We are on the threshold of a general election season at a time when our country is threatened by authoritarian fascism. Donald Trump and his Cabinet are actively preparing to unlawfully interfere in this coming November’s elections. Many groups in New Mexico, including in the Santa Fe area, are preparing to counter the threat. They will use an array of tactics, among them planned public demonstrations to insist on free and fair elections. It is unfortunate that the City of Santa Fe has no plans to improve its approach to permits for political speech and public assembly until well after the November 2026 general elections. At this crucial juncture, activists and organizers have no clear guidance on how to seek permits to use streets and parks in the City of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, for political expression and public assembly. What guidance is given unconstitutionally restrains political demonstrations in advance.
What is to be done? 1A Santa Fe’s recommendations:
Number One:
If you are planning a political demonstration that involves using City streets or parks and you want to make a good faith effort to do so lawfully, you should try to follow the steps the City advertises on its website. If you run into difficulties, call the Office of the Mayor immediately, which is what Mayor Garcia recommended in his June 9 meeting with Heidi.
Likely difficulties:
being told that you have to give 30 to 60 days notice
being told that you must obtain an insurance policy to use City streets or parks for a political demonstration, rally, or march
being told that you have to attend meetings with different City officials, including the Santa Fe Police Department, before you are quoted any specific fees for permits
not being able to get precise information about how fees you are quoted have been calculated
not being able to get a reliable, firm quote prior to your event
being told to pay fees well beyond what you or your organization can afford
These are the sort of obstacles that make the City of Santa Fe’s current practices unconstitutional according to both the New Mexico state constitution and the United States federal constitution. If you encounter them call Mayor Garcia’s office for assistance. The number is 505-955-6337.
Number Two:
If you need help obtaining a street permit or a permit to use a park in the City of Santa Fe for a political demonstration, march, or rally, contact 1A Santa Fe at [email protected]. We will assist however we can.
Number Three
If you are an activist, organizer, or just a concerned citizen who would like the City of Santa Fe to act more proactively and swiftly to improve its approach to freedom of political expression and public assembly, write a letter to the editor of The Santa Fe New Mexican, with a copy to Mayor Garcia, to urge the Mayor to:
issue public, interim guidance to improve the permit process while he develops his plan for more robust final changes.
propose a final plan that makes the process for holding political demonstrations, marches, and rallies clearly and straightforwardly constitutional.
You can either use the Santa Fe New Mexican’s submission form or contact Opinion Editor Inez Gomez at [email protected]. To send to Mayor Garcia, email [email protected] or send a hard copy to Mayor Mike Garcia, 200 Lincoln Ave., P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe NM 87504.
A recap of Heidi’s report on her meeting with Santa Fe Mayor Mike Garcia
The Mayor has no plans to change anything about Santa Fe’s approach to permits for political demonstrations, marches, and rallies until the end of the calendar year. He intends at that time to propose changes to make the process more “structured” and “equitable.”
The Mayor rejects the approach in the draft Free Expression and Public Assembly Ordinance prepared and circulated by 1A Santa Fe and the approach taken by Albuquerque. His plan will continue to require permits and fees for political demonstrations.
So, for at least the next six months — probably longer — people who want organize political events using the City of Santa Fe’s property, including streets and parks, face the same problems that prompted 1A Santa Fe to draft and propose the Free Expression and Public Assembly Ordinance.
The status quo in the City of Santa Fe is unconstitutional on its face: there is no publicly available information about the precise requirements for obtaining a special use permit for city streets; the process affords too much discretion to city officials to set fees and deny or grant permits; the insurance and notice requirements listed on the City’s website have been specifically invalidated by the courts as unconstitutional prior restraints on political speech.
Without details of the Mayor’s plan, we cannot know if these defects will be corrected nor whether the plan as a whole will past constitutional muster.