Letitia Montoya

INTRODUCTION

My name is Letitia Montoya, and I am a candidate for Mayor of Santa Fe. I am a 17th-

generation Santa Fean, a Native Hispanic woman whose family roots run as deep as the acequias that have sustained this community for centuries. My story is not one of privilege, but of perseverance and service. I grew up in Santa Fe schools, overcoming learning disabilities with the support of dedicated teachers, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master’s in Education from the College of Santa Fe. My education taught me discipline and problem-solving; my lived experience taught me resilience.

Professionally, I have served as a junior engineer at TRW, analyzing data for the U.S. Air Force, and later built a successful business career as a COO and Compliance Officer. Today, I co-own Nebula Advisers LLC, a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business. I understand budgets, contracts, and accountability because I have lived them—not just in theory, but in practice.

I bring to public service both professional expertise and deep cultural connection to this city. Santa Fe is not just where I live; it is who I am. My leadership will honor our traditions while delivering the results our families, workers, and neighborhoods deserve.

You can reach me at (505) 644-2227, by email at Letitia@LetitiaForSantaFe.com, or through my website at LetitiaForSantaFe.com

WILDFIRE AND OTHER EMERGENCIES: What would you do to reduce wildfire risks in our neighborhood, with its heavy tree cover and extremely limited egress? Will you actively support improved evacuation routes/strategies, use of wildfire spotting cameras and other advance warning systems? The creation of safe areas for sheltering if evacuation is not possible? What about flood risk?

Montoya: I will launch a Canyon-specific Community Wildfire Protection Plan that brings neighbors, the Fire Department, Public Works, and acequia associations together to map risks like heavy tree cover, steep slopes, and limited egress routes. I will fund annual fuel reduction on City land above Canyon Road, expand free chipper days, and offer home-hardening support such as ember-resistant vents, defensible landscaping, and roof upgrades. I will require utilities to accelerate tree clearance around power lines to cut ignition sources.

I will pre-plan contraflow evacuation on Canyon and Upper Canyon during emergencies, clearly mark staging zones, and designate safe refuge areas—parks and open fields—where residents can shelter if evacuation is not possible. I will also run annual neighborhood evacuation drills with CERT teams, police, and fire so every resident knows the plan. To ensure everyone is alerted, I will expand early detection with wildfire-spotting cameras and weather stations tied into city dispatch, integrate Reverse-911, Wireless Emergency Alerts, door-to-door notification teams, and a loud horn system for clear evacuation warnings.

And because fire is always followed by flood risk in the Canyon, I will act now. I will upgrade culverts, build debris basins, install check dams, and use green infrastructure like bioswales to slow runoff. I will restore arroyos to reduce erosion, and I will stockpile sandbags and barriers for rapid deployment after a burn.

Finally, if homes are lost or access is blocked, I will provide post-fire shelter and recovery support. I will work with Red Cross, faith-based groups, and the City’s Emergency Management Office to set up temporary shelters, food and water stations, and long-term recovery resources so families are not left on their own.

I will secure funding through City capital improvements, state forestry programs, and federal FEMA mitigation dollars, and I will create a Canyon Emergency Task Force with quarterly updates. I will measure results by acres thinned, homes hardened, drills completed, evacuation routes improved, and drainage projects delivered—so residents see real protection, not just promises.

ROADS: How could you as Mayor keep our residents safer while walking, biking, or driving on our very old, narrow, and overused roads? And from the impacts from runoff and erosion?

Montoya: Canyon’s roads were built for horse-and-buggy and hug the houses, so widening is not an option. I will make them safer at slow, predictable speeds. I will set a target speed of 15–20 mph and use proven traffic-calming tools for narrow, historic streets: raised entries, speed tables where fire access allows, shared-street cues, and advisory shoulders so people walking and biking have usable space while cars yield and pass cautiously. (Santa Fe MPO, FHWA, NACTO, Rural Design Guide)

I will add pull-outs/lay-bys and convex mirrors at blind curves to keep the road safely two-way, and daylight corners to restore sight lines. I will deploy speed-feedback signs and coordinate targeted enforcement at cut-through peaks. (Canyon stays two-way; contraflow is for evacuations only.)

I will tackle runoff and erosion by fixing drainage the right way on skinny roads: curb-cut bioswales, stormwater curb extensions, check-dams, and permeable edge drains—all designed to slow, spread, and sink water instead of letting it scour the roadway. I will pair this with shoulder stabilization and arroyo restoration where flows hit hardest. (Mississippi Marine Resources, Nebraska DOT)

I will manage construction traffic with haul-route limits, timed deliveries, flagging on the narrowest segments, and a “restore-what-you-wear” bond so contractors fix what they damage. I will publish a Canyon Safety Work Plan with before/after metrics—speeds, crashes, drainage fixes—so neighbors see results.

LAND USE. Even without any zoning changes or variances, if undeveloped lots in our neighborhood were built upon, housing density could double, overwhelming our crowded roads, and other infrastructure including water and sewer. How could you as Mayor mitigate this problem, from limiting density to improving infrastructure, to short-term rental regulation and beyond?

Montoya: I will not allow unchecked growth to overwhelm the Canyon or the character of Santa Fe. I will require infrastructure concurrency—no new project will move forward unless our roads, water, sewer, and drainage can support it.

Short-term rentals will be strictly limited. In historic neighborhoods, they will be restricted to one per property owner—no more multi-unit STR empires. I will cap citywide permits at 1,000, and I will block corporations from buying up housing stock for STRs. If corporations already hold STRs, I will require them to sell the property back into the housing market so it can serve families, not investors. Cities from New York to Honolulu have adopted similar one-host-one-home rules, and Santa Fe must do the same to protect housing and preserve neighborhoods.

If anyone is operating an STR illegally, I will fine them heavily and permanently ban them from ever holding a permit again. Illegal STRs rob the city of Lodgers’ Tax and GRT revenue—money that should be funding public safety, infrastructure, and housing. That will stop under my leadership.

I will keep as much open space open throughout Santa Fe as possible. Growth must respect our land, our history, and our water.

For any infill that does happen, I will require wildfire-wise and water-wise design standards—defensible space, on-site stormwater retention, and sustainable building practices. I will enforce construction impact rules: haul-route limits, restricted hours, and street restoration bonds so residents are not left with the damage.

I will launch a neighborhood infrastructure plan that fixes drainage, sewer, and erosion in step with any new construction, so improvements happen before lots are built out. That way, the Canyon will stay safe, livable, and true to its historic character.

TRAILS: With a robust public trail system and popular informal trails that often cross private property, how can you help us remain welcoming to hikers without losing quality of life for our residents?

Montoya: I will keep Santa Fe welcoming to hikers while protecting the daily quality of life for Canyon residents. I will formalize key informal trails through voluntary easements and agreements, so hikers know exactly where they are welcome and property owners are protected. I will post clear wayfinding and etiquette signs so people stay on marked routes, yield appropriately, and respect neighbors’ privacy.

I will install trash and dog-waste stations at busy trailheads, and I will expand weekend ranger and volunteer patrols to provide education and gentle enforcement when crowds are highest. I will fund trail hardening and erosion control where grades are steep to prevent damage and runoff onto private property.

I will also manage parking and access points to keep neighborhood streets from being overwhelmed, and I will publish a Canyon trail map with hours, parking guidance, and respect-for-neighbors rules. During extreme fire danger, I will coordinate seasonal closures of high-risk trails to protect both residents and open space.

WATER: How would you maximize environmental and public benefit from the Two Mile Pond complex without sacrificing downstream water users or the acequias? Will you support restoring a pond ecosystem fed by Living River water, by dredging, or other means?

Montoya: I will restore the Two Mile Pond complex as a functioning ecosystem and protect downstream users and acequias. I will authorize dredging where needed, stabilize banks, re-establish wetlands, and time Living River flows to sustain the ponds while fully honoring historic acequia rights. I will bring reclaimed water for non-potable needs (irrigation/recharge) to reduce pressure on our supply, and build modest trails and outdoor education features for families and schools. I will secure state and federal watershed funds so restoration does not land on Santa Fe ratepayers.

OTHER: What else can you do as Mayor to help preserve and improve life in the Canyon?

Montoya: I will protect the City’s mountain water system and the Canyon Road Water Treatment Plant investments and will not fold them into a county authority; the Buckman Diversion remains our shared regional project. I will create a Canyon Safety & Resilience Task Force (neighbors, fire, police, public works, utilities) with quarterly public updates, a dedicated reporting line for blocked culverts/limbs/potholes/trail issues, and a 72-hour  response target. I will hold regular Eastside office hours so decisions are made with you, not to you.

CONCLUSION

Water is life in Santa Fe. It sustains our families, our acequias, our culture, and our future. I have always said that water and our water facilities are not just infrastructure—they are sacred responsibilities. At a recent forum, every candidate was asked if we should combine our water system with the County. I was the only one who said no. I said no because the City of Santa Fe has invested millions of dollars and generations of effort into building and protecting our mountain water system and our Canyon Road Water Treatment Plant. We also work together with the County on the Buckman Diversion, and that is a good partnership—but it is clear: the County buys water from us, and it is our duty to protect what we have built. I will defend the City’s water because without water, nothing else matters. I will make sure our families, our acequias, and our neighborhoods always come first. This issue is personal to me, because I know that without water, we cannot live, we cannot grow, and we cannot pass on the Santa Fe we love to future generations. But if the County ever needs our help with water, we will always be there—because that is what neighbors do.