Editor’s Note: This article and the space it takes in the newspaper was paid for by the candidate’s campaign.
GRANTS,N.M. - My name is Bob W. Tenequer, I am running for the City of Grants City Council, District 1 seat.
Upfront, I want voters to know that I am just a regular citizen who has a love for his community with no hidden agenda.
I am married to LouAnn Tenequer for 30 years and have three children Ophelia, Nikolai and Octivious.
With my experience, I want to play a role in bringing unity, civility and respect back to our city council and focus directly on the pressing needs of our city.
A phrase the comes to mind when speaking about disunity: “A house divided cannot stand,” meaning simply that internal strife and a lack of unity will lead to its failure.” I know we can do better.
I learned at a very early age that you define a person’s character by their ability to respect the dignity of the person for whom you may disagree with and hold no animosity toward that person for having a different view.
Throughout my professional career as an education advocate, communicator and public servant I have strived to bring people together to find common ground on problems, issues and challenges they face and coming up with ways to address those needs.
I had the privilege to serve as a board member and chairman for the Cibola General Hospital for 8 years. Our community is very fortunate to have a critical-access hospital, highly qualified physicians and staff, when many citizens in rural New Mexico do not have access to a hospital.
I am proud to say that I began my schooling by attending Seboyeta Elementary, in a two-room school and progressing to attending Stanford University, in Palo Alto, California.
For 10 years, my wife and I lived in Arlington, Virginia. I worked for Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. In doing so, I developed information strategies for the National Museum of the American Indian, located near the U.S. Capitol.
After announcing my candidacy, I have been talking with people and “pounding the pavement” asking them what they see as the primary needs of our community. Some of their comments range from improving infrastructure, i.e., water and wastewater, roads and streets to public safety and attracting new businesses. Moreover, I have been informed that the city’s gross receipt tax income is a steady source of income revenue for our city, and it continues to grow. In addition, eighty percent of our water and wastewater delivery system is over 60 years old and needs to be replaced. This will not be done overnight but it needs to be addressed.
Just like many of our citizens, I want my family to live in safe and healthy neighborhoods with good jobs and schools. Many of our residents are retired and hard-working individuals who only want the best for themselves and their families.
If elected, my vision is to work with our Mayor and Council is addressing some our most pressing issues faced by our city and continuing the pride we have for the city we love.