Debbie Jaramillo (born 1952) is an American politician who served as the 39th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

from 1994 to 1998.

Career

Mayor of Santa Fe

Jaramillo was elected mayor after serving six years on the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. She was Santa Fe's first female mayor.James Brooke
"Rift in Santa Fe Over Black Police Chief"
''

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'', November 25, 1995. As a city councilor, she had expressed concern about the

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of Santa Fe, which was forcing the primarily

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

local population to move out of its historical neighborhoods: "We painted our downtown brown and moved the brown people out", she said in 1991.Chris Wilson, ''The Myth of Santa Fe'' ( University of New Mexico Press, 1997), , p. 165
excerpt available
at

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). She ran on a platform promising to place the interests of local residents above those of Santa Fe's booming tourist industry,Dennis Wall
"Santa Fe's balancing act"
''New Mexico Business Journal'' (December 1997) in contrast to the more pro-development policies of the incumbent mayor, Sam Pick.Andrew Leo Lovato, ''Santa Fe Hispanic Culture: Preserving Identity in a Tourist Town'' ( University of New Mexico Press, 2006), , pp. 109ff
excerpt available
at

). Her campaign slogans included "Take back Santa Fe!", and in her victory speech she said, "This town is not for sale. It belongs to the community." Jaramillo had previously run against Pick for mayor, unsuccessfully, and her 1994 election was viewed as an upset, since she had been outspent by her opponents and she had trailed in pre-election polls.Ernie Atencio
"New Santa Fe mayor says: "'This town is not for sale'"
''

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'', March 21, 1994.

Tenure

Jaramillo's administration was marked by controversy.Louis Sahagun
"POLITICS - Mayor Moves to Shake Up Santa Fe - Debbie Jaramillo is lauded, lambasted in her bid to reclaim 'true soul' of enclave"
''

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'', December 12, 1994. She pushed through a plan for the city, assisted by

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, to acquire the Santa Fe Railyard property and begin its conversion into a public mixed-use development. A new

police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

, Donald Grady, was hired in an effort to modernize and bring a community policing philosophy to the Santa Fe Police Department, whose previous chief had been a target of Jaramillo's criticism. However, Grady's efforts met strong opposition and he resigned in 1996. Grady was replaced by Jaramillo's brother-in-law. Since Jaramillo's brother, Ike Pino, was already the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

, this appointment led to charges of nepotism, although Jaramillo defended her relatives, pointing out that Santa Fe had "always been a community that was related to one another." Shortly thereafter, Pino was removed from his city manager position by the city council. In 1998, Jaramillo lost her re-election bid by a decisive margin. The winner,

Larry Delgado Larry Delgado (born 1936) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico from 1998 to 2006. He previously served two terms on the Santa Fe City Council, from 1990 to 1998. Career He was elected mayor of Santa Fe in ...

, was viewed as taking a centrist position between the anti-development policies of Jaramillo and the pro-development policies of Sam Pick, who was also running for mayor again. Jaramillo received 11% of the vote, behind Delgado's 44% and Pick's 32%. In 1999, Christine Marie Sierra, a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

professor at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, produced a documentary about Jaramillo's election, entitled ''This Town Is Not For Sale!: The 1994 Santa Fe Mayoral Election''."'Colores' Looks At Debbie Jaramillo"
''

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was c ...

'', April 24, 1999 (registration required).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaramillo, Debbie Mayors of Santa Fe, New Mexico Women in New Mexico politics Women mayors of places in the United States 1952 births Living people Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American mayors Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American women