Paul Wymer appears to be a rather innocuous candidate, proudly doing no more than running on the departing mayor’s mixed bag of a record. To hear Wymer and the mayor tell it, of course, the previous 12 years have been nothing short of an absolute civic triumph. Indeed, Wymer has proclaimed that Rio Rancho is living through a Golden Age. “I don’t see how it gets better than what we’ve got,” Wymer told KKOB’s Bob Clark on 06 March. “What change do you want to see when you’re doing everything right?”
Leaving aside the misplaced immodesty of such statements, it seems a bit ironic that someone seeking to guide the City of Vision would admit to being blind to any idea that might improve it. Apparently our city’s high water rates, turtle-paced permitting process, incomprehensible speed-camera strategy, and continued dearth of infrastructure are actually traits of Xanadu. In Wymer’s reading of city history, Hull has established an earthly paradise that we must now be at pains to preserve, exactly as it is, at all costs. But we should hope for more from our candidates than the bland assurance that we’ve made it back to Eden.
In another interview, with local YouTuber Elias Sisneros, Wymer declared, “I am pro letting ICE do their job . . . and I’m also in favor of local law enforcement supporting their efforts when they can benefit.” For many of us, this strikes deeper than Wymer’s Edenic proclamations. What exactly would a Mayor Wymer allow ICE to do in Rio Rancho? Do citizens really want our public safety officers ordered to assist in ICE operations like those we’ve seen in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and elsewhere?…