Janes

On October 5, 2023, the candidate forum for the upcoming Silver City Town Council election in November took place at the Western New Mexico University Besse-Forward Resource Center.  The forum had incumbent Jose Ray, Wendy Raven Phillips and Stan Snider facing off. 

Nick Seibel,  Silver City Daily Press publisher moderated the forum. The candidates received questions from the audience, Facebook, and the Press. Each would answer the same question and had two minutes. 

Each candidate gave a three minute introduction. 

Ray said he had been on the council since 2011. “We don’t always know the answer and we do our best to inquire and find out.  I am glad to have the other two candidates. Not everything we say will be agreeable but make sure to vote.”

Phillips moved here in 2009 from Colorado but had grown up in Chicago. She said she much prefers the rural areas. They had come some years ago to Silver City in December and it snowed on them for ten days, but they fell in love with the town and moved here. When they got here, they purchased two historic homes and renovated them. Her husband has been a contractor and they have renovated homes before. She said Ray had given her permission to run against him. 

Snider said he had lived in the area for 33 years. He had worked for the city as a supervisor of the wastewater department, been on the planning and zoning board and worked with the unions. Silver City has a unique culture and art. “Silver City will be facing growth and I want to be involved.” He said he wanted to see businesses come to town that would be innovative and climate-friendly. He pointed out Gila Woodnet and all the work they have been doing. “We are here to listen to the needs of the community.”

The first question given to the candidates had to do with the district three boundaries and what they encompassed. This question came from the audience.

Snider said, “It is the largest district and includes the historic downtown.” He went over all the boundaries naming 8th Street, Hwy 180, Rosedale Road, etc. He pointed out the diversity of the people in these areas. 

Phillips said it also included the 32nd Street bypass, Mountain View Road, and included Ridge Road. The district has many types of neighborhoods, economic levels, and poverty. “They have many different political types, religion and history, and I love them all.”

Ray said, “It is very large and wide. It also includes the Flame area and I have enjoyed it.” He said he and Phillips had a bet over who would win. 

Should the town council be paid, and would you work to make that happen for future councils? This question came from the audience.

Phillips said it might be a good idea. With pay they might be able to get more youth involved. They can’t afford to work part-time and the council job takes a lot of time. She said she would have to ask her mentors and see how they felt but she knew it would be controversial. 

Ray said he didn’t think so, but he would like to see them not charged for water. 

Snider said, “The job is not about being paid, it is about serving your community. I think it would open a can of worms.”

Would you place yourself on the current political spectrum, liberal, moderate, conservative or Trumpy? This question came from the audience.

Ray, “I am first and foremost an American and I am a Republican, but I value all opinions with merit. I do believe in God, go to church, and pray.” Whatever anyone else wants to do is fine if it’s not forced on others. 

Snider said it depended on the issue. When it came to finances, he leaned towards being conservative but with business he leaned toward liberal because he wanted businesses to be climate-friendly. 

Phillips said she had registered as a democrat but had been an independent in Colorado. When they moved here the only way to be able to vote in the primary they had to register as a democrat or republican. “I, of course, registered as a democrat.” When it came to social issues, she said she takes the liberal side and when it came to finances, she took the conservative side. 

Alex Brown, town manager, will be retiring soon. A lot of discussions have been around the town doing the search or bringing in a professional contractor to do it. What would you like to see, and would you want to promote from within? Juno Ogle, writer for the Silver City Daily Press posed the question.

Phillips said she sits on the committee to come up with the job description for the new town manager. They have been working on it for a few months and it was almost finished and ready to present to the council. “My personal opinion is to have both. I would like to be part of the process of hiring a new town manager.” It needs to be someone adaptable; we will have a lot of economic and climate issues. They need to work with all levels of employees. 

Snider said they needed to be a leader and team player so they could coordinate with everyone including the mayor and council. “We need professional help to find this person. We need to collect all the candidates local or otherwise and pick the best to serve Silver City.”

Ray did not want to see a search firm used. The town needed to do the job because they know better what would be needed. The qualities this person needs would be to be a team player and be able to take care of the budget. They would need to be able to say no to some things. He added that Brown had done very well, and he would like to see promoting from within the town. 

Half of the area District 3 serves is historic downtown. Many of the commercial buildings have been vacant for years. What can we do? This question came from the audience.

Snider said, “That is a hard question, and we need to see what other areas like this have done to turn that around.”

Ray said many of the buildings that have been vacant are not locally owned. They have tried for years to work with the owners. Nothing that has been tried has worked so far. 

Phillips said, “It is complicated and maybe they need an incentive program.” She suggested that Main Street needed to help to be more expansive. “A lot of money is available out there to do this work.” The town has had the same problem for years. “I have ideas.”

The city had an ordinance for vacant buildings passed a number of years ago. The ordinance had two parts. First, if a building would be vacant, they had to register it, and have it inspected every year for a fee and the other part it had to have insurance. The town has never enforced that ordinance. What do you think about that, and would you like to see it enforced or changed?

Ray said sometimes the ordinances do not have the right language and they have problems enforcing them. The town has cleaned up some properties and put a lien on them. “It is a tough situation, and they always find loopholes. We need to revisit these ordinances.” 

Phillips said that you can’t get insurance on an empty building. Insurance will be a very big problem for people in the future. “I am not aware of the inspection of property; I have not read that ordinance.” She would not be a believer in making this law and they should see what else they could do. “We need creative ideas and there is a lot of money to solve this.” Other cities have been doing some great things, like Detroit and Nashville. 

Snider said it would be good to identify the properties that have been vacant. “We need to look at the ordinances and see what positive outcome they could have. We have a housing problem in the city and if we could rehab these houses, it would be a good step.” 

How do the candidates feel about the gentrification of the housing and business buildings in District 3? This question came from the audience.

Snider said that District 3 is a very diverse group of people. If they can improve the buildings that would be great, but they needed to respect the current people. 

Phillips said, “That is a very very complicated question. The Hispanics on Chihuahua Hill are very unhappy with the gentrification. I am unhappy with absentee owners downtown.” She pointed out the old Buffalo Bar and how bad it looked. You can’t stop people from moving in and buying buildingss and pointed out she had. The two she bought could not be financed because of their deteriorated shape but they had been able to buy them and renovate them. One of them had been the Silver City Daily Press. 

Ray said District 3  has always been underserved and that has been a fact. The Hispanic people’s homes were not set out properly and they have had problems with disputes on property lines on the old properties. It has been very hard to distinguish and have it done correctly. People come to the downtown area and think they will make money right away, but it takes time. “We need more business and entertainment downtown.”

What specifically will you do to protect and expand affordable housing? This question came from the audience.

Phillips said, “I am a big supporter of affordable housing and talk a lot about it. We can get money and it is out there.” Brown said they had a grant writer. The problem has been finding contractors and workforce to build the houses. “We don’t do well at managing projects we create here.” They have plans and they have the forty lots on Brewer Hill called Vista La Plata and they do have four houses on it. SPIN (supporting people in need) has been talking about doing a disabled housing project. The money would be available but needed a workforce to do it.

Ray said it has been hard to find a workforce. They don’t have contractors to do the work. The city does have some affordable housing projects going but they take a lot of time. They have a lot of projects but need to finish and do one at a time. “We do need affordable housing.”

Snider said it would be a two-step process. Maybe work on a multi-unit first and work on the infrastructure of the town to support the buildings. “We not only need to look at new construction but rehabbing houses that are vacant and clean up the neighborhoods.” 

What can you do on the council to encourage young people to stay here? This question came from the audience.

Phillips said, “We lose a lot of kids to other places because we don’t have support for them.” Having a vocational education school here would help. Not everyone wants to go to college. It would train young people to do skills to be part of the local workforce. 

Snider said he had talked to young people, and they want a place to live, “so we need affordable housing.” They need to find meaningful rewarding work. “We could get that by encouraging clean business to come in for them to work at.” The new tech school would help.

Ray said he would like to get the kids coming to the town council meetings so they can see what the council could do for them. “We need to be smart and innovative.” Ray has already met with Silver Consolidated Schools to try and put something together to get the kids involved. “They are smart and innovative, and we should give them a chance.”

Ogle said when she came to town, she had a hard time finding housing and in fact her start with the newspaper had to be put on hold until she found a place to live. What do you consider affordable housing? What price range would you consider for purchasing and renting?

Snider said it would be tough to give a number. They do have programs for first time home buyers. They went back and forth, and Snider landed on $200,000 for purchase and $750-$850 for rent. 

Ray said it would be hard to put a number on it, but he came to $150,000 to buy and $750 for rent. 

Phillips said she had delt with a young woman that would be a lawyer at the courthouse, and she could not find a place until January, so she has rented her a place for $750 all utilities paid until she finds something. She quoted what they say should be spent on rent or a house payment—30 percent of your income. 

What can be done about the homeless downtown, living in the Big Ditch and the mess they leave?

Phillips said that she could have a wide range of responses to the question but would stick with the task force she has become part of to come up with ideas on the problem and looking for resources. Some people don’t want them here and some want them all here. The taskforce has been getting ready to introduce themselves to the town council and county commissioners with some ideas. “Personally, downtown needs some help, people don’t feel safe, and it needs to be dealt with.” 

Ray said, “This is just me speaking, I don’t believe in the homeless people because I have watched the last few years them breaking into houses, camping in people’s homes. I understand they may have mental health issues, but everyone deserves a quality of life.” People have gotten hurt, and many feel unsafe. The city has been asked to give them free everything but the residents support that with their tax money. “It is very simple, don’t help them, we should have a quality of life.”

Snider said the answer would be very complex. “We need to support the programs we have here and have a solution that is humane and can house and feed these people.” Provide assistance through behavioral health and SSI. At the same time, we have to address the concerns of the neighbors. They could look at other communities that have come up with solutions to the problem. Snider said he had talked to someone in Deming, and they had done a good job with the issue. They have been able to house, feed and train them to do jobs. 

Have you ever been to the main SPIN building and taken a tour?

Ray said he had and could not believe all the beds and different types of people, men, and women. He saw people screaming at one another and being mean. “I would not support it in my area.” For some of the events he has been part of they have asked homeless people to work, and they don’t want to. “We have to learn to say no.”

Snider said he had been to the SPIN facility, and they need to help and support them.

Phillips said she had gone there. Christina Wolford, director of SPIN, has been part of the taskforce for the homeless. “I support the work she is trying to do.” She does not have enough help; she is spread too thin and trying to grow too fast.” This sometimes makes for bad decisions that affect all of us. Deming does not have an emergency shelter. They actually send people up here that need emergency housing. “We should take care of our own and not take people coming in from Deming.” She pointed out that the community has people living in unsafe houses but can’t afford to fix them but can’t move out because then they would be homeless. “We need to figure out how to help these people. We will become a destination city if we keep providing for them.” She found out Silver City is on the route of the homeless people that travel around and years ago she said they had complained because we didn’t have TVs. “We have TV for them now.”

Do you know why the streets in town have been such a mess, but state and federal money has not been used to fix them?

Phillips said they didn’t have the workforce or competition for the bids. The mine can’t even get enough people to work.

Snider said that would be a difficult question. State can only help with the highways. They need to keep doing the chip seal and fix the potholes. The roads need to be revamped and they only have one company to do the paving and it makes it more expensive.

Ray said he has been asked this many times. They keep trying to get money in Santa Fe, but the northern part of the state gets most of the money. They need more representation. Just getting the new highway to Deming had taken years. It has always been tough for small municipalities. 

What would you do for the south part of town, specifically Mountain View Road? The question came from someone who had lived there 43 years. 

Snider said, “It is a tough question.” They need to find the funding, but it will be expensive because of the widespread area. 

Ray said he wanted to talk about Silver Acres. He said if they could get another business down there it would open the area for services and more opportunities. 

Phillips said she didn’t know anything about this and would need to do some research to find out what they needed and what resources could be available. With a new town manager and new department heads in the near future new ideas will come. She added, “Brown is wonderful and has kept a good house.”

What are your thoughts about an indoor swimming pool and should it be included in the recreation center?

Ray said he thought it would be a good idea to have an indoor swimming pool but when the recreation center had been talked about, they didn’t include an indoor swimming pool. “I hope they will have the swimming pool.” 

Phillips said they can’t add the swimming pool to the recreation center at this point. Anything that offers health to the community should be a goal and the pool would be a good idea.

Snider said he would be all for the indoor swimming pool. It would need to be enclosed to use year round. 

The historic design review committee has been struggling with the use of storge containers in the historic district. They want to see the ordinance passed enforced and have them removed. Do you feel this is a problem and what do you propose to satisfy both sides? This question came from Ogle.

Snider said the containers don’t look very historic and the ordinance should be enforced. They need to build an outside storage area that meets the requirements. 

Phillips said the ordinance should be enforced. A lot of the residents don’t like the containers. “We should follow through with all our ordinances.”

Ray said they need to keep it historical but revisit the ordinance. 

What is your understanding of the town’s water resources?

Snider said most of the water has been well water. Not real familiar on the water rights of the town but have the infrastructure to provide water for everyone.

Ray said Silver City has a lot of water and can support other communities. “We don’t have any water issues.” Water consumption has gone up 18 percent.

Phillips said we had a lot of rain last year and agreed from what she had heard the city has plenty of water. “We have to pay attention to climate change.” The city will have to be careful with growth. 

Would you like to see water usage controlled that is used by the courthouse and city parks?

Phillips said watching the wasted water at the courthouse has been hard. The water runs down the street all the time. They could learn to use it better.

Snider said they could be more efficient and water at night.

Ray said they have a lot of overflow water at the courthouse. They need to be made aware.

Is the city doing enough to support town employees? This question came from the audience.

Ray pointed out that they always have ads in the newspaper and can’t get enough people to work. Some want more money and less work. The city has not been the best pay but has very good benefits and retirement. 

Snider said that they do have a good retirement. He worked for 10 years and gets a retirement. The town has a problem maintaining employees. The mines pay better. “We need to be competitive with other municipalities.”

Phillips recently said the assessor’s office lost three employees that found better pay. The city does not pay enough. She said she would not have an idea of where the money would come from. All the businesses have been having problems with getting people to work. 

Ogle asked them what the next project the town should be looking to do after 32nd Street and the recreation center have been finished?

Phillips said they need to put money into the downtown area, fixing sidewalks and roads. It needs to be safe and secure.

Ray said they needed to look at infrastructure for Gough Park. He suggested a larger gazebo, more venues for concerts and he also suggested a river walk for downtown that goes all the way to Scott Park and do a section at a time. He also suggested a fishing pond at the end. 

Snider said to piece meal the roads repair and do them little by little. They also have to find meaningful rewarding work for the young people. 

WNMU plans to expand to adjacent neighborhoods. What are your thoughts about that and what relationship should the town have with the university?

Snider said they needed to work as a team. He mentioned a $5 million grant the university has to plant trees. “We need to team with them to work on that.” He said he would hate to see the expansion require that eminent domain used. Should be made the least disruptive to the neighborhood.

Phillips said she has been a fan of what Joe Shepard has done. The university has come a long way. Many of the people had to adapt to the changes with the widening of the road. He said he would work with the neighborhoods, and she felt he would continue. 

Ray said he would be for it and the university had done a lot of good things for the community.

Do you believe there is a culture of nepotism or “good ole boy” within the municipal government? If so, what is your plan to correct this? This question came from the audience.

Phillips said she didn’t know about nepotism. “Our town has been under the same management for 20 years. That will change in a dramatic way soon.” 

Snider said, “I don’t know but there are ways to prevent it.” Qualifications need to be met to be hired and the best employee will show no matter who it is. He pointed out it would be hard in a town this size not to have people related. 

Ray said he pled the Fifth.

Seibel asked the question he always asks at the end of the forums. He calls it the time machine question. If you win and we are back here at the end of your term, what would you be most proud of?

Ray said he would be proud of all he had done. The music festival, downtown events. Doing things for the community to make a better quality of life. “The position is not just about laws and ordinances; politics is hard, and it is the nature of the beast.”

Snider said steps taken for affordable housing and financing for infrastructure. He made people want to stay in Silver City.

Phillips said housing but she didn’t know what could be accomplished in four years. Providing affordable house would be one thing but finding developers to bring in a workforce would be good. Generate funding to help people fix their properties that can’t afford to. A lot of housing issues need to be addressed.

Closing statements

Snider said, “I want to look at affordable housing and look for small businesses that are innovative, climate-friendly and water-saving.” He said they could do it, and he would be there to listen to the people. He can be reached at standistrict3@gmail.com

Phillips said this month of October, she will be having an invite to her porch every Wednesday (big house next to the courthouse) noon to 6pm. She can be reached at wendy4district3@gmail.com, 757-284-6210. “This is an important time in our city because the town manager is one of the most powerful positions and this will be a big change.” She encouraged people to vote, no matter who. “Joe Ray has been doing this for 12 years and he should move on.”

Ray thanked both candidates for coming and encouraged everyone to go vote and attend the town council meetings. “Give us ideas and feedback, I have an open door to my house. Come by anytime. The house is across from La Capilla. 575-313-4944.”