William Henry Mee

I grew up down by Cerrillos, New Mexico on 176 acres of the old 10,000 acre Calvin Ranch, so I'm use to the wide open spaces and hard work. My first job was making adobes and cleaning corrals for Marc Simmons in 1968. My first meeting with the Santa Fe County Commissioners was at the dedication of the Cerrillos Firehouse in 1973 with my parents. I was involved with the creation of the Turquoise Trail Volunteer Fire Department, the Cerrillos Rodeo Club, and the San Marcos Area Rifle and Target Shooting Club, and attended 4-H.

I went to Agua Fria Elementary School, and hung around the neighborhood until 1980 when I married Lois Montoya from the Agua Fria Village, and joined the San Isidro Parish community.

I attended a Southwest Area Planning Task Force meeting in 1978. I joined the Santa Fe Water Basin Users Association in 1979, and the Agua Fria Well-Owners Association in 1981. I made adobes for my own house in 1980 and started building in 1981. I testified at the Municipal Boundary Commission meetings during the Annexation Attempt of the City of Santa Fe in 1982.

I was a founding member of the Southwest Area Task Force (SWAT) neighborhood association in 1982 to 1987. I joined this organization after the Richards Avenue road alignment was drawn through the future site of my home. I joined the Citizens Advisory Group of the Metropolitan Planning Task Force in 1984, and the Greater Congress of Neighborhood Associations. I was appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Santa Fe Relief Route Study by Bennie Chavez, Chairman, of the Santa Fe County Commission, in 1985. I was on the City of Santa Fe's Master Plan Task Force and a member of the Citizen's Advisory Group from 1987 to 1989. And a member of the Agua Fria Village Association from 1993 to November 21, 1995.

I've been a member of ARMA, the Association of Records Managers and administrators, since 1985. AI served on the Employee Incentive Awards Committee of the N.M. Health and Environment Department in 1988. I am a founding member of the Santa Fe Quality Network (SFQN) in July of 1993, and a member of Quality New Mexico.

I have had a New Mexico Insurance Agent's License, and studied for a financial planner's designation. I have a New Mexico General Contractor's License and have designed several house and lot plans.

I joined my Ward of the Democratic Party in 1980, when my professor in public administration gave me extra credit to attend a local political meeting. From there, I worked on Sam Garcia's Legislative campaign, Henry Padilla for Sheriff, and "Adelante con Amarante" Romero's County Commission race.

I was elected to my first statewide convention in 1988 where I served as a delegate for the Jesse Jackson Campaign, which elected Debbie Jaramillo as the first Hispanic woman super-delegate for the Atlanta convention. I'm sorry today, that she doesn't remember where her roots are from.

Philosophically, if it is possible, I am a liberally-minded fiscal conservative. I believe in: Traditional Villages, Family Transfers, citizen empowerment, adobe and straw bale construction, sweat equity, affordable housing, village clusters, community-based schools, monster trucks, lowriders, the Boys Club, and sewer and water districts.

I agree with the principles that we learned about and accepted community-wide in SWAT on: performance zoning versus Euclid Zoning methods; whereby, a landowner can do anything they want to do on their property as long as it is accepted by the adjoining landowners.

I disagree with: nuclear warfare, the Los Alamos layoffs, bullet trains, trespassing, militias, the religious right, government over-regulation, too many elections, the regressive system of property taxes, computers running our lives, ski-area expansion, escarpment developments, eight lane highways, smaller state government, putting our kids to work at MacDonald's, Constitutional Amendments like English-First and flag burning, the definition of affordable housing as $80,000 and up, and developers who put profit before people.

And I see on both sides of the issues of: shared wells, higher taxes, abortion, immigration and NAFTA, Home Rule and Incorporation, and hiring Issac Pino and keeping Don Grady.

I think we need more: economic development and good jobs, technology and easier ways of doing things, community centers, child care, family values, recreational opportunities, youth activities, open-space, protected ridge-tops, open-government, accountable public servants, quality tourism, freedom, more horses and four wheelers, more participation in voting and things to vote on; and, if it's at all possible, less taxes and traffic.

And I think that the worst excuse in the world is the one that goes: "you can't fight city hall." I might disagree with you, but I support your right to do so, and expect the same courtesy of you to support me.
Thanks for reading this.