CITY OF GRANTS, N.M. – Robert Hays, running for Mayor of the City of Grants, is seeking the public’s assistance in putting her in the city’s highest seat. But just who is Robert Hays, and what are his plans for the City of Grants?
“I am dedicated to my community,” Hays said, “I am who I am.” Hays has been fire chief, he serves as a medical examiner for the county, and has chaired a number of committees. Hays has even sat on the Grants City Council in the past. Hays prided himself on having started in the city’s water department, and even to this day he maintains his water certifications.
Hays was not born in Grants, but the mining boom brought Hays, his mom and his step father to the community for work. Much like the other candidates, Hays saw the peak of economic success in this community and saw the sliding of that success. The economy has been a struggling in Grants, and Hays wants to bring it back to what it once was. Having spent his entire adult life in the Grants community, he said this has become his home.
Wanting to focus on infrastructure, Hays understands the difficulties of the city’s water infrastructure more than almost anyone. As a firefighter, he has seen firsthand the difficulties of when water doesn’t come out of the fire hydrants, pointing down Santa Fe Avenue he commented on the damage the bad pipes leave to the roads. Maintaining his water certifications
“Its about what to spend and how to spend,” Hays said, with one of his priorities being maintaining the budget. “The mayor has very little to do with the funding for the city, its all through the treasurer and the city council. All the mayor and the city council does is approve the budget and approve expenditures,” he believes that the council and mayor should work together to keep the finances strong. Administratively, Hays wouldn’t change anything in the city, he wants to keep the lines of responsibility very clear and keep the mayor’s seat and council positions within their duties, all day-to-day work at the city should be handled by the city manager. “I want to be a mayor that will listen to the people, we’ve had some mayors that don’t, we’ve had some mayors that do too much. I want to compromise in the middle, I want to make good decisions for the community, good forward-thinking decisions. Because, if you don’t make good decisions shortly, like in the next five to 10 years, we’re going to have a hard time keeping our city together,” Hays said, “Our infrastructure is a big deal right now, you saw the four breaks on Santa Fe [Avenue], these lines are aging out as we speak.” Money is in place to fix the infrastructure, “That is a good start, and I’ve heard we want to make some changes going Eastward,” but he said that the lines need work so they don’t spew out water and freeze, creating a safety hazard.
“Its about preparedness, always, to be mission ready,” Hays said. This is the attitude he wants to take city hall, “The mayor has to focus on all s ervices… I can hopefully push us forward and make us as mission ready as I can to be ready for all challenges.”
Focusing on first responders, Hays said that he would like to see a public safety building built that would combine the power of Grants Police and Grants Fire and Rescue.
Hays wants to work with the different d epartments, taking leadership inspiration from Abraham Lincoln, to know what everyone needs to make the city’s work more unified. By working with the departments, Hays wants to better understand what they need to get the departments running at the capacity they need. “I’d like to contact Silver City and see what they’re doing, lets no reinvent the wheel, lets use a wheel that is already working,” Hays said that the city needs to become more “palatable” to businesses that are looking for relocation to Grants. To do this, Hays wants to embody the spirit of President Lincoln and work with entities in the city, from Grants MainStreet Project Inc., the Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce, to other local govenrments. “Miscommunication has been a problem for us,” he said, “We just need to start communicating again.” Outside of Abraham Lincoln, one of Hays’ greatest inspirations of leadership comes from his grandmother. Growing slightly emotional when talking about her, Hays said that his grandmother was always involved in her community and was always helpful. When she passed away, there wasn’t any room for the food brought to them by the community. Food was in abundance from her community. “That’s the kind of person I want to be, I want to help my community.”