Dan Ruscetti for city council

T’Naus Nieto
The Chronicle-News

Trinidad native Dan Ruscetti is running for city council and brings nearly three decades of city experience, with more to come if elected.  

“You’re probably not going to see a bunch of my signs,” Ruscetti said when asked if he had a message to the community. “I just think if you vote for me, you’ll see that I’m honest and transparent and I really want to help this town.” 

Ruscetti was born and raised in Trinidad by a single mother with three siblings, who he said did a “hell of a job.” 

He was a coal miner, worked in gas fields and was a Honda mechanic for around 18 years. Most notably, he worked for the City of Trinidad for 28 years, supervising streets and parks. 

When asked why he decided to run for city council, he said, “One of the main reasons I’m running is seeing what the city used to be and how it’s run now, and it’s not the same, so we need to get back to how it once was.”  

When asked for specifics, he said, “The way they spend money is not right. They made over $35 million in taxes on marijuana. Where’s all that money at? Everybody wants to know. The way they put projects [out] to bid is not how it used to be. One of the city managers [managed to find a way to] spend $100,000 without getting council’s approval. That’s not right. That’s a lot of taxpayers’ money.”  

When asked about the unhoused population in Trinidad, since it’s been a continuous, controversial topic, he said, “I know there are a lot of people against people trying to help out. But nobody’s coming up with a solution. Nobody’s coming up with what to do. I don’t want to say it’s not the unhoused that are causing the problems— it’s drugs that are causing the problems.

“I think we need to come up with some help for these people. They’re talking about building a new detox center. That’s not going to help, that’s just another place to put you after you’ve been picked up.” 

Ruscetti said that not everyone who’s unhoused is unemployed, and shared an anecdote, saying that he helped a local contractor clean the Walmart parking during snowfall throughout the night.  

“I watched three different people walking out (of the store), wearing Walmart vests, figuring they were getting in their cars to go home. They never left the parking lot. They start their car about every hour to get warmed up. Those are unhoused people.”  

Additionally, Ruscetti mentioned that he uses a location spot at his business for people to claim as their address for employment, since many jobs require one. He claimed to have helped at least six people secure employment.  

“It’s going to take the efforts of everyone. And even the people in town.”  

When asked about his perspective on the city’s direction or economic future, Ruscetti said, “Tourism is great, it is a big part— it is. They thought Fisher’s Peak State Park was going to be a big attraction, and it turned out to be an attraction, but it’s not that big. You’ve got to have a reason for people to get off that highway. If not, they’re just going to go straight over the top and keep going. We’ve got to get something inside town to get them to come in. 

“We all know marijuana was here, and of course. Then New Mexico got it (legalized), and that hurt very much. We need jobs, we need people. People make up a town. Tourism helps three things: restaurants, motels, and gas stations. It’s money that comes and money that goes. We need the money that stays. And the only way to do that is through good-paying jobs. And that’s going to take a group effort on the city to find somebody out there that’s going to bring somebody that wants to come into town.”  

When asked why he thought people should vote for him, Ruscetti said, “I have no agenda and nothing to take advantage of for being in this position. They should vote for me because I believe in transparency and honesty— and I’d make the city do that.”  

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