State of Affairs

All the right pieces are where they need to be – for the first time in years – and I truly believe that Cibola County is fit for an explosion of economic opportunity. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out, but for the first time in a long time there is a hope in the heart of Cibola. We need to seize the moment.

The City of Grants, the Village of Milan, and greater-Cibola County are fit for a burst of economic opportunity. But how do we get there? With meritocracy.

But what is meritocracy?

Imagine you had ran a business; in this business you have a marketing department, a human resources department, and a labor department. You have three candidates to make the leader of each position. Person A has skills and degrees that would best fit a marketing position. Person B has skills and degrees that would best fit a human resources position. Person C has skills that would best fit a labor position. It doesn’t make sense to put someone best suited to the labor job in the marketing position, vice versa. A meritocracy is when you have an open position, so you put the best possible person with all the skills and degrees in that position.

A fine example of this is the government Kate Fletcher has built in Cibola County. The entire government is running smoothly, and all of the people who work there support the community, even in their own small way. I think the City of Grants and Village of Milan are on their way to be this positive.

We’re ready for a big burst of opportunity, I truly believe that this area is ready and willing to let growth happen. But, then, of course, there is always an issue with labor. To that worry I say, “If you build it, they will come.” But we need to build it first!

In keeping step with meritocracy, Mayor Erik Garcia recently made several appointments from the city council to positions of importance. Wanting to put officials in positions where they can best serve the community, he made appointments that appear they can serve the interests of the whole community. Because, and I do believe people forget this often, the City of Grants is the economic engine of Cibola County. Grants needs the county to be successful, and Cibola needs Grants to be successful – this is because, when both are doing well, the people are doing well.

The success of government must be based on the well-being of the bottom 50 percent of citizens. If the bottom 50 percent see a livelihood that improves immensely, then the rule of government has been successful; if the bottom 50 percent see conditions worsen, then the rule of government was unsuccessful. There are many situations that the bottom 50 percent improve, but it’s a marginal improvement compared to the top 20 percent of society. This is a problem that may cause an economic fallout for the bottom 50 percent, which is something the people of Cibola cannot afford. I am praying that our economic leaders in Cibola County will fit their plans so as not to outprice the poor people of Cibola, and instead ensure that they have plentiful opportunity.

Cibola is very close to being a meritocratic society – very close!

Brenda Curtwright is the Executive Director of the Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce; under her direction the chamber has renewed its mission of supporting local business. With the right person in this seat, Cibola’s businesses can thrive – I truly believe that Brenda is the right person for this position.

Cibola County is close to being a society where people are appointed to positions because they deserve it, and not just because the person was friends with someone in power. In order for Cibola to become a truly meritocratic society, we must stop doing for others just because they are our friends or family – the past is a warning to us, sometimes our friends and family have no idea what they’re doing and have no place on their appointed board. Let’s not ever do that again, because it obviously did not work out the last time.

Cibola is ready for growth. We’re almost there. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past, let’s put qualified individuals in positions they deserve and best fit in, and all work toward the goal of making Cibola the most prosperous county in New Mexico.

Our county is a gem, Cibola. Let’s polish it and make the future bright.