Monday, June 25, 2007

Don Wiviott Puts the Unity in Community

"Don Wiviott Puts the Unity in Community"
That's what I said at the public input hearing of the Santa Fe Railyard Community Foundation meeting last year, when they were considering whether to approve the ArtYard development, and I meant it. Don, has been a longtime progressive economic development supporter in Santa Fe, he truly has a vision for what is best for the community, has rallied against unfair bureacracy in City goverment, stands up for every member of the community, is NOT by any stretch of the imagination the fat cat real estate developer that his opponents portay him as, and he has long supported the Internet Professionals of New Mexico in myriad ways, http://www.nmipa.org/ . Don truly is one of those people who uses intelligence and diplomacy to get past issues, find workable resolutions and keep projects moving forward, getting them done.

Temperatures are rising as Don Wiviott prepares for the fight to go to Washington, http://www.donfornewmexico.com/, and I'd like to add my voice to what's out there. Don Wiviott is the right person to represent contemporary New Mexico in Washington. At the original time of this writing, he was aiming for the Senate seat, but later in 2007 (this post has since been edited), Pete Domenici announced his retirement, and Tom Udall announced that he would run for Domenici's Senate seat. A long supporter of Udall, Don got out of the way of his friend and got into the now-heavy competition for the Congress seat.

I've known Don for almost 13 years in Santa Fe, and he has always been a genuininely concerned citizen. He keeps his ear to the ground, he listens to the people, and he is involved in helping every one of them out if he can. In the face of nearly insurmountable odds, he's faced down challenges from the city council, taken public beatings without becoming bitter and always landed on his feet through constant vigil and struggle. He's definitely the optimistic, bright-side, glass-is-half-full kind of guy when it comes to working through and with government and policy issues. Don is a great guy, time and time again he has proved undoubtedly to me that his heart and mind are in the right place.

Don's time with the Internet Professionals Association helped us to get web developer's needs met in a time of extremely limited highspeed bandwidth availability. Several members moved their companies into the very first of Don's lofts buildings, at a time when ISDN was the fastest, reasonably priced option out there. Don purchased multiple T1 lines at his own significant expense (this is in 1996/1997 New Mexico when we were being held captive by USWest who claimed that we did not have enough business to support a profitable rollout of DSL) and charged tenants share-prices for the T1, with The Lofts still picking up a large part of the tab.

Don strongly and vociferously supported us in our 1998 fight to keep Qwest from rolling out a non-competitive, monopolistic DSL docket with the NMPRC, http://www.hill.ws/history/bandwidt.shtml. Don continues to support the internet industry, a low-environmental-impact, higher-wage job industry that is great for New Mexico. Even more important than the business support, is Don's support of and respect for the individuals - each and every one of them.

Don is a "Green Builder," a real down-to-earth, intelligent guy who is creating real estate opportunities for home and business owners (through his lofts projects http://www.thelofts.com/) in a community-caring way. He works with and respects the wishes of his neighbors and neighborhoods, he looks to make buildings that are economically and environmentally sound (The ArtYard is to be LEED gold certified). Not only in his own buildings, but through his work in Northern New Mexico, he is looking to have communities build responsibly with regards to water and energy usage.

I remember the early years of the first Lofts buildings, Don had so many loans out there and was himself struggling, that he actually lived in the model unit - for years - to make ends meet, and to not compromise what he had already committed himself to with helping out those of use who had special payment situations for the lofts. Even when it was to his own personal detriment, he never backed down from what he had promised - whether it was time, money, commitments, whatever. And he always had a kind word, time to talk/listen, a smile on his face, and a clear view of the silver linings. He embodies the creed of working of, for and by the people.

Don Wiviott is the best candidate for New Mexico.

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