Hello, I’m Oscar Rodriguez, and I’m honored to be running for Mayor of Santa Fe.

I’m a highly trained and broadly experienced local government executive, having held leadership positions in Santa Fe, the State of New Mexico, and in cities across the country. I believe this experience and deep connection to this community ensures I will come to the Mayor’s Office with the competence necessary to bring about a marked improvement in our city government.

I have deep roots in this city and land. My ancestors, for whom Apache Canyon was named, fought hard to ensure their tribe survived. Their spirit of resistance and duty passed down from generation to generation and to my parents, who received only an elementary school education. A truck driver and a homemaker, my parents raised me, my five siblings and two uncles in a three-room house in the Permian Basin, sacrificing so we would have opportunities they never had.

I was the first in my family to go to college, earning degrees from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I then pursued a career in helping build stronger, healthier communities by improving city services. I served as Assistant City Manager of Austin, Director of Innovation and Reform for Washington D.C, City Manager of Taos, and Finance Director for the City of Santa Fe, among other demanding management positions. Today I’m the Chief Financial Officer for the New Mexico Finance Authority, where I oversee a $211.0 million budget and $3.5 billion in assets – the kind of skills and experience the city hall needs today.

I’m running for mayor because I believe my skills and experience can turn around the City of Santa Fe, which has been underperforming for years. Problems like potholes, petty crime, crumpled sidewalks, weedy medians and unsteady service delivery are everywhere and impact everybody. Confidence in city government is down. Staff morale is down. At the same time, quality of life in the community is under pressure from rising crime, accelerating housing scarcity, and an increasingly divided community, among other daunting challenges. The City of Santa Fe can and should do a lot better by its citizens, but it will happen only with hard work and the deep expertise in city government that a seasoned leader like me offers.

My career spans more than 30 years solving problems that cities face. I acquired hands-on knowledge of how city services and internal operations work. I learned how to provide effective planning and management from true experts and hard knocks leading big and complex projects, from the re-engineering of expansive business processes to the execution of massive capital improvement programs. I know what excellence in city services looks like and how to achieve it. And I’m ready to bring this expertise to bear with the City of Santa Fe.

My commitment to Santa Fe is rooted in a deep love for our community and a desire to honor my ancestors’ hopes for better prospects for our future generations. I’m ready to bring my skills, experience, and heart to city hall. Let’s work together for a much better, more united Santa Fe.

Stay tuned for a campaign that will push hard for better basic services and a city government that is more effective at solving problems.