April 19 – The City of Santa Fe’s Independent Salary Commission has just 11 days to determine the next mayor’s salary after their appointment Friday afternoon by the Ethics and Campaign Review Board.
The seven-member panel must complete their work by the end of April to ensure the future mayor’s salary is set before candidates file for office.
Selected members include Bridget Dixson, president of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, and Ray Sandoval, a spokesperson for the Public Service Company of New Mexico who also chairs the Zozobra event for the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe .
Interim City Clerk Geralyn Cardenas said the city had to extend the application deadline twice for people interested in a position on the Independent Salary Commission because until recently there were too few applicants.
“I got these at the last minute and I put them on this agenda,” Cardenas said of the eight pending applications.
Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar is responsible for organizing the salary panel meeting, Cardenas said. She added that she had sent Salazar an email asking him to organize a meeting in the City Council chambers next Thursday, following a hearing on the Finance Committee’s budget that day.
Santa Fe’s next mayor will be elected in November 2025 and take office in January 2026.
mayor Alan Webberwho is serving his second term, said Friday that he has not yet considered whether he will run again, and that no other candidates have announced a bid for the position.
A payroll committee was convened for the first time after city voters approved a charter amendment that changed the mayor’s position from a part-time to a full-time role. Committee members were previously appointed by the mayor, but are now selected by the Ethics and Campaign Review Board to avoid conflicts of interest.
There are six specific categories for commissioners and one general seat. The board unanimously approved the following members on Friday:
* Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce Member: Bridget Dixson.
* Member of the neighborhood association: Fabian Trujillo.
* Community organization member: Ray Sandoval.
* Current or retired attorney or judge: James Sullivan.
* Human Resources Representative or Employment Consultant: Cynthia Sandoval.
* Current or retired CEO: Berl Brechner.
* General member: Stefanie Beninato.
Several applicants were considered for multiple positions, but the general position was the only one in which board members decided between two people. The board chose Beninato over Tom Spray, executive director of the Santa Fe Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, largely because she was present at the meeting and Spray was not.
“I think she is a good bridge between a lot of different entities,” said board member Andrew Black.
Black, an associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church and founder of Earthkeepers 360, is the newest member of the board.
Beninato, who has regularly attended public meetings in the city for decades, said this will be her first time serving on a city panel.
The Ethics Board voted unanimously Friday to dismiss two complaints Beninato filed against city employees, saying they fell outside the scope of his authority.
Beninato’s complaints against City Planner Heather Lamboy and Assistant City Attorney Patricia Feghali alleged that they misrepresented the facts regarding sign discrepancies during separate hearings in 2022 and 2023 before the Historic District Review Board and Board of Adjustment.
“I am tired of city employees lying to boards and to the public,” Beninato said Friday.
In written responses, both employees denied misrepresenting the facts and said the complaints were frivolous attempts to harass city employees.
Little progress was made Friday on several other issues, including an ethics complaint that City Council Member Pilar Faulkner filed during the 2023 election season regarding “Jay Baker,” a pseudonymous Facebook poster known for his criticism of the Webber administration and other government officials.
Faulkner accuses Baker of lying about her during the campaign in a way that was damaging to her professional reputation as a lobbyist, and she asks the board to determine his or her real identity.
So far, no action has been taken on Faulkner’s complaint, but board chairman Paul Biderman said he has the authority to issue subpoenas to KOB-TV, which ran digital ads about Faulkner during the election. Faulkner claims Baker was behind the ads.
Baker previously denied purchasing ads, writing on Facebook Messenger that the complaint was a “fishing expedition” by the city government.
The board decided to extend the investigation for another three months.
The board was unable to take action on a complaint filed by Arcy Baca against failed city council candidate Geno Zamora because a quorum was not reached.
Two largely identical complaints Baca filed against Faulkner and council candidate Phil Lucero were dismissed by the board in December, but the Zamora complaint has stalled due to the lack of a quorum.
Three of the six board members resigned in December because they knew Zamora or his campaign manager Sandra Wechsler. One board member, Kristina Martinez, said she made a donation to Zamora’s campaign.
Board members believed adding a new member would allow them to reach a quorum of four members to vote. However, Black also said Friday that he had to withdraw.
“I think we’re in the same dilemma as before,” Assistant City Attorney Marcos Martinez said.
Martinez suggested the board form a committee to discuss the complaint. The three members who did not withdraw agreed and the topic was postponed until the July board meeting.
