OPINION: Man's civic crusade wanes as he tends to business
Jul. 22—Dan Frazier, who once said Santa Fe should change its slogan from the City Different to "City Trashy," has muzzled himself.
Frazier used to be the south side's most aggressive watchdog. He would give city hall an earful when he saw arroyos thick with litter. Never did he understand how the local government could allow bottles, paper cups, food wrappers and even a rusted propane tank to pile up in what should be unspoiled public spaces.
Frazier compiled a video depicting the city's neglect of Villa Linda Park and sent it to a department head. He did the same to splash attention on graffiti that fouled the skate park of the Genoveva Chavez Community Center.
In another endeavor, he photographed tall weeds on the grounds of the Chavez Center, hoping the ugly images would motivate someone in power to dispatch a crew with strong backs and hungry mowers.
The south side's littered landscape hasn't changed much, says Frazier, a man without a car. He pedals his bicycle through its neighborhoods and still spies plenty of trash, plastic bags and stolen shopping carts.
If Santa Fe is the same, it's 57-year-old Frazier who's changed, or at least adjusted his priorities. In his sixth year in Santa Fe, he no longer alerts city employees to filth that galls him.
"I have intentionally stepped back from that quite a lot. I still have complaints, but no complaints have been filed by me in six months," Frazier said.
Survival is on his mind. Frazier owns a business called Carry a Big Sticker that's facing tough times.
His enterprise's name might have been inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, but Frazier has no use for modern-day Republicans. His most famous products are bumper stickers ripping the GOP.
One says, "Remember January 6, 2021. Republicans showed their true colors. Party of law & order my ass!" Another raises a question: "Why do Republicans oppose every regulation unless it regulates what a woman can do with her own body?"
Frazier used to live in the same small office where he oversaw his business. He had a separate office for his two part-time employees.
"Late last year I was forced to move and find a new apartment. That was such an arduous task I temporarily had to give up all extraneous activities," he said.
His employees, a mother-daughter team, quit their jobs during his move. Frazier consolidated his business operations in a single apartment where he also lives. He handles every task, from taking and processing orders to biking to the post office to ship merchandise.
Between the move, his credit card debt and less demand for his main product, Frazier says life is hard.
"I eke out a living. I just barely seem to be scraping by most of the time. I've seen a whole decline in the bumper-sticker business," which he attributes to people reading less about politics.
Financial pressures have caused him to rethink his disgust for the city's ugly areas.
"Everything bad is really good," Frazier said. Asked to explain himself, he added: "The weeds, the potholes, the graffiti, the trash — they may be holding down the rent. People see that and may not want to move here."
What a turnabout. The fellow whose passion was cleaning up the town now sees potential financial benefits because of its disarray.
In a separate note to me, Frazier said he's conflicted.
"I guess I am really of two minds on this. Part of me wants a better-looking Santa Fe. Another part of me does not want rents to keep rising so fast. While my feelings may be mixed, the reality is that I need to focus on running my business and not spend so much time volunteering for landlords and the city."
Fatigue also has set in.
"On June 19, 2021, I took some photos of the tattered landscape around the Chavez Center. Some of those photos were then submitted to the city along with my descriptions of the various problems I observed. On or about July 12, 2021, I submitted a photo and complaint focused on a sign in front of the Chavez Center ("Passenger Loading Only") that was seriously cracked."
His complaint generated a city work order, No. 5297. But the city notified him this week that the sign is still visible and effective.
"After a year of dragging its feet and doing nothing, the city is now going to officially ignore my complaint. LOL as the young people say," Frazier wrote in an email.
Not so long ago, my editor told me Frazier was "on the medal stand" of people trying to improve Santa Fe. Frustration and the need to make a buck sent him to the bleachers.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.
