Editorial, 08/04/2007 - Heldmeyer will be hard to replace on council

Because she can't be bought, certain folks will be happy to see her gone

She’s leaving big shoes to fill — and City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer, in yesterday’s announcement that she won’t seek a third term, tossed out a challenge to her District 2 constituents: Beware of cheap imitations.

She didn’t say it in those words; that would’ve been immodest. But she warned at an afternoon press conference that Santa Fe’s “powers that be,” thwarted three and a half years ago in their smear campaign against Heldmeyer and council colleagues Miguel Chávez and Patti Bushee, might well field candidates talking green and preservationist while seeking to turn our community’s neighborhoods into land-speculators’ paradises.

Heldmeyer, following honorably and ably in the footsteps of Ouida MacGregor, Bernie Beenhouwer, Steven Farber and other hard-working, meeting-attending, homework-doing councilors from her east- and southside district, has been a strong advocate of preserving what makes our community a world-renowned travel destination and a delight to most Santa Feans: our 400-year heritage, as it’s reflected in our buildings, Plaza, parks and streetscapes.

And, like ’em or not, Heldmeyer has been the main force behind speed humps, traffic circles and other “traffic-calming” devices intended to keep our neighborhoods from becoming high-speed, hazardous shortcuts from A to B.

We’re not crazy about the frequency of those suspension-springing humps and, too often, the abruptness of their rises; as for the plague of signage that came with ’em, ni hablar; but they’ve been imposed in keeping with homeowners’ wishes, so así es la vida in our City Different …

This is a councilor who has served — tirelessly and honestly — a city under assault from big interests who have yet to realize the value of staying their hand; of recognizing the worth of historic preservation, and the need to limit growth to sustainable levels in a city where drought is an increasingly frequent visitor, and where failure to provide affordable housing already is depriving us of the diversity that has made Santa Fe a longtime model for the rest of the country.

Heldmeyer has never lost track of what she called in her valedictory the privilege our councilors have “to be handed the trust of the people they represent.” Their charge, she said, “is to return that trust by making the fairest, most informed decisions they can make.”

This, she said, “is what makes some of us run for council” — adding quickly, and cuttingly, that she “can’t speak for the motivations of others.”

Because she can’t be bought, purchasers of politicians will be happy to see her gone — and anxious to put someone more pliable in her place. For that reason, residents of District 2 must be wary of some of the candidates soon to come out of the woodwork. Will they stand their ground against the money guys who, had Heldmeyer decided to run again, would have thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars against her? And even if candidates talk a good preservationist game, will they buckle down and bone up on the details they must know so they can question the fast-talking promoters who appear before the council?

There’s no room on the council for dilettantes of the kind who collected lines in the school yearbook, or only want to impress the folks back home. As for those who’d trade their vote for a mess of pottage, tampoco.

We were encouraged to hear that Councilor Chávez will be running for re-election in District 3. And we’re also happy to hear Heldmeyer is “not going away;” a founding member of the Neighborhood Network, she intends to revitalize the grass-roots organizations that have held bulldozers at bay.

In the meantime, she’ll be giving her best during the half year to come, notably advancing neighborhood conservation districts.

Whoever succeeds Karen Heldmeyer can expect to be held to high standards, indeed.