By LISA SHIN
Chair
Republican Party of Los Alamos
Dear Friends:
Our Los Alamos Federated Republican Women (LAFRW) Freedom Tea proved to be another delightful event with a fantastic turnout and fundraising effort.
I want to personally thank Bill Enloe for drawing more readership than ever to my April 2026 newsletter. He rightly says that: “I don’t believe the government should or can successfully subsidize private businesses. Which ones do they pick to support? How long will the government continue to support the businesses?”
He may be unaware that our County has established the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) and Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) public funds to do exactly that: subsidize private businesses.
Indeed, MRA and LEDA were important topics discussed at the 2026 Primary Forum. David Hampton said that public-private partnerships are necessary for downtown redevelopment and supports MRA tools such as TIF (tax increment financing), while Theresa Cull stated that “if there is some way we could speed things up, I think that would be one of the best things we could do.” This may explain her opposition to a citizen-led MRA Commission to ensure transparency, oversight, and direct input from stakeholders.
My personal questions:
How do we avoid the dark side of ¨public private partnerships” where the public benefit is questionable? Does this mostly benefit the pocketbooks of Columbus Capital?
How do we guard against the TIF becoming a big slush fund with no accountability created with our property taxes? How do we ensure that funds are not diverted away from our public schools (which is happening across the Country)? Does our community need more high-end luxury apartments and retail spaces (even though there are vacant commercial spaces all over town)?
Progressives like to talk about redistribution of money from the ultra-rich to the poor. Are we going the other way with redistribution of our tax dollars from “uninformed many to the well aware few”?
All citizens should ask the same question that Bill Enloe asks: ¨What about the local businesses we currently have that have made it without government funding?¨
Finding real and workable solutions requires asking how and why shopping centers that were once full and vibrant are now economic dead zones. Without addressing the root causes of downtown blight, attempts at “revitalization” are doomed to fail.
Mark your calendars for Councilor David Reagor’s Townhall meetingat 6 p.m. on May 21 at UNM-LA, Community Room in Building 2. His topic is timely: “The War on the Middle Class: Housing and Economic Development.”
Save the date for our annual Silent Auction Fundraiser Dinner on Thursday, June 18 at Fior e Sale. I am thrilled to announce that we will have an honored guest, Didi Okparete, candidate for New Mexico Congressional District 1, as our speaker.
See you soon, Lisa Shin, RPLA Chair.
Contact me at chair@losalamosgop.com
Website:www.losalamosgop.com Phone: 505.310.3254
Instagram: @RepublicanpartyofLosAlamos
Facebook: @RepublicanPartyofLosAlamos