Arts not Aliens

"I think it's time we reduce our reliance on the UFO industry as our source of identity. Roswell has the potential to offer so much more than just UFO tourism." - Guy Malone

Summary of Position:

Diversify city promotion campaigns to highlight the performing arts
Incentivize remote workers to make Roswell their new home
Become a sanctuary for mandate refugees
Attract digital industries with our abundant, low-priced energy

Diversify Spending

There are definitely people here in town who think the UFO thing is cool. There's a parade, contests, a street fair, costumes, and all sorts of fun. It brings in a flood of tourists during the festival and a steady stream the rest of the year. Still, not everyone here is "a fan", and it is my belief that Roswell has much more to offer than just UFO lore. We are actually underestimating and under-selling ourselves when we believe that aliens are the only reason to come to Roswell.

I believe we can leverage the existing talent we have here in Roswell to expand what our town is known for in a way that entices tourists to return much more frequently. I also believe that with proper partnerships, promotion and investment, we can attract: remote workers, mandate refugees, and bitcoin miners. With millions of middle-class people being newly added to these categories, our rural feel and low cost of living give us an attractive package to market to those who could become lifelong residents. These three types of new workers/residents could be the jolt we need to finally get us beyond the 50,000 population goal, which many believe "the good ol boy network" doesn't want to see happen here.

Yes, this plan means we invest city funds carefully into improving the existing infrastructure, rebuilding parks, upgrading the arts, and making residents feel safe. How do I plan on paying for this? I have a plan: See the Bitcoin City section.

Entice Remote Workers to Check Out Roswell

Before the lockdown, most everyone went into the office. It was how we worked. With the lockdowns, millions began working remotely, and many of them will never return to an office environment. They can work from just about anywhere. Why not Roswell?

Our low cost of living, mild climate, and remote location in the desert will certainly appeal to a selection of the new remote-working middle-class. After years of living in closet-sized apartments, eating at overpriced cafes, paying hundreds of dollars monthly for parking, and struggling just to stay above water, imagine the appeal of what we can offer. We can offer low-priced new homes, safe parks and biking trails, access to a casino and skiing just over an hour away, and great dining options at very reasonable prices.

Become a Sanctuary for Mandate Refugees

We all know that nationwide, hundreds of thousands of skilled workers have been forcefully fired from their jobs and bullied into quitting. Nurses, police officers, retail workers, and skilled managers are now on the market and angry at the system that ended their careers. Their skills are vitally needed here in Roswell. We should scoop some of them up.

These valuable workers are currently looking for a place to call home. Many are moving to freedom-loving places like Florida and Texas. However, others aren't looking to trade one big city for another.

Creating a place for them is both relatively inexpensive and easy to accomplish. Create buzz by announcing ourselves as Constitutional City. Make noise in the national press. If you want to be free, we are the city for you! We can offer the same incentives as the remote workers get, but we can also offer them freedom. Medical professionals, police officers, small business owners, and experienced managers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime situation in America. We should take full advantage of it.

I will personally beg - on my hands and knees if needed - our new City Council to declare that employers in Roswell are not allowed to require jabs or masks of their employees or customers, and cannot fire or punish those of us who "will not comply." There is possibly nothing I feel stronger about as my single most "essential" political agenda in this hour. Before we can campaign to "keep Roswell free" we have to make sure that it actually is free, for everybody, not just city employees.

Use Energy To Attract Digital Industry

As many of you already know, I am a huge fan of Bitcoin. In fact, I work as a copy editor for Bitcoin Magazine. I believe that Bitcoin has tremendous potential. You can read about that in the next section. That said, Bitcoin mining facilities are literally billion-dollar set-ups, and the companies behind them are attracted to one thing: low energy costs, especially where made possible by solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. This is why West Texas and the Navajo Nation in northern New Mexico have already facilitated the building of Bitcoin mining operations. They are currently already earning - literally - millions by mining bitcoin. We have the same sun and wind: So why can't we do the same?

According to Texas Monthly, "The largest Bitcoin mine in North America is in Rockdale (Texas). Occupying 100 acres of farmland, that site, run by Riot Blockchain, has 60,000 miners (machines) working in three different buildings."

The industry is barely out of its infancy, and our climate, our available open land, and our crazy-cheap electricity costs all work together to provide us a unique opportunity to attract multiple Bitcoin mining companies to call Roswell home. Will we rise to the opportunity to stimulate Roswell with the economy of the 21st century, or idly stand by as Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas continue to rollout the red carpet?

Click to read Guy's full Arts Not Aliens statement

Roswell: Bitcoin City USA

"Roswell has plentiful access to both clean and traditional energy supplies. We can leverage these to attract people in the Bitcoin industry. The industry is worth billions. Why look to 1947 for our financial future when the high-tech future is upon us - and it's still anyone's game?" - Guy Malone

Summary of Position:

Embrace Bitcoin as a means of payment
Diversify city investments into bitcoin

Bitcoin Is Money

Don't worry if you "don't understand Bitcoin" - I do. And honestly, just like a microwave oven, you don't have to actually understand how it works to make it work for you!

At present, a single Bitcoin is worth more than most people worldwide make in a year, and (by design) less Bitcoin are being produced every year. This means that the overall supply is dwindling and at the same time the demand for Bitcoin ownership is exponentially increasing. Often touted as a "deflationary currency," many people are seeing the value of allocating a percentage of their savings - and especially retirement - into Bitcoin.

Something to Note: Because a "broker" is not needed to buy Bitcoin, and financial managers cannot yet earn commissions from recommending Bitcoin, take it with a grain of salt that most of them still discuss bitcoin in about the same way that taxi drivers speak of Uber, or how a Blockbuster Video owner/manager might "recommend" Netflix! That, and they don't understand it either.

Despite this, many cities, states, and countries are increasingly preferring Bitcoin as a means of exchange. You've no doubt seen the many Bitcoin ATM machines popping up in gas stations recently. What you might not know, is that El Salvador has adopted bitcoin as a legal tender. Now Arizona is likewise proposing "Bitcoin as legal tender" in a new bill, and Texans are having the exact same conversation. Before this movement becomes saturated and mainstreamed by the end of this decade, we have our one chance to get ahead of the curve. Don't let me down, Fancy.

Elect Guy Malone to ensure that widespread Bitcoin adoption and Bitcoin wealth finds a home in Roswell.

Roswell Will Profit Through Bitcoin Mining

If elected, and with permission of the City Council, I will contact and authorize "remote" bitcoin mining contract(s) to start immediately, before ground is even broken on any new facilities. My plan is for the initial wave of proceeds to go to either reduce or eliminate the property taxes of our citizens over the age of 65. This idea isn't original, of course. Many states have reduced tax burdens for their retired citizens. I share their belief that those on fixed incomes are already burdened enough with inflation, cost increases, and existing taxes. Putting their home in jeopardy just feels... wrong.

As time passes, and as we learn together how to generate and designate the proceeds from Bitcoin mining, I believe we can lower the age to 60 and then eventually 55. Truly smart investment in the Bitcoin space can allow us to make changes that are usually reserved for wealthy cities. In fact, Frances Suarez, the Bitcoin-famous mayor of Miami, Florida is leveraging his crypto knowledge to float local discussions about "a city that runs without taxes."

I'd like to serve the people of Roswell by helping us look more into the 21st century's technology as a means to aid us in securing our own economic future. I've helped countless friends and family members to get on board with small weekly bitcoin purchases, and the same principals, combined with my experience, certifications, and industry placement, can work to grow Roswell's economy as well.

No, Bitcoin is Not Evil

Click to read Guy's full Bitcoin City statement

Secession: Yes?

"I'm of the opinion that Southeastern New Mexico in general is not being represented well by lawmakers in Santa Fe. Our interests, our views, our needs, and our culture simply are not being addressed at the state level. This has been an ongoing pain point for decades. I'm proposing that it's time for us to kiss Santa Fe good-bye." - Guy Malone

Summary of Position:

Acknowledge taxation without representation
Refuse to comply with unlawful mandates or decrees
Become a Constitutional city
Build a coalition to get the process of secession started

Taxation Without Representation

Last year, state Senator Cliff Pirtle floated an amendment which would have paved the way for counties to begin the process of secession. What reasons did he give to justify his proposed amendment? He cited, “inequity between rural and urban New Mexico” as the primary reason.

As I see it, he is referring to the vast inequity in representation in proportion to our value to the state. The rural part of New Mexico is the valuable part, yet we have little to no say over the policies the state enacts. It is our ranchers, our dairymen, and our oil and gas industry that generate the bulk of state tax revenues, yet urban dwellers in Santa Fe have far too much control of our lives. So they're taking the resources and tax dollars we generate, and then ignoring our voices. Instead, many of them choose to represent the wishes of powerful outside interest groups, the positions state political powers, or even orders passed down from a national party in DC.

In effect, we are funding a state government which does not represent us: Taxation without representation.

Refuse to Enforce Unlawful Mandates

We've all seen the devastating results the past two years of patience and compliance have wrought: businesses that never reopen, careers derailed, kids years behind in school, families torn apart by divorce, opioid deaths, suicides, and on and on it goes. Our lives were turned upside down, and it's time we stopped letting this happen.

At this point, we should all know that "mandates" and "decrees" of the governor (or any unelected bureaucrat) simply do not carry the weight of law. Proponents of masks and jabs lack both the ability to enforce their decrees, and the legal standing to bring anyone to court. In fact, the lack of science behind their decisions may actually make them criminally liable should they end up in a fair court. So why are so many cities still acting like attack drones for the political parties in Santa Fe?

The "reasons" are varied and complex. What I can tell you is that I will not comply with illegal and unconstitutional decrees handed down to us by the unelected "sovereigns" living in Santa Fe. The residents of Roswell are a free people. I believe you have the right to make your own medical decisions and determine the level of risk you are comfortable with. I believe we all have the sacred right of self-determination.

Constitutional City

Constitutional City is a term people use instead of the much maligned Sanctuary City. This declaration simply means that we default to enforcing constitutional rights over any federal, executive, or state orders or mandates which aren't law. No vote? No law. No approval by a majority of elected officials? Not a law. No discussion at the legislative level? Not a law.

The right to privacy, for instance, is covered by both the fifth and the 14th amendments. The Supreme Court has interpreted this as including our medical records or medical status. I'm arguing that it goes against someone's God-given and constitutional privacy rights to have to disclose a “legitimate health reason” for why they don't want to wear a mask or accept an experimental MRNA therapy (completely mis-)labeled as a vaccine. Whether used to gate-keep a business or as a requirement of employment, it's a violation of all our constitutional rights.

In short, no one should have to answer or disclose any medical information, including their vaccination status, to anyone as a condition of obtaining or keeping employment. It is both unconstitutional and immoral.

Build a Coalition

The simple truth is this: A mayor does not have the power to make succession actually happen. So what could I do as mayor?

If it's the will of the people that I'm chosen to represent, starting a secession movement will become a priority. This means contacting mayors and county commissioners from the counties between us here in Chaves and the Texas state line. I'll get on the phone with my counterparts in Lee, Roosevelt, Eddy, and Otero counties, both to gauge their current interest and inspire them to consider the idea. If they're on board, the first goal would be working together to elect city councils also friendly to the idea.

On the local level, I've spent my own money on the domain: RoswellTexas.com. I want to be the mayor that stands up and says: it's time to consider the idea of secession seriously. If the idea gains traction, the site will be used to track not only the movement here, but the plan is to track the movement in any other New Mexico counties that want to join the cause. In the medium term, if there is broad interest, I say we start talking to the Texas governor and legislature about the benefits of annexing us into their great state.

Click to read Guy's full Secession statement