Tuesday, November 7, Las Crucens will elect a mayor, using ranked-choice voting.
I hope we’ll elect someone with relevant knowledge and an open mind, someone tolerant and progressive, with whom I agree on at least some issues.
Kassandra Gandara is by far the best choice. She’s a social worker with extensive experience in our city government, and a committed progressive. We disagree strongly on certain issues. (She has an unduly rosy view of the police and our water future.) But she studies issues carefully and with a relatively open mind. She’s a dedicated, caring, and innovative public servant. She’s been a moving force in some key reforms, such as LITE.
No other candidate measures up.
Her toughest competition is probably former Fire Chief (and assistant city manager) Eric Enriquez. Note that the Firefighter’s Union has endorsed Gandara. Enriquez’s has experience; but a city councilor makes policy. I probably should list him second after Gandara.
But I’ll put Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez second. He lacks experience and hasn’t a chance; but he’s a serious, thoughtful young man who studies the issues and has some sensible views.
At the other extreme, several candidates are wholly unqualified and/or highly conservative. One, former County Commissioner Isabella Solis, might be downright dangerous. That’s. In her “PRAYER CALL FOR NEW MEXICO,” Solis says, “The Lord is a warrior . . . I declare a beachhead is established this day . . . from which an attack can be launched. . . . Father, it's time for the Church to get Spiritually violent! [and] reverse the evil in our state. I decree that God has anointed us.”
That’s inconsistent with our constitutional church/state separation. It’s also bizarre. What if your mayor says God told her to do A, but God told other councilors to do Z, and some councilors aren’t much into God, or worship a different one? Since she thinks her ideas are God’s, how does one argue? Compromise might seem sinful to her. Compromise matters in local government. Her prayer adds, “ We no longer tolerate a governor that supports abortion and is ok with a satanic temple.”
Gina Ortega, Mariah Hernandez, and Mike Tellez should be listed above Solis, if you get that far, because they’re probably at least sane.
But Tellez, disappointed in his 11.5% vote percentage in the 2019 mayoral election, had the NM Republican Party file suit, claiming unfair vote-counting. Two courts dismissed it. The Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal. Does Tellez think he lost the election through fraud? Does he contend that voter fraud cost Donald Trump the Presidency? Has he apologized to County Clerk Amanda Lopez Askins?
Ortega told the Sun-News that, if elected, she’d refuse to resign as County Assessor. The City Charter mandates that no mayor may serve in another elective post. I see no reasonable legal argument supporting her. Refusing to resign would mean she couldn’t take office. However, I think she admitted to us on radio that if forced to choose, she’ll choose the mayoralty. I don’t think she should be mayor; she’s too pro-business; but she loves Las Cruces and believes she’s right, and seems a better choice than Solis, Tellez, and likely Mariah Hernandez, who may be running mainly because she’s angry at the City. For its stupid handling of the Hernandezes’ effort to open a strip club.
So: Gandara, Fresquez, Enriquez, Ortega . . . But whatever your views, please vote!
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[The above column appeared Sunday, 15 October, in the Las Cruces Sun-News and on the newapaper’s wbsite (sub nom Here's How I'm Thinking about them Mayoral Candidates in Las Cruces), as well as on the KRWG website under Local Viewpoints. A shortened and sharpened radio commentary version will air during the week on KRWG (90.1 FM) and on KTAL-LP (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/). ]
[I should mention that because of the local importance of this election and the fact that there were so many candidates led us to schedule a full hour-and-half for our candidate forum on “Speak Up, Las Cruces!” Three candidates joined us, and suffered our inept questioning: Councilor Gandara, Mr. Fresquez, and County Assessor Ortega. Three apparently ignored the invitation: Ms. Hernandez, Mr. Tellez, and a Mr. Hernandez (about whom I could learn nothing on-line). Ms. Solis accepted, informally confirmed her planned participation to my co-host, then sent a last-minute email to him that she couldn’t make it because she had a conflict. Mr. Enriquez, I understand, accepted the invitation; but he neither joined us in our discussion nor advised us of his change of heart. I think the word for that is either boorish or chickenshit, depending on his motivation. It doesn’t offend me, but neither is it a positive indicator in his desire to convince us he should be our next mayor. I appreciate the thoughtful participation by Gandara, Ortega, and Fresquez.
An advantage of appearing is the chance to explain things others might not ask about. I thought Ms. Ortega’s statement about trying to be Cruces mayor and County Assessor simultaneously was fatuous, but on radio she conceded that, if necessary, she’d quit as assessor. Similarly, I wanted to ask Tellez about his failed lawsuit – or, more precisely, the state Republican Party’s lawsuit over his failed candidacy in the nonpartisan mayoral election four years ago. Maybe he had a reasonable explanation. I wanted to offer Ms. Solis an opportunity to explain to voters her [bizarre, in my view] PRAYER CALL from which I quoted in the column. But she didn’t show.]
By the way, although there’s a link in the column, here’s that PRAYER CALL, reprinted [the bold-face and underlining was my form of note-taking], to make sure no one thinks I unfairly cherry-picked quotes out of context:
PRAYER CALL FOR THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO! By Isabella Solis I am honored to be on this prayer call. We welcome you, Holy Spirit, into NM and this call Today. Today, we established once again that NM is the Supernatural State. I declare the Power GRID of the Holy Spirit in NM has been ignited with Holy Spirit! There is a wildfire spreading readily ignited and difficult to extinguish. The term wildfire is a term used especially in warfare. It is spreading with great speed from our state to the nation. We are dealing with two god-system, good and evil, light and darkness. "The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. "Exodus 15:3 The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up His zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies." Isaiah 42:13 I call forth a battling anointing and the breaker anointing and anointing to build into NM and the nation. Father, I declare a beachhead is established this day, taking a position on a beach taken from the enemy by landing forces from which an attack can be launched. We are breaking through and beyond - Father to liberate our cities and our people. Lord, your Kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven Superimpose Heaven on earth! Father, you said in Job 22:28, You shall decree a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways. We declare a Kingdom Revolution! In the day of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Father, it's time for the Church to get Spiritually violent! To Love Passionately and SHIFT GOVERNMENT. In Esther 9:1, on the day the enemy of Jews hoped to have power over them, the reverse occurred, and the Jews instead had power over those who hated them. We take our Authority over the enemy and reverse the evil in our state. I decree that God has anointed us to hear his voice, and we decree his purposes and Shift things through Kingdom Authority. Father, in Job 14:8-9 you said its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, yet at the scent of water [scent of rain] it will flourish and put forth branches like a plant. Father revival is changing the hearts of man, but an AWAKENING LORD will change the Heart of a Nation! We declare the awakening to shift our state at the scent of rain. Father, I thank you Today that we will have a GENERAL of RIGHTEOUSNESS appointed to Govern the State of New Mexico, and the Ecclesia will be established. We no longer tolerate a governor that supports abortion and is ok with a satanic temple to be invited into our territory in any way, shape, or form. We are taking back our land for His Name Sake! In Daniel 7:21-22 you said, [Daniel kept looking, he was watching] "I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the HIGHEST ONE, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the Kingdom! Father, Daniel was seeing in that DAY! He sees it. This is for us Today, too. We are in that TIME!! It's time for the Church to take dominion/possession. Thank you, Lord that you continue to look for people to partner with you. I declare we will take possession of the Kingdom in NEW MEXICO! Every unrighteous policy/law in Santa Fe [means Holy Faith] is destroyed. Jeremiah 1 says I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant! Father, we legislate from a place of Victory! Today we declare our state will flourish and grow its economy and education system; crime will cease, restoration of families, unification of the body of Christ; and I declare faith to arise in our Navajo Nation and Pueblos! Not only for faith to arise but to recall the prophetic word by Billy Grahams, the "Sleeping Giant is Awake" It is time we HONOR one another! It is about Honor, Honoring our First Nations! I pray the POWER GRID of the Holy Spirit to light up our state as an atomic bomb going off in the supernatural realm, our Command and Chief impacting the atmosphere so that His government, the Ecclesia, will be established in the State of NM! Superimpose Heaven on Earth on this day! An arrow has been released to impact all the other states going forth through this nation, Declaring the Righteousness of our King in the land! For His Name .]
[At any rate, the more I think about it, the more Gandara the only real option.]
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