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Harper, Garcia-Miera Win Council Seats |
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Written by Jeff Radford
Corrales Comment
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 |
A woodworker with experience restoring historic buildings and a
marketing executive with financial expertise have been added to the
Village Council.
Municipal elections Tuesday, March 2 produced ballot victories for
Council District 3 candidate Mick Harper, owner of Blue Sky
Woodworks, and District 1 candidate Ennio Garcia-Miera, president of
AccuMarket Solutions.
In Council District 4, incumbent John Alsobrook had no challenger in
his bid for re-election. Similarly, Corrales’ mayor, Phil Gasteyer, had
no opposition in his try for a second term, so he and Alsobrook were
certain to win at the polls.
Garcia-Miera, Harper, Alsobrook and Gasteyer will be sworn in at a
ceremony in the Council Chambers, March 9 before the regular council
meeting.
Unofficial tally of election results shortly after polls closed was:
District 1: Ennio Garcia-Miera 180; Jim Davis 130.
District 3: Mick Harper 268; Al Gonzales 120.
District 4: John Alsobrook (unopposed) 43.
Mayor (elected at-large, unopposed) 743.
While Gasteyer and Alsobrook retain their seats on the Village of
Corrales governing body, Harper will replace Bonnie Gonzales on the
council and Garcia-Miera will take the District 1 seat for the first
time as Jim Fahey leaves the council.
The council seats for Districts 2, 5 and 6 were not in play this year.
Councillor Gerard Gagliano fills the District 2 seat, while Sayre
Gerhart represents District 5 and Pat Clauser is the District 6
councillor.
As they join the council, Garcia-Miera and Harper will confront sagging
revenues for Village government and slim prospects for appropriations
assistance from Santa Fe.
If statements made during election campaigns are any indication, both
Garcia-Miera and Harper will look for ways to help increase revenues
for Village government and/or cut municipal expenditures.
Garcia-Miera has suggested he has an economic development plan that
involves, among other features, persuading villagers to spend more of
their disposable income right here rather than giving gross receipts
taxes away to surrounding communities. He would also suggest ways to
attract more non-resident consumer dollars here.
Harper will almost certainly wade into potentially volatile
upcoming discussions and ordinance-writing involving measures to
protect and restore older, farmhouse style buildings in Corrales’
business district.
In leaving the council, issues of primary importance to Jim Fahey may
lack attention in the years ahead. Those issues would include
augmenting potential for traffic flow along Loma Larga (as a reliever
to Corrales Road traffic), storm water drainage and relations with the
Southern Sandoval Flood Control Authority, and extending waste
water collection service to higher-density neighborhoods and
addressing water quality issues generally.
In her time on the Village Council, departing Councillor Bonnie
Gonzales focused on preserving farmland and agricultural activities as
well as addressing Corrales’ animal control issues. |
