"We need to sustain this marvelous economy in a way that's respectful of the natural environment."

- Mayor Martin Chávez, speaking to members of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)

"Sustainability" will be the key word at city hall over the next two or three years, says Mayor Marty Chavez.

"We need to sustain this marvelous economy in a way that's respectful of the natural environment," he told the members of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) in his state of the city report Monday.

"When we look back 10 to 15 years from now, we'll say 'these were the best of times' and you're a big part of it," Chavez said. He credited the private sector with creating wealth and jobs, which helped the city snag a No. 1 ranking for business from Forbes Magazine last year.

Chavez reviewed the economic good news over the last year, such as Verizon Wireless taking over a defunct building once slated to be a Kmart on the city's West Side and the opening of the new Tempurpedic mattress factory. Both are significant because they are creating jobs on the West side, reversing the trend of people commuting east across the Rio Grande from their homes for work. Projects such as these take pressure off the city's infrastructure, Chavez says.

He also pointed to the entry of Convergys into the market right after AOL announced it was closing its Albuquerque call center. Convergys took over the same facility with another call center.

Chavez proclaimed himself a pro-growth mayor during the speech.

"It's important to grow Albuquerque so our kids and their kids have jobs in the future," he said, which brought enthusiastic applause from the real estate audience.

He added, however, that the city must grow sustainably. He spoke forcefully for his proposed light rail system, which failed in the city council last year. This was not some kind of toy trolley for tourists, Chavez said. Albuquerque is the only big city in the West that does not have or is not planning a light rail system, he added.

"The reality of this city is that it is the engine that drives the (state) economy. We can't grow based on single occupancy vehicles," he said.

Chavez applauded the successes of the film industry over the last year, with the construction of Albuquerque Studios, where he says there will be big announcement in coming weeks regarding new technologies coming to the city. He also thanked the state for offering generous incentives to attract film productions-- since it allowed him to meet Charlize Theron, who is in town shooting a film with Tommy Lee Jones.

Chavez applauded the city's improved crime statistics, with homicides dropping by 32 percent last year, he said, and alcohol-related accidents down by 34 percent to 436. But he noted that vehicle thefts, particularly of trucks, are skyrocketing. This is driven by methamphetamine use, Chavez said, and the courts that hear these theft cases need to see that bigger picture.

While he claims Albuquerque has driven out most of the meth labs in the city, they are locating in surrounding communities, he said.

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Author: Megan Kamerick, New Mexico Business Weekly staff
Publication: New Mexico Business Weekly
Date: January 29, 2007