SENATE MEMORIAL 113

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Nancy Rodriguez

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING MAYOR DAVID COSS AND HIS ACHIEVEMENTS.

     WHEREAS, David Coss was introduced to the world of politics at age fifteen when he was hired as chief page for the 1970 legislative session; and

     WHEREAS, David was following in the footsteps of his father, Ronald Coss, who was director of the legislative education study committee when David served as chief page; and

      WHEREAS, David, then a sophomore at Santa Fe high school, was excused from school for the thirty-day legislative session and recalls assisting Senate Chief Clerk Juanita Pino, Senator Aubrey Dunn, Senator Michael Alarid, Senator Joe Skeen and Senator Jack Eastham; and

      WHEREAS, David graduated from Santa Fe high school in 1972 and received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture from New Mexico state university in 1977 and a master of arts degree in zoology from southern Illinois university in 1981; and

     WHEREAS, from 1981 to 1993, David was an environmental scientist for the surface water control bureau of the department of environment, and from 1993 to 1995, he was director of the environmental protection division of the department of environment; and

     WHEREAS, from 1995 to 1998, David was director of the city of Santa Fe public works department and was director of the field operations division of the state land office from 1999 to 2005; and

      WHEREAS, for nine years, David was an officer and a union organizer for the communications workers of America, helping to defeat so-called right-to-work laws and to win collective bargaining rights for public workers in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, David was a Santa Fe city councilor from 2002 through 2006, serving as a member of the public works committee, the public utility committee, the regional planning authority and the water conservation committee; and

     WHEREAS, David was Santa Fe's mayor for eight years, first elected in 2006 and reelected to a second term in 2010; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss's political and management style was focused, collaborative, conciliatory, respectful and open to new ideas; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss had many significant accomplishments during his mayoral terms and never missed an opportunity to praise and tout Santa Fe's extensive cultural and social offerings; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss ensured that the city put on its best face when the legislature convened in Santa Fe by welcoming legislators and their families and by providing passes to the city's recreation centers and parking facilities; and

     WHEREAS, Santa Fe was officially established in 1610, and in 2010, Mayor Coss took great pride in Santa Fe's celebration of its four hundredth anniversary and the opportunity to highlight the city's history; and

     WHEREAS, during planning and construction of the Santa Fe convention center, an ancestral native Tesuque village was discovered beneath the proposed center, and Mayor Coss worked closely with the Pueblo of Tesuque to ensure that the remains and artifacts were not desecrated; and

     WHEREAS, the negotiations with the tribal governments were conducted by Mayor Coss with sensitivity and a desire to find middle ground acceptable to all parties; and

     WHEREAS, under David's tenure as mayor, a living wage law was passed in Santa Fe, the first city in the state to do so; and

     WHEREAS, in 2009, when the college of Santa Fe was facing closure due to financial difficulties, Mayor Coss assisted in a public-private partnership, which included the city of Santa Fe, to purchase the campus, allowing the school to remain open as the Santa Fe university of art and design; and

     WHEREAS, in 2013, Mayor Coss received national awards from Americans for the arts and the United States conference of mayors for his local arts leadership; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss led Santa Fe to partner with the state in such important projects as expanding tourism and the film industry, creating the Santa Fe railyard district, establishing the rail runner commuter train, expanding the Santa Fe airport, restoring the Santa Fe river, implementing the Buckman direct diversion project and supporting affordable housing initiatives; and

     WHEREAS, public safety issues included increasing police officer salaries across the board to improve recruiting efforts; upgrading equipment; expanding and remodeling the police station; working with police and the immigrant community to improve relations and increase public safety; addressing domestic and sexual violence issues; and assisting with the development of the law enforcement assisted diversion project to allow heroin addicts to be diverted into treatment instead of incarceration; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss always represented the city at deployment and return ceremonies of the national guard and ensured the placement of a statue honoring medal of honor recipient Master Sgt. Leroy Petry in front of Santa Fe city hall; and

     WHEREAS, Mayor Coss is proud of the environmental progress made during his tenure, including twenty-five percent of Santa Fe's electricity now being produced by solar energy; and

     WHEREAS, David is proud and unapologetic about his support for protection of the environment, labor rights, immigrant rights and the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; and

     WHEREAS, David continues his advocacy by serving on the executive board and chairing the legislative committee of the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra club; and

     WHEREAS, David and his wife of thirty years, Carol Rose, have three children, Celedina, Dylan and Molly, and he is blessed to still have his parents, Ron and Millie, in Santa Fe; and

     WHEREAS, in retirement, David is enjoying babysitting for his two granddaughters, Giana Tohee and Madison Lithgow, and expanding his intellectual horizons as a freshman at Santa Fe community college, majoring in Spanish;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Mayor David Coss be recognized for his many accomplishments and for his selfless contributions to New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Mayor David Coss.