Gallup

New Mexico Business Journal, July, 1995 by Katherine Saltzstein

We the people, a steel wall featuring 130 life-sized silhouettes of citizens that sits in a park on Gallup's east side, has brought some national attention to this western New Mexico town. A photo of the 310-foot by 8-foot sculpture appeared in April's Smithsonian magazine and has been in New Mexico papers and on television.

Mayor George Galanis is extremely pleased at the attention the work has brought to his town. After all, his friend Armando Alvarez created it and Galanis persuaded the city council - and private donors - to pay for it. It represents Galanis' aim to put a positive spin on Gallup that too often has been portrayed as run-down, seedy and a haven for drunks.

Today, anyone who hasn't been to Gallup in awhile will see big changes. A majority of the intoxicated are off the streets and into the $3 million Gallup Alcohol Crisis Center ("Na'nizhoozhi" or "Bridges" in Navajo), which opened in 1992, funded by the city through the excise tax on liquor and the Navajo Nation. "The city of Gallup was unmercifully bashed in the past by the media about some alcohol problems that did exist," said Galanis in his downtown office. "It was important to change the image of Gallup and put its positive side forward to attract industry and tourism." Galanis is quick to add that the center was not just built to get alcoholics off the street. They receive counseling.

Soon after Galanis was elected mayor four years ago, he began a beautification project, tromping through back alleys, picking up trash. Others followed his lead. And this was just the beginning. At Galanis' urging, the city council approved funds to landscape parks, the airport and traffic islands - the latter with the help of private businesses - with the addition of 20,000 trees. He also suggested the city put in turn-of-the-century street lights funded by a state grant with the city supplying the labor and mechanical work. Gutters, sidewalks and curbs have been built or improved.

A DIfferent Image

"With the Gallup beautification project, Gallup had to show a different image," says Tony Lincoln, Director of Economic Development and Tourism. "Reporters came and spotlighted the negative aspects. The media did us a disservice. How do you undo that, when the media rubbed you in the dirt? We said, 'We'll do it ourselves.' Now, little old ladies are not afraid to go downtown."

And that's not all. Galanis ticks off the projects completed or in process: the restoration of the Santa Fe Depot, which was funded by the 1984 Legislature but the money lay idle. It will include a museum of transportation, of Gallup and the surrounding reservations and a modern trading post. Other projects: an expansion of the museum at Red Rock State Park, and a new area museum at the Rex Hotel opens in July - with city and Gallup Historical Society donations.

Also on the drawing board: refurbishing the Octavia Fellin library, a $4 million sports complex with walking and bike trails, recreation areas and golf course on Ninth Street, south of town. And more outdoor sculptures.

Where does all this money come from? "We had the money. Previous city councilors were to the right of Ronald Reagan," says Galanis. "They're required to keep 8 percent of the total operating budget as a cash balance. They kept 36 percent.

"The previous council was very good at conserving money. But there's a time to keep money and a time to spend tax dollars on improving the life of the citizens." As he talks in his downtown office, Galanis' rapid-fire speaking style is echoed in his actions. He springs from his chair, and heads to a window, opens it (even though it's snowing in April) to puff out cigarette smoke. He's jovial and speaks with candor.

"I'm under indictment for bribery. Yet, I still won by 67 pecent of the vote," he offers, referring to his dismissal of the city insurance agent for House majority leader Michael Olguin (he later rescinded the appointment).

"The charges are politcally motivated. I'm waiting for my day in court. Even my worst enemy, would not say I ever profited one dime from the city," Galanis says. When he ran the first time, Galanis, a Democrat, won with 70 percent of the vote.

"I make things happen in government," he explains simply. All Gallup residents interviewed praise the mayor's efforts to improve their town, except one who objects to the art going up across from his store.

A Busy Downtown

Coinciding with Gallup's facelift and new projects, Gallup Downtown Development Group, an organization of merchants and professionals, has focused on downtown revitalization since the early 1980s. The city council declared a 17-block area of downtown a Metropolitan Redevelopment District and in 1987, it became eligible for the New Mexico Mainstreet project, which makes low-cost bank loans available to refurbish historic buildings. The results can be seen on an historic tour of 20 renovated buildings - many of them solid sandstone with hardwood floors and embossed tin ceilings.

"Gallup is one of our strongest Mainstreet programs," says Elmo Baca, director of the New Mexico Mainstreet Program, formerly director of Gallup's Downtown Development Group. "The government took a real leadership role. They have a solid downtown with 85 to 90 percent business occupancy rate. Any downtown or shopping center would like to have that. It's one of the more progressive downtowns in New Mexico."