Villagers living in the vicinity of the Wagner Farmland Experience on Corrales Road, now in full swing, have noted almost no pandemic safe practices in place, with overflow parking, groups of more than five people, few masks, many lined up to buy tickets, and nothing close to social distancing. Each fall Wagner’s creates a corn maze, and invites visitors to pick out future jack-o-lanterns from their pumpkin patch.

New this season, a “Vegetable U-Pick,” featuring a variety of vegetables including different color bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, eggplant and chile piquin. Farmland Experience is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through October 31. Admission is charged.

The Farmland Experience website states this in tiny print: “We are adhering to the CDC guidelines and NM Health department requirements to keep our fellow New Mexicans safe.” A separate tab on the website recommends social distancing and mask-wearing, and says that hand sanitizer is scattered around the field. Elsewhere on the site is posted “Please note that by visiting Wagner's Farmland Experience, LLC, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19.”

The State of New Mexico’s website has detailed instructions on safe practices for agritourism events, including pumpkin patches and mazes. It says that “Access to attractions such as corn mazes shall be on a reservation-only basis and must be strictly monitored to maintain capacity and social distancing standards.” And it underscores contactless scanning of tickets, and plans in place to insure contact tracing. Agritourism info here.

As of October 17, the first-ever online Old Church Fine Arts Show has had 1,423 visitors to its site.  According to the Corrales Historical Society board of directors secretary, Carol Rigmark, “close to 1,100 are first time visitors and over 300 are returning to the site for another look.”

The show featuring about 50 artists is running online through October 31. It is produced in collaboration with the Corrales Society of Artists. It can be viewed at www.corralesoldchurchshow.com. 

“To date we have sold 16 pieces of art ranging in price from $86 to $800. The majority of these have been paintings, followed by photographs. Most have been sold to local New Mexican buyers but several are being shipped out of state to places like Seattle, Chicago, smaller towns in California and Rhode Island.  We have received many compliments about the quality of the art as well as the show itself.”

Naturally, all involved would like to reach more potential buyers, so Rigmark suggests artists send another invitation to their own mailing lists. She also reminds them that “your art being shown here may not be sold outside the show for the remainder of this month.”

Although organizers are pleased with the response so far, as Rigmark put it, “of course we hope for continued interest.” Back in September Rigmark explained that the online show was considered “a gift we should provide for the artists, especially during this very difficult year. Our two primary goals were to highlight New Mexico’s fine artists and to raise some badly needed funds for the Old Church.”

She saluted Diane Cutter, Cheryl Cathcart and Rachel Dushoff, all Corrales artists, as well as Clark, for their contributions to the event. Twenty-five percent of each artist’s sales is donated toward preservation and maintenance of the Old Church.

Exasperated by the continuous flow of traffic on Corrales Road these days? Rest assured it’s not because everybody and his uncle or her aunt has moved to Corrales in a mass migration. Instead, the clogged condition of Highway 448 through Corrales is caused by closure of lanes on Highway 550 between Interstate 25 and Highway 528 through Bernalillo.

The widening project, presumably to serve motorists going to and from Rio Rancho, seems to have gone on for generations. Cars that traversed that route back when it started are surely now in a junkyard, unless they were deemed “totaled” in a minor wreck and are now putting along in Mexico. A website dedicated to informing folks about the project, Keep Moving 550, offers weekly updates. Work is expected to continue Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and possibly weekends as well.

It warned that crews are installing a 60-inch storm drain and setting up curb-and-gutter, grading medians and laying base course for paving in some sections. “Due to the amount of work required, eastbound traffic will continue to be shifted to the north for the installation of a 60-inch storm drain pipe and other improvements on the south side of U.S. 550 through about November 8, 2020,” the website notes. “Motorists are encouraged to expect delays, and to give themselves extra time to reach their destinations.”

A drone might be handy, in these pandemic times, to slowly drift along high above Corrales Road to look down on what businesses are in, what out, what pending, etc. But, a car must do. The long-debated and awaited medical cannabis retail shop via TopShelf, aka Southwest Organic Producers, or SWOP, is still not open at 4604 Corrales Road in an end space in the former Kim Jew building.

But there are tiny signs of progress. The building itself is still not sold, but SWOP reported on its website October 9 that it had “just started harvesting our first couple of harvests. The results are in and they’re testing better than ever.” Cannabis for SWOP is being grown now in Corrales at 379 Camino de Corrales del Norte, under the guidance of Spencer Komadina. It comprises three greenhouses.

Though the site development plan application for the dispensary was approved by the Village Planning and Zoning Commission back in November, in July of this year assorted hoops still required jumping through, or what P&Z administrator Laurie Stout described soon thereafter as “applicable state and federal agencies on their specific requirements.”

Two new businesses, Corrales Teas and More at 3923 Corrales Road, and Shelby At Home, 4448 Corrales Road, are holding their own during the pandemic. As Corrales Teas’ owner Janelle Boyle put it, “We were about to open when the pandemic hit, so officially we opened May 15.” Boyle and her boyfriend own the store, which sells “fair trade” teas, essential oils, CBD products and items made by local crafters, including aprons, bags and purses. Boyle ran two spas for 20 years in San Diego, spas that included tea offerings, then divorced and moved to New Mexico about three years ago.

The shop features an oxygen bar, a concept which Boyle explained first popped up in the 1970s at airports, in particular to relieve customer hangovers and jet lag. For 1$ per minute, 15 minutes being the norm, “customers breathe purified, scented, oxygen through a nasal hose.”

You may choose from a variety of fragrances, displayed on what Boyle called a “smell wall.” Corrales Teas’ website, https://www.corralestea.com/, further explains that “We use an industrial concentrator (non-medical) machine that filters out nitrogen and other atmospheric gases to produce oxygen that is about 85 percent pure. The air we breathe is about 21 percent oxygen.”

Coming soon after a final inspection, is an actual tearoom, where customers can enjoy both tea and coffee, as well as a line of chocolates, to be added to the menu. Closed Sundays, the shop is open weekdays 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays. Call 619 438-4600 to be certain of hours. Masks are required.

Shelby Hohsfield, of Shelby At Home, who grew up in Corrales, has owned Lorenco’s Hair Salon on Alameda Boulevard with her mom, Cindy Kokurek, for 16 years. Both are experts in permanent cosmetics, as in eyebrows, eyelashes, even lips, that in essence are tattoos, but much less permanent than those. About five years ago Hohsfield decided to add to her output a new online venture, selling native American jewelry and her own paintings, as well as a clothing line.

Today Shelby At Home is part online, and part in person, dealing with pandemic restrictions. Her gallery and boutique recently hosted a pop-up opening the weekend of October 16. And she plans another in time for Christmas. She offers custom paintings of people, places and critters you may hold dear, as well as some self-help videos, along with the clothing and jewelry. As she posted on social media, “These are the life experiences and everyday challenges of myself trying to find my inner rock star while inspiring others to hold steadfast on their mission towards internal happiness.” See http://www.shelbyathome.com.

At Mercado de Maya, Ambiente is “temporarily closed” again due to the increased risk of COVID-19, Chris Windisch said October 18. Meanwhile, Frame-n-Art at 3563 Corrales Road, owned by the Derr family, officially closed down September 30, via this message on social media: "Thank you to all our wonderful customers over these many years. We have some bittersweet news. We are retiring and closing Frame-n-Art. Michael is going to focus more on his artwork and Suanne and John will be hitting the highways in their RV.”

For over 20 years, in addition to the framing business, the business supported the Young in Art show with Corrales Elementary School. Carrying on in these pandemic times, more or less, is Corrales Fine Arts, the gallery owned by oil painter Barb Clark and paper sculptor Susana Erling. The shop at 4685 Corrales Road is open Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and posted on its door are these sentences: “1. Mask on, please; 2. Only two at a time; 3. No cursing!; 4. OK, you can curse….” Call 280-1896 to be sure the gallery is open.

Also adjusting to the times is Beth Waldron, artist and wedding/social photographer installed at the end of Mercado de Maya in the former Moon & Dove spot. Waldron, former geologist, is open only by appointment, for photo sessions. She opened up Beth Waldron Studios in mid-November. Information can be found by calling 633-5740.

The spot formerly occupied by artist Laura Balombini at 4436 Corrales Road, Del Rio Plaza, now has a paper sign on the door reading “Meraki Studio Heart, Soul, Hair. (Donna’s New Salon Studio.)” No word back from Donna af ter calling 508-7063.

More mysterious, however, is what appears to be a school or a pandemically-inspired teaching pod perched where assorted coffee shops have struggled to operate in the same complex at 4436 Corrales Road. On a visit this month, kids and one adult could be glimpsed and heard. The outside patio has tables and chairs but is closed off by a low fence and assorted potted plants.

Next year is the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States. If one is old enough, the images of that day, especially those of the fire-filled, crumbling Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, are seared into memory. As New Mexico writer Jesse Ehrenberg put it in the new book New Mexico Remembers 9/11, “And the people trapped, more than one hundred stories above the ground, their only choice to die in flames or jump out into the sky, and fall like leaves, screaming, (screams that would never be heard, but our imaginations would never forget.)”

The book was conceived of and edited by Corrales’ Patricia Walkow, who has her own particular tale of that day. It was published by Artemesia Press on October 13, New Mexico Remembers 9/11 will be available as an e-book or in paperback.

Walkow was in California on business, her husband in Corrales, headed to his job at Sandia Labs, on September 11. Her first concern was for her brother’s wife, who worked in a building in the World Trade Center. (Jeanne, her sister-in-law, made it safely home from Lower Manhattan, though covered in debris.) Walkow’s next issue was getting safely back to New Mexico. Planes, trains, buses —all air transport stopped, the rest was jammed up. But she did have a Hertz car rented, and regardless of husbandly concerns, inspired by the notion of safely being back home, and all that home meant, she decided to drive back to Albuquerque. Hertz waived the return fee. She arrived safely, without drama, reuniting with her husband at the Owl Cafe, just off I-40.

Clearly, the notion of “home” being attacked, of the United States’ presumed strength and supposed invulnerability crushed in New York and Washington, DC, and the saga of bravely united yet doomed passengers bringing down a plane in a field in Pennsylvania, left its mark on Walkow. She says, too, that she “wanted to create a body of work that enshrines the connectedness that New Mexico has to the rest of the country.”

Twenty-five people contributed to the book, the prime requirement being that they were witnesses to 9/11, wherever they lived at the time, and that they currently live in New Mexico. Walkow particularly wanted the memories/reactions of young people as well.

A native of Manhattan who grew up in Brooklyn, Walkow has lived in New Mexico for many years after a career in informational tech, based in Glendale, California. She first met her husband, Walter, in 1968 at a Christmas party where he asked her to dance. And Walkow had one of those bizarre “this is the man I will marry” moments. She did so, in 1972.

She writes in her office at home, her baby grand there no longer played as often as it might be —it needs a tune up— and recalled recently the fun she had doing a column for the Glendale News Press in the 1980s called “Dog’s Day Out.” Her canine at the time, Cheyenne, was once delightedly recognized by a gentleman who said “That’s the dog who writes that column!”

Now retired and fully committed to writing projects, a co-founder of the Corrales Writing Group and on the board of SouthWest Writers, Walkow favors the books of Barbara Kingsolver, “likes depth of character” in what she reads, and actually prefers non-fiction to fiction.

Her latest project with co-CWG member Chris Allen, however, is a murder mystery set in southeast New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains. Titled Lake Fortuna at the moment, it also contains a spoonful of romance.

Her biggest personal success thus far may be a “narrative biography” about her husband’s father called “The War Within, the Story of Josef,” described as the story of a “teenage Christian Polish slave laborer, forced to work in Nazi Germany.” The book was self-published via CreateSpace in 2016.

Pushing the envelope on writing “what you know,” which actually means writing from your observations, imagination, dreams and such, she’s also pondering returning to a manuscript she set aside, about a widowed missionary in Southeast Asia in the 1900s who falls for an African-American minister.

If you’d like to bring recognition to someone you consider a local hero, the mayor wants nominations for that designation. “Let’s recognize those among us who do their best to help others here in town, in New Mexico, the nation and even the world,” Mayor Jo Anne Roake said in her weekly message. “Please nominate your local hero, and we’ll recognize that person at our Village Council meeting.”

Nominations should be emailed to Village Clerk Aaron Gjullin at agjullin@corrales-nm.org. Roake said she was inspired to start the program after learning of the volunteer work being done by Linda Crowden with the Red Cross in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, helping distribute food and supplies to families devastated by recent hurricanes.

Corrales author Rudy Miera has been named the Village’s poet laureate. Long a resident here, Miera was so designated by Mayor Jo Anne Roake last month, based on his volunteering with the Corrales Library. He is directing the library’s “I Love to Write” youth poetry contest, the results of which will be announced October 30, the birthday of the late Rudolfo Anaya, who Miera considers a mentor. The contest was open to persons in middle school and high school. Each poet was to begin with the phrase “Life in New Mexico is….”

“Mayor Roake asked me if I would consider being the poet laureate of Corrales,” he recalled. With that came a request to collaborate with the Corrales Library’s Melisa Chandler on the youth poetry contest. Three judges reviewed the submissions: Stacia Spragg-Braude, Mary Gerhart and Corrales Librarian Marian Frear. Author of several books, Miera’s recent novel, After Hours in Aztlan, was a finalist in a national competition for literature about Hispanic culture. It is on sale at the Frontier Mart, as are others he wrote.

Set in the 1970s, After Hours in Aztlan is a humorous story that focuses on young student revolutionaries’ attempts to right society’s ills. A blurb by Milagro Beanfield War author John Nichols for the novel published by Floricanto Press advises, “Hang on to our hats, folks, because Rudy J. Miera’s gang of student revolutionaries is on the loose, bumbling in their awkward but affecting way to Salvation.”

Albuquerque Journal writer Ollie Reed reviewed the novel this way. “Rudy J. Miera’s tale of youthful activism in 1970s New Mexico shines strong and true because it comes out of his own life and is burnished by his creative gifts.”  Miera’s play Adelita Sanchez: Harvey Girl was entered in the 2018 Latino Books into Movies competition.

Miera’s two-act play was first staged at the University of New Mexico experimental theater years ago to considerable acclaim, according to news reports at the time. Representatives of film studios and screenwriters were expected to attend the award ceremonies in Hollywood, Miera was told.

The play is set in Belen in 1945 when young Adelita Sanchez is hired as a waitress in the lunchroom at the local Harvey House. In his synopsis, Miera explains “Like other Hispanic and Native American women, this is her first job working away from her home and family farm in Jarales. “Taken under her wing by the matronly Miss Davenport, and embraced by her fellow Harvey Girls who work in the lunchroom of the train depot and live in the upstairs dormitory, Adelita observes the cultural exchanges and clashes of the era (that still resonate to this day).”

The girl is forced to take a transfer to the El Tovar Harvey House in the Grand Canyon. “The threats and prejudices from the outside world, as the War escalates, test and challenge the old ways, the cultural traditions and spiritual beliefs that have been passed on to Adelita and her generation by respected ancianos” like her grandfather, a local santero and poet.

Miera’s stage play script is in the drama category along with four other entries. The competition is a project of Latin Literacy Now, whose board chairman is actor Edward James Olmos. Last year, Miera published a satirical novel The Fall and Rise of Champagne Sanchez which he described as a story of “rags to riches to rejection to redemption” for Sanchez as he tries and mostly fails, to make a living on the streets of Albuquerque. As a promo blurb for the book, acclaimed novelist Rudolfo Anaya (Bless Me, Ultima) wrote, “If you enjoy reading a story with authentic characters and a brilliant narrative style, then I highly recommend The Fall and Rise of Champagne Sanchez.”

Decisions on how Village officials will use the former residence of Harvey and Annette Jones, west of the Corrales Post Office, have advanced little since the property on which it sits was acquired more than four years ago. Village Administrator Ron Curry said in a phone interview October 16 that a final assessment has yet to be made whether the structure can be re-purposed and renovated or should be razed. That is about where things stood in 2016 when the 2,54 acres of land and buildings were purchased.

“A chemical review will be done to see what is in that structure. We’re having Facility Build and another company go in there to look for asbestos and mold and other problems that would diminish the integrity of the structure,” Curry said. Facility Build is a firm owned by Corrales resident Brian Kilcup and which last year renovated the old Corrales Valley Fire Station which now houses the Planning and Zoning Department.

“What we don’t want to do is make a plan for using the building and go forward with those plans, then discover problems that will mean additional costs,” he added. "Depending on the evaluation, we could do a re-model or we could raze the structure and build on the foundation or expand the foundation.

“We had a meeting with folks who examined both of those possibilities. We’re trying to be prudent as we go forward.” In the meantime, interim uses are underway. The Corrales Police Department is now using space in the old Jones residence as a secondary office to encourage social distancing, Curry said. Community groups have met there in recent years, although those gatherings are curtailed due to the pandemic.

“My hope is that we can have a plan in the next six months that we can start to move on, start in getting financing.” Curry was asked whether Village officials have gained input from community groups regarding potential uses of the residence that is at least 50 years old. “Just last week when we had a meeting with some of the folks interested in it as a performance space,” he replied. “Once we know what we have to do as far as the structure goes, we’ll have to get public input because there is a lot out there and everybody has an opinion about how it could be used.

“But we don’t get in front of ourselves. Going forward, we’ll be looking at what that facility might do versus any expansion we might do at the gymnasium at the recreation center.” To pay for required renovations or rebuilding on the same site, Curry said the Village may be able to use some money from the bonds approved by voters in 2018.

A primary use for the Jones acreage was clear from the start: then-Mayor Phil Gasteyer wanted to relocate the Corrales Public Works Department (mainly its heavy equipment such as road graders and tanker trucks) away from the municipal complex at the corner of Corrales Road and East La Entrada. That largely has been accomplished.

When the Village closed on the transaction to acquire the property July 22, 2016, then-Councillor Gasteyer recommended that a task force be formed to take public input on how the property might best be used. The land lies between the Corrales Post Office and the recreation center’s TopForm Arena. The Village paid Jones $865,000 at closing. The property came with the residence of more than 5,000 square feet, two large barns or sheds, a well-landscaped yard with swimming pool and water rights.

During the council’s June 2016 discussion, Mayor Scott Kominiak said an estimated additional $328,000 would be needed for repairs, upgrades and remodeling for use as municipal facilities. Neither the purchase price nor the renovations were expected at that time to cause Village officials to dip into savings, or cash reserves. The funding was identified, largely from the Village’s municipal bonds tied to the a “hold harmless” gross receipts tax source the State (temporarily) allowed as compensation for excluding sales tax on food and pharmaceuticals.

Back in 2014, near the end of Councillor Phil Gasteyer’s second term as mayor, he persuaded the Village Council to earmark $500,000 from the sale of $3.3 million in municipal bonds for “real estate acquisition for Public Works Department relocation.” Other funding was directed to that purpose when Corrales got an unexpected windfall of $1.3 million from the State treasury through the Small Cities Assistance Fund. Village officials had explored opportunities to buy the last remnant of the Jones property for more than a decade.

Since the mid-1990s, Village officials have bought the Jones property piece by piece. They purchased the front parcel of the Jones pasture in 1995 for soccer fields and the second half of the pasture a few years later after an intense and prolonged fundraising effort that included appropriations from the State Legislature. (See Corrales Comment Vol. XIV No.1 February 25, 1995 “30 Days to Buy First Piece of Jones Pasture for Rec Center.”)

Then came the Village’s acquisition at the far western end of the Jones’ remaining property for what is now TopForm Arena. With the parcel in front of the Jones residence long-since sold to the U.S. Postal Service for what is now Corrales Post Office, that left the parcel holding the home and sheds to the west which served as a heavy equipment and construction yard for Harvey Jones’ construction business. Annette Jones had convinced the Village Council to zone part of that for professional office use before she died in 2004.

With coronavirus infections spreading rapidly, Corraleños are intensifying precautions. Plans for political rallies were halted, trips to grocery stores were kept to a minimum and appointments for clinics and hospital visits were cancelled. As of October 18, cases of COVID-19 in the zip code 87048 reached 42. In Sandoval County about three percent of people tested were positive for the virus.

Statewide, 934 people had died by that time and 36,788 people had come down with the deadly disease. “COVID-19 is out of control in our state, with 672 cases reported yesterday, Mayor Jo Anne Roake cautioned.

“The governor calls it a ‘raging wildfire,’ and it threatens to overwhelm our medical resources. Unless it is work, self-care or necessary errands, stay home. If you must go out, practice “MAD:” 1) wear a Mask 2) Avoid groups of more than 5; and 3) Distance from each other.

“Plus, just 15-20 seconds of hand washing and sanitizing eliminates a virus that can otherwise live on skin for nine hours. Corrales now stands at 41 cases,” she said October 16, “still good considering how many cases there are in Sandoval and Bernalillo Counties.

“But know this. If you go out to a restaurant or bar or attend a rally or gathering without taking COVID-19 precautions, you may bring disease and even death right back to our doorstep. Your every action is vital to the health of Corrales. We must work together 100 percent to crush COVID.”

An unprecedented rash of arson fires in the Corrales Bosque Preserve is threatening the beloved forest along the river and nearby homes. “We have had a total of seven fires in the bosque on two separate days,” Corrales Fire Department’s Tanya Lattin told Corrales Comment October 18. No evidence was found to suggest any of the blazes was caused accidentally by campers or squatters. In Mayor Jo Anne Roake’s message to villagers days before, she flatly stated, “Corrales has an arsonist in the Bosque. Numerous fires have been started in the last week. The Corrales Fire Department has successfully responded to each one, helped by neighboring first responder organizations.” Lattin said a fire Thursday, October 8 was discovered near the bridge over the Riverside Drain at the end of Andrews Lane. She described that one as a small fire about 200 feet by 200 feet in area.

Then on Friday, October 9, two fires were set more or less at the same time near the Dixon Road entrance to the preserve, near the levee, burning a total of about a half-acre. On Wednesday, October 14, “We had a total of four fires all burning during the same time, two of them were near the Romero Road access to the bosque, and two were approximately two miles south of Romero.” About two acres were burned near the river while a lesser area was ignited closer to the levee.

Two fires were started near the end of Paseo de Dulcelina between the river and the levee. “There was no evidence of any illegal camp fires in the area of any of the fires. Corrales fire and police, along with Sandoval County Sheriff’s officers, have increased patrols in the bosque.

“We are asking for anyone in the bosque to be sure and report any smoke or fires,” Lattin added. “We are asking anyone in the area of these fires that may have any information to call 898-7585 so we can contact them.” Lattin said there has been no indication that any of the fires were caused by lightning strikes “so these fires are human-caused.”

The Fire Department battalion commander offered the following guidance for villagers who might be in the preserve. “Your safety while in the bosque is number one. If you decided to go out and do a patrol, take a cell phone, let someone know where you are going,  stay on trails, do not get into thick areas that can cause you to get turned around or trapped if you run into a fire.

“If you smell smoke in the bosque, please call 911. Do not call the fire station; calling the station can delay our response.  We are not always in the office to answer the phone, and when we are, we have to gather the information from you that dispatch normally would get and cannot start our response to the emergency. Dispatch can reach us no matter where we are and get important information from you while we are heading to the call.”

If a villager encounters a situation that should be reported, Lattin said it would be very helpful if the person raising the alert could state the location accurately. She pointed out that mile-marker signs are painted on standing galvanized silver-colored vents along the west side of the levee. “Try to keep in your mind how far you have traveled from your entry point.

“If you have a smart phone, your mapping application will help you determine your location in the bosque and its relationship to roads within Corrales.  Knowing where you are helps get emergency responders to you in case of an emergency.

“If you see flames or smoke, call 911. Make sure you get to a safe area and leave your phone on. Responders may call you for more information after dispatch has completed their questioning.

“The bosque is extremely dry and weather is still unusually warm.  Thanks to people reporting these fires early, we have been able to control them quickly, but someone has to report them while small for our best chance of preventing a large fire,” Lattin said.

“Just know Corrales Fire is taking this very seriously and we are doing extra patrols. The Corrales police department has issued extra patrols and has officers in the bosque, and Sandoval County sheriff's officers are also in there patrolling.”

By Jeff Radford
Finally, candidates for national offices are forced to address citizens’ demand for a substantive response to ever more severe consequences of climate change. In the first presidential debate moderated by Fox News’ Chris Wallace, President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden were not expected to be asked to comment on that issue at all. It came up briefly anyway, with Trump backing down a little from his earlier position that the whole thing is a hoax perpetrated by China, while Biden assured the electorate that he would make combatting climate change a priority and would quickly re-join the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

Biden has touted his plan to confront climate change which is similar to what the New Mexico Legislature last year adopted as its Energy Transition Act, which required that investor-owned utilities and cooperatives produce 50 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy within ten years, with a goal of 80 percent by 2040.

During the presidential debate, Trump offered a halting admission that climate change may be real and that some of the effects already being experienced may be caused in part by human activity. His administration has heavily and consistently promote the use of coal to produce electricity and exploitation of other fossil fuels. His officials have rolled back regulations for fuel-efficient motor vehicles.

As a former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under a Democratic president, Gina McCarthy put it, “The Trump administration has done everything they can to deny the science and denigrate scientists.” She is now president of the National Resources Defense Council. “They have really done everything humanly possible to try to convince people that what they see and feel and taste just isn't happening in front of them,”McCarethy added.

The strategy outlined by Biden has the following goals:
• Ensuring that the United States achieves a 100 percent clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
The Democratic candidate said if elected he will immediately sign a series of new executive orders to correct reckless orders issued by Trump. He said he would demand that Congress enact legislation in the first year of his presidency that: 1) establishes an enforcement mechanism that includes milestone targets no later than the end of his first term in 2025, 2) makes a historic investment in clean energy and climate research and innovation, 3) incentivizes the rapid deployment of clean energy innovations across the economy, especially in communities most impacted by climate change.
• Building a stronger, more resilient nation by making infrastructure investments to rebuild the nation and to ensure that our buildings, water, transportation and energy infrastructure can withstand the impacts of climate change.
His plan calls for aiding in development of regional climate resilience plans, in partnership with local universities and national labs, for local access to the most relevant science, data, information, tools and training.
• Rallying the rest of the world to meet the threat of climate change. Biden said he will not only re-commit the United States to the Paris Agreement on climate change, he will go much further.
• Standing up to the abuse of power by polluters who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities. Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency and pollution.

The Biden campaign has pledged it will not accept contributions from oil, gas and coal corporations or executives. Trump has stressed his position that any major shift toward renewable energy resources away from fossil fuels will be a “job killer” leaving thousands of American workers unemployed during a ruinous economic depression. Biden says his strategy will create far more jobs in the fast-growing solar and wind energy sectors.

The Democratic candidate says his plan can be paid for by reversing the excesses of the Trump tax cuts for corporations, reducing incentives for tax havens, evasion and outsourcing, ensuring corporations pay their fair share, closing other loopholes in the tax code that reward wealth, not work, and ending subsidies for fossil fuels.

Candidates seeking to represent New Mexico in Congress are also being forced to state their position on climate change and what they would do to confront it. Former Albuquerque TV weatherman Mark Ronchetti is running as a Republican to take retiring Democratic Senator Tom Udall’s seat in Washington. He faces long-time Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat, and Libertarian Bob Walsh running for the senate seat.

Walsh, a retired scientist, has said computer models used to predict future greenhouse gas emissions produce contradictory conclusions about the effect of the earth’s cloud cover, among other uncertainties. “Each predicted climate has both costs and benefits,” he has said in campaign material. “Let’s stop requiring that worst-case assumptions direct policy.”

Ronchetti has been quoted as saying, “While the atmosphere is warming and there are steps we can take to protect our environment, we can’t restrict our economy when countries like China and India continue unrestricted pollution. “I oppose the Green New Deal, which includes provisions like guaranteed salaries for those who choose not to work.”

Lujan has taken a strong position on confronting climate change. “Climate change is an existential threat to our way of life. Congress should work to reduce our carbon footprint, increase clean energy production and create jobs. “That’s why I introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act, which has the support of environmental and labor groups because it would move our nation toward carbon-free electricity and create jobs.”

Running to replace Lujan in the U.S. House of Representatives are Democrat Theresa Leger Fernandez and Republican Alexis Johnson. Leger Fernandez has said “Climate change is an existential crisis. Congress must act to reduce carbon pollution, invest in wind and solar and pass clean energy tax incentives while reducing fossil fuel subsidies. The United States must also rejoin the Paris climate agreement.

Republican Johnson has said “I am an environmental engineer and have worked to make sure that not only are New Mexicans employed, but our energy was flowing and our environment was clean. I promote funding for Los Alamos Lab and Sandia National Labs as they are working on innovative technologies to promote the better utilization of our energy.”

As the two candidates for the presidency gear up campaigns in the final weeks before the November 3 election, news about the climate and the warming planet grows more dire despite hopeful trends.
• Last month was the warmest September on record for much of the world.
• Almost half of the United States is in a worsening drought. In California last month that drought and high temperatures were blamed in large part for the worst fire season in the state’s history.
• In New Mexico, climatologist Dave DuBois last month said he suspects climate change for increased aridity here and elsewhere in the Southwest. “The dry areas get drier, and it’s more erratic,” he said.
• Canada’s last intact ice shelf collapsed into icebergs at the end of July.
• Albuquerque’s West Mesa is expected to become a major center for solar power generation based on plans revealed in mid-October for an utility-scale 800 megawatt solar electric project.
• State officials in California said late last month they intend to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Fifteen countries have already announced similar plans.
• A former Corrales resident, reporter Laura Paskus, has published a book, At The Precipice: New Mexico’s Changing Climate, about the impacts of climate change already occuring and the urgent need for action.
• In the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, amost half of the coral colonies have died in the last 25 years due to the rise of oceanic temperature.
• New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department this month issued new rules to control releases of methane from oil and gas operations which account for about 62 percent of methane releases in this state. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases.
• The World Meteorological Organization published a report this month that global temperatures are causing “the increased frequency of extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts, flooding, winter storms, hurricanes and wildfires.”
• The snows of Kilimanjaro in East Africa, described by novelist Ernest Hemmingway in the 1930s, are melting.

Corrales Comment Editor Jeff Radford was the only New Mexico journalist to report from Paris on the 2015 Climate Accord convened by the United Nations. His reporting can be found at http://www.corralescomment.com.

With Election Day 2020 immediately ahead, the democratic process is in full swing. Regardless of which candidate or party it favors, the electorate seems to be far more engaged than at any time in recent memory. Maybe candidates proclaim it every election cycle, but this year both presidential candidates, Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, have loudly asserted this election is the most important in American history. That call for voters’ support echoes through down-ballot campaigns. Early and absentee voting seems to validate that.

Enthusiasm and determination are running high. As Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover put it, “I don’t care if you’re 18 and voting for the very first time or you’re 90 and you’ve voted your entire life, this is probably going to be the biggest election any of us has ever participated in.”

In an opinion article in the October 17 New York Times, Roger Cohen referred to the 2020 election as “a last stand for white America,” an assessment that encapsulates both resistance to the “Black Lives Matter” movement and reaction to election of the nation’s first African-American president in 2008 and 2016 and now, possibly, its first African-Asian-American vice-president in 2020.

In the run-up to November 3, huge monetary contributions poured in to the coffers of the two major parties up and down the ballot. Uncharacteristically, the Albuquerque Journal refrained from endorsing either Trump or Biden. In its October 18 editorial, the paper’s editorial board put it this way: “As early voting continues at a record-breaking pace, the one thing we can all agree on is that this is a critical presidential election, and it is important that every New Mexican and American exercise their right to vote.

“So who is the best person to lead our nation after COVID-19 and over the next four years?  Both candidates have track records our readers are familiar with, and the decision is in their —your— hands.”

The New York Times published an extraordinary condemnation of Trump’s presidency in its Sunday, October 18 issue, a ten-page blistering appraisal written by the Times’ Editorial Board. The front page of that special section led with a full-page headline: “Lies, Anger, Corruption, Incompetence, Chaos, Decay. End Our National Crisis. The Case Against Donald Trump.”

Anticipating the rush to vote absentee and early, Corrales Comment published its candidate profiles and election procedures in the October 10 issue. These can be read at the paper’s website, corralescomment.com. An abbreviated re-cap of that information can be found in this issue as well.

New material published in this issue focuses on the election of judges and ballot questions such as general obligation proposals and amendments to the N.M. Constitution. On the first proposed constitutional amendment, voters are asked whether the N.M. Public Regulation Commission should be changed so that its members are appointed by the governor rather than by the general electorate.

It is described in summary this way. “Proposing to amend the Constitution of New Mexico to provide that the Public Regulation Commission consist of three members appointed by the governor from a list of professionally qualified nominees submitted to the governor by a nominating committee as provided by law and that the commission is required to regulate public utilities and may be required to regulate other public service companies.”

Constitutional Amendment 2 involves the terms of officials elected to non-statewide positions. It is described this way: “Proposing to amend Article 20 Section 3 of the Constitution of New Mexico to permit the adjustment by law of terms of non-statewide offices, and to standardize the date an officer begins to serve.”

Neither amendment is printed verbatim on the ballot.The first proposed amendment to the State Constitution is by far the more controversial. To some observers, the change allowing the governor to appoint commissioners would invite corruption and unethical influence.

The proposal would transform the current five-member, elected commission into a three-member board appointed by the governor, with the N.M. Senate having confirmation power. No more than two of the three could be of the same political party.

Terms would be extended to six years (now four years), with a two consecutive term limit. In recent years, PRC deliberations and rulings have been controversial, especially as they address electrical power companies’ closure of coal-fired power plants and conversion to alternative energy sources. New Mexico’s Energy Transitions Act calls for the state’s electrical grid to be “carbon-free” by 2045. The PRC will rule on proposals to achieve that.

Corrales voters will be asked to choose between PRC incumbent Cynthia Hall (Democrat) and Janice Arnold-Jones (Republican) to represent the commission’s District 1. Both are Albuquerque residents. Arnold-Jones served in the N.M. Legislature during four terms, 2003 to 2011. She is retired from a business career that included work for nuclear energy-related firms.

Hall is a former attorney for the PRC and former commissioner for the Bernalillo County planning and zoning board. After her election, she joined the PRC in 2017.  Constitutional Amendment 2 would allow the staggering of terms for elective positions that are not statewide; it is expected to be most significant for judgeship races. The idea is to reduce the number of candidates, especially judges, appearing on the ballot for any given election. The State Legislature would be authorized to lengthen or shorten some terms so the contests did not all appear on a given year’s ballot.

This year, your decisions are sought on the following judgeship position and candidates.
• Justice of the N.M. Supreme Court, Position 1: Ned Fuller, Republican, or Shannon Bacon, Democrat.
• Justice of the N.M. Supreme Court, Position 2: David Thomson, Democrat, or Kerry Morris, Republican.
• N.M. Court of Appeals Judge, Position 1: Republican Barbara Johnson or Democrat Zach Ives.
• N.M. Court of Appeals, Position 2: Stephen Curtis, Libertarian, Shammara Henderson, Democrat, or Gertrude Lee, Republican.
• N.M. Court of Appeals, Position 3: Thomas Montoya, Republican, or Janes Yohalem, Democrat.
• District Court Judge: Chris Perez and James Noel have no opponent.

Voters will be asked whether the following judges serving in the 13th Judicial District should be retained, yes or no. Jacqueline Medina; James Lawrence Sanchez, George Eichwald, Allen Smith, Cindy Mercer and Cheryl Johnston. All of the above, with the exception of Judge Medina, were recommended for retention by the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission. No finding was made for Judge Medina because the evaluation commission said she had not been in office long enough to determine whether she should be retained in office. Voters will also be asked to decide four general obligation bond questions with implications for property taxes, three posed statewide and one specifically for Sandoval County residents.

The Sandoval County GO bond proposal would raise $1,975,000 for libraries around the county for books, supplies, equipment and other improvements. Respond for or against.

Statewide Bond Question A asks whether voters approve issuance of GO bonds to raise $34 million for senior citizen facilities and services. For or against. Statewide Bond Question B asks whether voters approve issuance of GO bonds to raise approximately $10 million for libraries around the state. For or against. State Bond Question C asks whether voters approve issuance of bonds to raise $156,385,475 to improve higher education institutions, special schools and tribal schools. For or against.

Here is the roster of other candidates closer to the top of the ballot, profiles of which were presented in the October 10 issue.
N.M. Senate District 9: Democrat Brenda McKenna and Republican John Clark
N.M. House District 23: Republican Ellis McMath and Democrat Daymon Ely
N.M. House District 44: Democrat Gary Tripp, Republican Jane Powdrell-Culbert and Libertarian Jeremy Myers
District Attorney, 13th Judicial District: Democrat Barbara Romo and Republican Joshua Joe Jimenez
Sandoval County Clerk: Republican Lawrence Griego and Democrat Anne Brady Romero
Sandoval County Treasurer: Democrat Jennifer Taylor and Republican Benay Ward
Sandoval County Commission: Republican Jay Block and Democrat Leah Michelle Ahkee-Baczkiewicz.

And in case you missed it, the contest for president of the United States pits incumbent Donald Trump, Republican, against former Vice-president Joe Biden, Democrat.

By Scott Manning
According to Catherine “Cat” Keller, the Animal Control office has not received many coyote reports over the summer, indicating that the coyote population remains at stable levels. Animal Control officers consistently record animal complaints from Corrales residents to determine what areas of the village to patrol. Keller explained that this summer they have received an increased number of snake reports, but coyote reports remain low.

Keller suggests that coyote reports should remain low because the Bosque Preserve currently has a relatively small rabbit population. Rabbits serve as a source of food for coyotes, so coyote numbers should reflect the amount of food available in the environment. Keller mentioned that coyotes may begin to repopulate the Salce Basin along Sabebrush Drive now that construction on the flood control project has ended. Animal Control continues to monitor this region of the village.

In the long term, coyote populations have remained relatively constant in Corrales. Animal Control officers have had to drive coyotes out of certain areas to prevent them from establishing living habits in a single location. Coyotes dislike loud noises, so Animal Control officers clap their hands and run after coyotes to drive them out of the region. Keller explains that many coyotes here now recognize animal control units and leave an area when Animal Control arrives.

These animal control practices aim to discourage repeated coyote activities in a single area of the village, yet Animal Control never intends to permanently remove coyotes from the bosque or village. Coyotes are predators in the local ecosystem, and the removal of coyotes from the environment would destabilize the ecological balance.

Coyotes are generally uncomfortable around people, and Keller affirms that there have been no reports of coyotes attacking Corrales residents. But coyotes have been known to threaten pets and small animals. To keep pets safe, Keller recommends that residents accompany their small dogs outside at all times. Cats should not be roaming outside, and residents should avoid leaving food exposed. As a final precaution, chicken coops should be secured with fencing that is stronger than chicken wire because chicken wire will not provide adequate protection. Animal Control has not encountered a coyote problem so far this summer. But Keller suggests that residents take the necessary precautions to keep their animals safe.

By Meredith Hughes
Should the $4.7 million that turned up unexpectedly in the Village coffers the end of 2019 be spent to finally implement the long-envisioned pathway project along Corrales Road? Former Corrales MainStreet board member and one time active marketer of all things Corrales, Deborah Blank, was on it swiftly. September 4 she wrote the following to Sandy Rasmussen, executive director of MainStreet in Corrales: “I’m delighted to learn of our unexpected windfall of $4.7 million. I foresee quite a long and I hope productive discussion about how to use this magnificent sum. As someone who advocated and lobbied for the pathway, of course I put it at the top of the list of candidates for funding.

“I would like to let you and the board know that many people contributed to a pathway fund two years ago. This effort, which was tied to Starry Night, raised over $20K —a number of individuals (personal friends of mine) gave more than one thousand dollars. Although I’m no longer active on the board, I am frequently asked about the pathway, and in particular, what happened to the donations.

“Speaking frankly, if the pathway is not a major recipient of this traunch of surprise funds, I think that MainStreet should —no, must— return the donations. That is only fair to supporters. Also, an update on pathway status would be appreciated in the next issue of the Corrales Comment.” As for the pathway project, two summers ago MainStreet launched a separate website for it, specifically to invite involvement financially and otherwise from Corraleños, who did indeed respond, as Blank referenced in her letter of September 4.

In April 2019, however, then State Senator John Sapien strongly urged the mayor and Village Council to re-think their support for the pathways project through the business district here. “Please take a second look at that pathway,” Sapien pleaded at the April 23 council meeting. “I think that’s the wrong direction for Corrales.” His remarks came during state legislators’ briefings on the 60-day session of the N.M. Legislature. Neither he nor State Representatives Jane Powdrell-Culbert or Daymon Ely sought funding for the long-proposed pathway project, and none was appropriated. But the project continued to crawl along; it was first proposed 23 years ago as Village officials sought designation of Corrales Road for the federal scenic and historic byway program. After citing his concerns at the council meeting, Sapien closed saying, “I do ask us to slow down on this project.”

On July 24 of 2019, this was posted on the pathway website, http://corralespathway.org : “The Village is in the process of hiring a design consultant to complete construction documents for the first phase of the PAR (Pathway) project. This work will include confirmation of the Phase I limits, extensive coordination with the NMDOT, a high level of community engagement, and will also consider parking requirements for pathway access. The resulting documents will make the first phase of the project ‘shovel ready.’” The website does not appear to have been updated since then. Rasmussen responded to Blank’s September 4, 2020 letter this way. “I will gladly share with the board!

“As you know, we have been working with the Village and New Mexico MainStreet. We have an $80K contract with Steve Grollman to do the construction documents that are needed to apply for any funding. We also have had numerous conversations with New Mexico Department of Transportation, in which the Village has been on the call also, just asking them to please OK the use of crusher fine (already used in another NMDOT path project in Santa Fe, which is in another district) so that we can get the drawings completed and look for funds. “The Village administration has been very supportive but they are also frustrated with NMDOT, on other issues besides ours, too.

“It would seem simple to have the engineer just proceed and do the plans like we want them but if the NMDOT objected at that point, we would be out a large sum of money to then redraw plans. We are just as frustrated as you and your friends but we also do not have the authority or money to buy land to put it off NMDOT right-of-way. Maybe an article in the Comment could help or anger NMDOT; NMMS is trying to help also.

“I will also share your letter with the Administration…yes, some of that money could be nice for at least matching funds! Will keep you posted!” As of October 5, it still was uncertain as to when or how decisions on allocating the $4.7 million would be made.

Crawfish étouffée, beignets, filet au poivre, food for fans of Louisiana is now being served up at C3’s Bistro, whose owners moved into the spot most recently held by Las Ristras Restaurant at Village Plaza, 4940 Corrales Road. Corrales’ Cajun Creole Bistro had its soft opening recently, and awaits a full service grand opening in 45-60 days once its wine and beer license has been secured. C3’s is already working with Ex Novo Brewery across the road to provide edibles to their customers.

The new restaurant’s owners have years of experience in food service, bought the traditional French restaurant P’tit Louis Bistro on Nob Hill in November, and once C3’s is fully launched, expect to open more than one location for an “all things waffle” venture called AJ’s Waffology. One of the owners said that “Corrales is known for supporting Corrales business,” so he jumped at the chance to open up at the Village Plaza.

Indoor dining now is at 25 percent capacity, with ten tables in place outdoors at the east end of the building. Posting on social media as C3’s Bistro, the restaurant is open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Mondays. 398-9449. The bistro is a boost for Corrales as well as the plaza itself which in fact is for sale, listed by Collier International at $1,795,000. The 12,000 square foot property built in 2008 houses nine tenants at the moment.

Cast your ballot —carefully. A lot’s at stake in the 2020 election, and it’s not just a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Despite the current president’s persistently low approval rating nationwide, many Corrales Republicans chagrined by Trump’s antics and attitude will vote for him nonetheless for reasons that include a concern that the nation is moving toward socialism. And some Corrales Democrats will vote for Biden hoping that it is. The latter see an urgent need for universal health care, economic fairness and regulations on activities and industries substantially contributing to climate change and accompanying hardships.

Those are not the only top-tier issues that may be —partially— addressed in results from the 2020 elections, so candidates’ positions on gun control/Second Amendment rights, women's reproductive choices and other hot-button topics will be closely examined.

The League of Women Voters’ election guide is an excellent resource. Nationally, pundits, columnists and news analysts have warned that our very form of government is at stake. columnist Thomas Friedman, for example, advised, “I can’t say this any more clearly: our democracy is in terrible danger —more danger than it has been since 1861, more danger than after Pearl Harbor, more danger than during the Cuban missile crisis or Watergate.”

On October 2, columnist George Will called for cancellation of the next presidential debates. “The national interest —actually, national security— demands that the other two scheduled mortifications, fraudulently advertised as debates, should be canceled.” No one knows how Trump testing positive for COVID-19 will influence voting which began by mail October 6, nor whether he actually will refuse to accept election results if he loses.

Published in this issue are Corrales Comment’s candidate profiles for local races, based on taped phone interviews. Over the past 37 years, this newspaper has presented those profiles in the edition just before election day. But this year, due to intense interest in early and absentee voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, this material is offered in early October.

In Corrales, early in-person voting is done at the old Community Center, behind the Corrales Senior Center, east of Wells Fargo Bank, Mondays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting October 17 and available through October 31. Mail-in early voting started October 6.

For absentee voting, the cut-off date is October 20, Village Clerk Aaron Gjullin pointed out. He anticipates that all in-person voting on election day will be at the Corrales Recreation Center, southwest of the post office.

In the first presidential debate September 29, candidate Trump repeatedly warned viewers that a vote for his rival would lead inexorably to socialism and threaten America’s greatness. For his part, Biden carefully avoided any tinge of socialism, although clearly it has been the biggest controversy within the Democratic Party since “democratic socialist” Bernie Sanders energized millions of potential voters in the run-up to the June primaries.

An e-mail blitz from the Republican Party of New Mexico October 5 attempted to rally supporters, warning, “Socialism has infiltrated the Democratic Party and is being pushed by far-left politicians across the country…, Vote red at the ballot box to defeat socialism and save our country!”

This election will fill all of New Mexico’s congressional positions as well as all seats in the N.M. Legislature and two members of the N.M. Regulation Commission. Below are profiles for Republican and Democratic candidates running for seats in the N.M. Legislature and Sandoval County government. All candidates were interviewed except for the Libertarian seeking the N.M. House District 44 seat, who declined.

Presented here are those seeking to replace the Corrales Democrat, John Sapien, who is not seeking re-election in N.M. Senate District 9: Placitas Republican John Clark and Corrales Democrat Brenda McKenna; N.M. House District 23: Corrales Democrat Daymon Ely and Albuquerque Republican Ellis McMath; N.M. House District 44: Corrales Republican Jane Powdrell-Culbert and Rio Rancho Democrat Gary Tripp; District Attorney in the 13th Judicial District: Rio Rancho Democrat Barbara Romo and Los Lunas Republican Josh Jimenez; Sandoval County Commissioner District 2: Rio Rancho Republican Jay Block and Rio Rancho Democrat Leah Ahkee Baczkiewicz; Sandoval County Clerk: Democrat Anne Brady Romero and Republican Lawrence Griego; and Sandoval County Treasurer: Republican Benay Ward and Democrat Jennifer Taylor.

Corrales voters may be giving more attention to hotly contested races for seats in Congress, such as the battle to replace retiring U.S. Senator Tom Udall and that being vacated by now Congressman Ben Ray Lujan who is instead running for Udall’s seat in the senate. But ample —perhaps more than ample— exposure has been given to those candidates Corrales voters will see on their ballot: former television weatherman Republican Mark Ronchetti and Ben Ray Lujan vying for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated; and New Mexico’s Third Congressional District race with Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez and Republican Alexis Johnson.

Lots of other entries appear on the ballot, including seats on the N.M. Supreme Court and N.M. Court of Appeals and the N.M. Public Regulation Commission. Candidates for those positions were not interviewed by Corrales Comment. Candidate profiles are presented here in the order in which they were available for interview by phone.

N.M. Senate District 9
Placitas Republican John Clark faces Corrales Democrat Brenda McKenna to replace current Senator John Sapien, who is not seeking reelection. In recent years, Sapien won narrowly in a district considered pretty evenly split.

Brenda McKenna
Democrat
A Nambé Pueblo member and Corrales resident since 2018, Brenda McKenna is currently a field representative for Congresswoman Deb Haaland.

If she wins the District 9 seat, one of her priorities will be assuring a tuition-free college education for New Mexicans. She also favors universal pre-kindergarten schooling for all three- and four-year-olds. Among other policies, McKenna wants a faster transition to clean, renewable energy. “We need to incentivize the use of electric vehicles through an EV tax credit that increases the lower your household income is.”

She pointed out that “New Mexico ranks second in the nation for solar potential and 12th for wind. The recent Energy Transition Act will lead our state to close to 9,000 clean energy jobs by 2030 and over $4 billion in investment, and slow down climate change. Let’s make sure some of those jobs are in our senate district.” The candidate lived abroad for much of her youth since her father served in the Navy and Air Force during the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts. After high school in Pojoaque, she earned a degree in psychology at Syracuse University and later a master’s degree in organizational development from Central Washington University in 2001.

She has had a long-standing interest in government and public policy, working as a part-time lobbyist in Santa Fe from 2013 to 2018. Among the causes she championed: a ban on coyote-killing contests. “I know how things work in the Roundhouse.” She is also an advisor to Wildlife Conservation Advocacy Southwest. McKenna has served as public relations director for the central New Mexico chapter of the League of Women Voters.

The decision to run for the state senate was “a natural progression for me. I’m a long-time Democratic Party volunteer, and was a precinct chair for years when I was in Bernalillo.  Folks had asked me before to run for office, and this year I finally said, ‘okay, I’ll be serious about this because they obviously see something in me and they think I’m good for the job.’” Plus, she added, “We need more women in the senate and more Native Americans.”

In the party primary in June, McKenna took nearly 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race, winning over two other Corraleños, Ben Rodefer and Kevin Lucero. She is aware that her contest this time is likely to be close. “We know that the general election is a brand-new race, and it will be a challenge. We accepted that a long time ago. We’re determined to keep this seat under Democratic leadership.” If elected, she expects to have to “shore up our recovery from the pandemic, especially assisting small businesses.’

She said she would work to protect funding for education, which will be tough given precipitous drops in oil and gas revenues. She supports gun control measures such as the “Red Flag” law passed by the N.M. Legislature which would allow a law enforcement officer to temporarily remove a firearm from someone considered a danger to him or herself or others.

“I’ve lost six family members or friends to gun violence,” McKenna said. “Domestic violence and firearm violence are sensitive issues for me. It’s something I care a great deal about. And when we go out, to fear being shot by a stray bullet. “The ‘Red Flag’ law is now on the books and it’s a very good start, but it may need some refinement. At least it shows that New Mexico is serious about curbing gun violence.”

The Democrat said she would work to diversify New Mexico’s economy so that it does not remain so dependent on oil and gas revenues. That would include encouraging renewable energy as well as legalizing recreational cannabis use. “That would be one source of tax revenue that would be helpful to us, as well as revenue from wind technology.” But she’s cautious about proposing a moratorium on fracking for oil and gas “because that’s an important source of revenue and that’s the industry that many New Mexicans work in. Having a plan for renewable energy grounded in science and the technology to do it is the way forward, but we just need to be politically willing to do it.

“I’m really excited about wind technology. I like the leases that SunZia recently signed with the State Land Commissioner. New Mexico has some of the best wind assets in the country, so we need to utilize them.” The State should facilitate expanding broadband internet service, she suggested, especially on tribal lands. “I’d really like to help remedy that.”

McKenna hopes she can attract support from independents as well as Republicans in her bid for the Senate District 9 seat. “I’m the leader that the district needs,” she said. “I will not be outworked and I will be accountable.” The candidate promised to hold town hall style meetings before and after each session of the legislature “to explain what I voted for and why.”

John Clark
Republican
Describing himself as a conservative businessman, the Placitas resident says he’s “running for public office to thwart partisan politics and to prevent government over-reach and control of our businesses, schools, liberties and inalienable rights.”

After a career with Hunter Douglas window coverings especially around Atlanta, he moved to New Mexico in 1994 to start a related business, JC Blinds, “and to live a dream in a place I believe has the most breathtaking sunsets and best weather in the nation.”

The candidate said he lived in Corrales for six months; “it’s a nice bedroom community that I know it is very safe. But you can’t say that about Albuquerque. We have a rampant crime problem that needs to be addressed. I’d never want to see any kind of legislation that would make it easier for people to sue police officers. That would make it more difficult for police officers to do their job correctly. I would never vote for legislation that would do away with conditional immunity.”

Cutting crime will lead to more economic development, Clark contends. “If we have lower crime, we’ll be able to attract more and more business to New Mexico.” That, in turn, would allow younger New Mexicans to find good jobs here rather than relocate out of state, he said. Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Northern Colorado, during which time he was a legislative intern for Colorado State Senator Al Meiklehohn.

“I will certainly not raise taxes. I’ve already signed a pledge not to raise taxes, so my constituencies can rely on me not to raise taxes. I will vote against any legislation to raise taxes.” He said state officials need to commit to protecting the environment, although he said he supports development of all energy resources, wind, solar, coal, oil and gas… we need it all.

“We’re pretty dependent on oil and gas; they drive out state’s economy, and employ a lot of people. Clark said he wants to see New Mexico rank big nationally for good factors, not negative ones. “I don’t want our state to be last any more. I want us to be first in something. We could be number one in the country in retirement if we offered incentives for people to retire here.”

That would mean eliminating tax on Social Security income, he said, “and we would have to do away with income tax, at least for people over 65 years of age. “Those are just some ideas; I don’t know how they would fly in the legislature because I’m just a business guy. But you know what? We need incentives to get people to move here. As we get more people to move here, that will also create jobs.” Clark said he is “pro-life” and pro-oil and gas. “I don’t think the science is in on any negative effects from fracking whether it’s detrimental to the environment. I’m willing to listen to both sides, but right now I’m pro-oil because I’m pro-New Mexico.”

The candidate is opposed to legalizing recreational use of marijuana, although he supports use of medical cannabis. “I think that system runs incredibly well in this state. I think medical marijuana is fine, but I don’t want to see legalized recreational marijuana. We already have problems and don’t want to see more problems because we make it easier for people to smoke weed.” Clark rejects proposals for gun control, citing his own permit for concealed carry of firearms. “I am pro-Second Amendment, and the right of everybody in this country to bear arms.” He said he is not particularly familiar with the “Red Flag” law adopted by the State Legislature although “I don’t support any infringements on our fundamental constitutional rights.”

The candidate said people tell him they are “deeply concerned about the direction our beautiful state is headed. New Mexicans say they want to step up and fight against this anti-American movement, but feel defenseless, voiceless, and don’t know how or where to begin. I accept the volunteer duty of standing in the gap for New Mexicans, to become a stong, effective voice in the senate.”

Clark pointed to his long business experience as a strong reason to vote for him. “My business experience tells a lot. If you want to find out how I would perform in this seat in the senate, you can look at the reviews for the way I’ve run my business for the last 27 years. That would be indicative for how I would run that seat. “Regardless of whether people vote for me or not, they are going to be my constituents because I plan on winning. I’m going to treat them just like I treat my customers.”

N.M. House District 23
Incumbent State Representative Daymong Ely, a Corrales Democrat, faces Albuquerque Republican Ellis McMath.

Ellis McMath
Republican
After his daughter, Brenda Boatman, ran unsuccessfully against Daymon Ely for the House District 23 seat in 2018, Ellis McMath wants a chance to unseat him. And basically, he’d like to undo just about everything his opponent has done in the legislature. McMath is a retired air traffic controller, having started that career in the Navy. He grew up in Albuquerque’s west side Paradise Hills community and went on to Eastern New Mexico State University in Roswell.

He spent 22 years with the Federal Aviation Administration, but soon signed up as a reserve officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. He is also an instructor for concealed-carry firearms. His Democratic opponent was a key backer of the legislature’s “Red Flag” law which allows guns to be temporarily confiscated from a person procedurally determined to be a danger to himself or herself or others. McMath is steadfastly opposed to that.

“The ‘Red Flag’ bill, in effect July 2020, is just the beginning of an unlawful gun grab by Daymon liberals,” he argues. “My opponent is the one who got it pushed through.”

McMath said he supports “permitless carry of concealed handguns for those not prohibited by federal law to own a gun. Criminals fear armed citizens more than the police.”

He contends the new law is unconstitutional and “puts law enforcement officers at risk.” If elected, he would work to repeal the “Red Flag” law. “Thirty of the 33 sheriffs in New Mexico say that is not a good law. It puts law enforcement at risk because they are given a court order to go unannounced into someone’s house who has not committed a crime to take their guns away from them. You can imagine how people might react to that.”

Asked to indicate other contrasts between his candidacy and that of his opponent, McMath explained, “Employees should have the right to decide for themselves whether to join or pay dues to unions. States with right-to-work laws increase employment more than union states and have a higher median income.”

“Education freedom will equal wiser kids. We should allow open competition between education providers. Money should follow our children, not institutions. Vouchers or tax credits should be issued allowing parents to choose public, charter, private or home school options.”

“Abortion law reform. Abortion has become a human trafficking issue. Albuquerque is known as the late-term abortion capital of the USA. Young teenagers are transported into Albuquerque without their parents’ knowledge. This is a human right issue.” If elected McMath would work for legislation to restrict late-term abortions and prohibit such procedures without parental notification.

He would like to see New Mexico’s gross receipts tax eliminated, as well as state tax on Social Security income. “I’ve been told that the gross receipts tax we have here is a real job-killer. The way we do it amounts to a triple tax, so that’s a reason why businesses choose to locate in neighboring states like Texas and Arizona. “Another thing I’m upset about, and a lot of people are upset about is that Ely has pushed for a law that would not allow right-to-work. That kind of legislation is a reason why New Mexico is lagging in economic development.”

He sees a need to reform the state’s licensing procedures to make it easier for people to enter the work force.  As it is now, he contends, the licensing process for such professions as landscaping are designed to suppress competition, favoring those who already have the state-required permits. “Licensing was supposed to raise the quality of services, but these licensing laws protect those who already have licenses from competition.

“Daymon Ely is all about supporting unions. That’s a difference between him and me.” The candidate said he does not favor legalizing recreational use of marijuana at this time. “I’m currently opposed but trying to keep an open mind. We need to study the data from other states like Colorado and California to see what impact that might have here on our work force, our health and criminal justice.” McMath says he would be a voice for conservative values in the N.M.  House, holding down state government spending and repealing laws that restrict freedom. “When government takes more money, citizens’ freedoms suffer.”

Daymon Ely
Democrat
If he wins another term as representative for House District 23, Corrales Democrat Daymon Ely says it will be his last. When he first won the seat in 2016, he said he did not intend to stay in it long.

“It’s not because I don’t like the job. I do, very much. But I like my wife even more,” he said last month. Since he was elected, Ely has become a major force driving progressive issues, including ones that infuriate conservatives. New Mexico’s “Red Flag” law, for example, probably would not have passed without his advocacy for it. “That’s a bill that’s going to work when people start to realize what we’re doing.”

He has also been a strong proponent for legalizing recreational use of cannabis. “We spend lots of money locking people up for marijuana. Those same people, if they crossed the state line into Colorado, wouldn’t even be arrested. I have been the sponsor every year for de-criminalizing marijuana. I think we’re getting there. I think this will be the session when it happens.”

An attorney in private practice, Ely proudly points out his specialty is suing other lawyers. “For the past 25 years, the majority of my work has been litigating against lawyers.” While serving as a Sandoval County commissioner from 2000 to 2004, he was the County’s lead negotiator for a deal that produced the largest industrial revenue bond in U.S. history for a $16 billion expansion of Intel’s operations here. In the legislature, he considers his major accomplishments to include creation of a state government ethics commission that was “40 years in the making” and criminal justice reform.

The Democrat was born in Philadelphia, but his family moved to Arizona shortly thereafter. He was a history major when he graduated from Arizona State University in 1979. He earned a law degree there in 1982, the same year he moved to the Albuquerque area.

Ely did labor law and contract work for a law firm and then set out on his own in 1989. Creating pre-conditions for good paying jobs has been a major interest since he was dismayed that his son had to leave the state for employment. In the state legislature, he sponsored a bill authorizing $400 million in loans for local businesses hit by the pandemic.

One of the main campaign issues for his opponent, Ely said, is retaining the state’s law making abortion illegal. “He is against us de-criminalizing abortion, and I’m for it.” In the next session of the legislature, Ely expects to help pass a bill that gives legislators more control over the governor’s emergency powers during crises such as the spreading coronavirus. Among his accomplishments in the House, he pointed to streamlining the Public Employees Bargaining Act. “That was a big deal because it will give employees and public employers the ability to reconcile differences.”

The candidate said he has devoted a lot of time to criminal justice reform. “I’m not a criminal lawyer, but on a bipartisan basis, we are working hard to develop a system that, for the 94 percent of people who enter the criminal justice system who are going to be back on the street, we want programs that help them not go back to prison and have productive lives. “Believe it or not, the Koch brothers are good on this issue, because they see locking people up forever is a waste of taxpayer money.”

Another recurring interest is internet broadband accessibility, he said “What I’m working on right now is trying to develop better broadband access for the whole state —not fiber optic, because that’s too expensive and too time-consuming. What I hope we can do is help a New Mexico business put up floating dirigibles at a fraction of the cost, which, if it works, gives everybody internet. That would be a game-changer for New Mexico.”

Ely acknowledges that Republicans dislike his strong advocacy for unions. “I really have been, because ultimately, it levels the playing field. I recognize that unions have not had the greatest reputation over time, but there really isn’t any substitute for levelling the playing field.”

Ely wants to explore subsidizing wind and solar power projects in the short term so that later, taxes on those projects on state-owned lands can replace revenue to the State from oil and gas. “That way we would not be so reliant on oil and gas to replenish the State’s permanent fund.

“I am not in favor of having a complete tax overhaul right away, because the danger is unintended consequences, so you have to do it in little bites.” He described his opponent as a lock-step conservative Republican, while “I would say I am between a moderate and progressive Democrat.”

House District 44
Corrales Republican Jane Powdrell-Culbert is seeking a tenth term representing N.M House District 44. She faces Rio Rancho Democrat Gary Tripp and Rio Rancho Libertarian Jeremy Myers. The Libertarian declined to be interviewed for a candidate profile, saying “I’d prefer not to do that.”

Gary Tripp
Democrat
A former principal at Rio Rancho High School, Gary Tripp is running for the House District 44 seat with objectives that include improving education, bringing corruption under control and setting term limits for legislators. “In contrast to Jane, I’m a candidate that would like to represent the people, but to serve a limited time. I’ve always believed in term limits. Control in government becomes unbalanced when one stays too long.”

If elected, he said, “I will propose to other legislators that we have term limits in government.” He suggested that might mean a limit of eight years in any body of government.

Tripp said he would like to assure that interests of New Mexico’s business community get consistent attention in the legislature. “We need to stay highly engaged with our business partners. I’d like to see a weekly, or at least bimonthly communications link with small businesses in District 44 to discuss ideas that would help them grow.

“I think it’s happening now, but I could make it happen consistently and often.”He speaks highly of his opponent, adding that when he was principal, he invited Powdrell-Culbert to be the first guest speaker at an annual dinner 15 years ago. Tripp, raised in Las Vegas, has 38 years as an educator in New Mexico, starting at Moriarty High. He earned a degree in education from Highlands University in 1984 and his master’s in administration in 1987. After his 17-year stint in Moriarty, he became Rio Rancho High’s assistant principal shortly after it opened, followed by appointment as principal a year later.

In 2004, Tripp was hired as executive director of the N.M Activities Association. After nine years there, he returned to education, serving as principal at Zia Pueblo’s elementary and middle school from 2012 to 2015.

In 2015, he was appointed chief of staff for the Rio Rancho School System’s superintendent. That led to his current position with Cooperative Educational Services, assisting teachers gain administrative licensure. He resigned from that position December 31, 2019 to run for office. “I’m running because I have things to offer. I’ve always been a relationship-builder, and I’m a work horse. Being a person of humble beginnings, coming up from poverty, that’s something I can offer.

He noted that about 42 percent of the State budget is devoted to education, so he would like to see legislators devote 52 percent of their time on assuring education is improved. “We need to have a strategic plan and stick to it,” rather than shift every time a new governor is elected. “I’m not a fan of fracking or of oil and gas,” the candidate pointed out. “I think we can diversify our economy with renewable energy sources.”

He would emphasize promotion of financial literacy for children in kindergarten through high school. “I think we would have less people in poverty in the future.” The candidate said he has been giving a lot of attention to the issue of marijuana use since launching his campaign. “I would vote for legalizing recreational marijuana. Talking to firemen and police officers, the number one issue they face routinely is alcohol use, not marijuana use. It’s a big problem with drinking and driving and domestic violence.” “Vote for me because I’m just like you, and I will get up and work for you every day.”

Jane Powdrell-Culbert
Republican
Seeking voter approval for a sixth term as Representative for House District 44, Jane Powdrell-Culbert wants to finish infrastructure projects she’s worked on for a long time, such as the Highway 550 corridor through Bernalillo and improvements for Loma Larga and Corrales Road.

But she’d also like to change the kinds of assistance provided to law enforcement. “How can we better protect the law enforcement community as well as our own communities?” she asked, referring to the national turmoil over accusations of police brutality against African-Americans. “Everybody’s scared now. That’s real prevalent.” For youth today, relationships with police are far different than they were 50 years ago, she explained. “What we had back then is not working now. We’re dealing with a whole different set of attitudes toward law enforcement.”

Powdrell-Culbert suggests the State might consider requiring that psychological evaluations be given after an officer has worked in tense settings for five to seven years. She said it’s common for an agency to administer such a test when an officer is hired, but it might be necessary for a re-evaluation years later when he or she may have become jaded by chronic exposure to stressful confrontations. Albuquerque-born, she was one of the nation’s first black women to be hired as a stewardess for a major airline. But that career was short-lived when she encountered racial tension in Chicago where she had gone for training.

By the mid-1970s she was the wife of a Washington Redskins defensive end, living in Reston, Virginia. By 1978 she was divorced and back in Albuquerque working for Lee Galles in public relations and advertising. Shortly thereafter, she worked in public relations for the Albuquerque Police Department.

It was in that role that she became a public figure. When Garrey Carruthers won the governorship, he appointed her as executive director for the N.M. Commission on the Status of Women. She resigned from that position in late 1989 when her new husband, Army Reserve officer Clarence Culbert, Jr., was assigned to duty in the Washington, DC area. She was hired by the National Rifle Association to travel nationwide advocating gun safety from 1993 to 1996. By 1998, the couple was back in New Mexico where Colonel Culbert went to work for Intel; they moved into a home on Corrales’ Richard Road. In 2000, she ran for the House District 44 seat and won.

The candidate has made a point of bipartisanship and finding common interests. “Over the years, we’ve had feuds between Corrales and Rio Rancho, Rio Rancho and Bernalillo and Corrales and Bernalillo, but my focus has always been on what we all have in common. I want to work on things that affect the entire region.” She said she works really well with the Democratic Representative for District 23, Daymon Ely, since they both seek bipartisan solutions.

“I’m good at what I do and I love doing it,” the candidate said. explaining why she’s running again. This time she has both a Democratic and a Libertarian who want her seat. “I had more experience coming into the legislature than either of these guys has. My two opponents can’t even come close to my experience.”

While funding for education continues to be a priority for her, “over my five terms, pay for teachers has really increased a lot, and our facilities are generally up to date. Now in order for us as a state to move ahead, we need to get better parental and guardian involvement.” That could help remedy the situation that now requires teachers to spend 60 to 70 percent of their time on discipline, she contended. Powdrell-Culbert does not support legalizing recreational marijuana, which she considers a “gateway drug,” and she would repeal the new “Red Flag” law for guns.

District Attorney
13th Judicial District
The current long-time DA for counties that include Sandoval, Democrat Lemuel Martinez, is not seeking re-election. Democrat Barbara Romo is running to replace him, opposed by Republican Josh Jimenez.

Barbara Romo
Democrat
As Chief Deputy District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District that includes Corrales, Barbara Romo points to her 24 years as a prosecutor that yielded a number of high profile convictions. She had been an Assistant DA since February 2011 before she was appointed chief deputy in 2014. She earned her law degree in Nebraska in 1995; her first job was working in the DA’s office for Sierra County. In 2001 she worked as a prosecutor in Santa Fe where she handled crimes against children. Romo left to join a non-profit, the Victims’ Right Project, for two years representing crime victims.

If elected, one of her main goals would be to secure better funding for prosecutions in the three counties that comprise the district, which has seen spill-over crime from the greater metropolitan area. She expects to be successful because she already has relationships with legislators. She intends to be a hands-on DA. “My management style is to be in the courtroom a lot. I believe in leading by example.” She has prosecuted more than 100 jury trials, one of which involved the killing of a Rio Rancho policeman. While she was lead prosecutor in that case, “I have the supervisory experience necessary as well.”

Romo said she will address the ongoing issue of turnover within the DA’s office. Retention can be improved by determining salaries based on merit and experience and by implementing quality-of-life programs that allow employees to take more time for their families. “We’ve lost a lot of talented people who move on to greener pastures. I want to make the 23th Judicial District the greener pasture that everybody wants to come to.”

She intends to fill several positions that have remained vacant due to budget constraints. The office should have two investigators, but one of those positions remains unfilled, she said. “I truly believe I am the best person for this job or I wouldn’t be running. I’m ready to lead the district from day one. I’ve got a proven record of success. “This is something I feel strongly about, and I know I can make a difference.”

Joshua Jimenez
Republican
As a Deputy District Attorney in the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque from February 2018 to October 2019, Josh Jimenez secured convictions for murders, voluntary manslaughter and property crimes. He’s now working in a private law practice.

But he also has experience in the 13th Judicial District, in which he hopes to be elected DA. He worked in the current DA’s Belen office from October 2016 to February 2018. That involved supervising 10 attorneys and 11 support staff. “I assigned all criminal cases and approved proposed plea agreements,” the candidate explained. The candidate earned his law degree from the University of Idaho in 2010, three years after his bachelor’s degree in economics at Brigham Young University in Provo. He was a Mormon missionary in California from 2002 to 2004.

He said he decided to run after realizing the inefficiencies in the 13th District after learning how the DA’s office in Albuquerque is run. “I found myself thinking about the surprising inefficiencies and what could be done to modify the way things are done in the 13th Judicial District,” Jimenez said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Some functions just aren’t being done well the way his opponent manages the DA’s office, he contends. “I don’t know whether this is happening because she was told to do things that way or because that’s the way she wants it. When I was there, it was such a nightmare trying to get discovery information collected. “We would request police officers’ video recordings, but sometimes it wouldn’t be turned over in time. In one case, it wasn’t turned over until after the case went to trial.”

Jimenez said he has a lot of experience working on drug court cases in Valencia County. “To the extent possible, we tried to avoid incarceration. It really bothers me that drug court has been under-utilized. While I was there, I did see a noticeable drop in cases being referred to drug court.” Similarly, he would like to see more use of pre-prosecution diversion without taking cases to trial. “I don’t know that we’re maximizing that potential. It’s something we can do for first-time offenders.”

At the same time, he’s critical of what he called a tendency to “catch-and-release” those apprehended. “We do have people who are a danger to the community, so we need to file cases and get those people in front of a judge.” Jimenez said protecting children would be a priority if he wins the DA position. “We need to think outside the box to cut crime in this area.” He said that would include improving methods of identifying children at risk. He asks villagers to “vote for me for better prosecutions and safer communities.”

Sandoval County Commission
Incumbent Republican Jay Block of Rio Rancho faces Rio Rancho Democrat Leah Ahkee Baczkiewicz in the race for the District 2 seat on the Sandoval County Commission.

Jay Block
Republican
Elected after he retired as an Air Force lieutenant colonel at Kirtland Air Force Base in 2016, the incumbent Sandoval County District 2 commissioner seeks another term. He now works as a nuclear weapons consultant and in private industry where he has helped his firm triple in size since 2016.

“As an officer in a very technical field for over 20 years, I had to look at lots of data and metrics, and think through issues to solve problems to accomplish the mission. I was able to do that successfully by working with others to get the job done. This is what I have done on the commission, working with Democrats and Republicans to get things done for the county, and I will continue to do that in a second term.”

A New Hampshire native, he joined the Air Force Reserves just out of high school. He later earned a degree from North Dakota State University in 1995, followed by a master’s degree in 2001. In his military career, he served as a nuclear policy officer in the Pentagon and volunteered for a combat tour in Afghanistan 2005-2006 during which he organized humanitarian missions in the Kabul area.

As a commissioner, Block has made a special effort to give a quarterly briefing to the mayor and Village Council regarding issues before the commission. Most recently he followed up after the meeting with a joint news conference with the mayor and the Fire Department to show off a $56,000 trailer to use in the Bosque Preserve to incinerate forest litter to counter wildfire threats. He has also helped deliver “Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding for two businesses here, the Ex Novo brewery and Ideum.

The candidate has pushed to establish a new veterans’ cemetery in Sandoval County. He has also delivered funds for the Corrales Arts Center and Corrales MainStreet’s pathway project in the commercial district. Block was chosen by Common Cause New Mexico for its local government award in 2018 for his efforts for ethics and transparency. He said his priorities for a new term will be public safety, economic development, roads such as continued improvements for upper Meadowlark, and a new animal shelter.

Leah Ahkee Baczkiewicz
Democrat
The Democrat challenging the incumbent for the District 2 seat on the County Commission is home health care therapist Leah Ankee Baczkiewicz who disagrees with him on multiple issues. She is currently vice-chairperson for the county Democratic Party, and serves on the party’s state central committee. She is a 2018 graduate of a program training women to run for office.

Ahkee Baczkiewicz was raised in Cuba within the Navajo heritage. Her mother is from Ojo Encino, west of Cuba, and her father is from Shiprock. “I decided to run for a seat on the Sandoval County Commission primarily because I don’t feel that I, and many others, are adequately represented by the current commissioner for District 2.

“He has supported resolutions that do not align with our values.” One of the biggest contrasts between her views and those of her opponent is concern for the environment, especially regarding water resources and response to climate change. “I believe we are going through a climate crisis in the Southwest. We need to save our water resources.”

“Our ecosystem is primarily a desert where water is scarce; our warming planet is putting this precious resource in jeopardy.” A key response, she said, is to “work with State government to encourage renewable energy sources to move away from oil and gas extraction. “I live in Rio Rancho, and there is a lot of land west of here where the commission was catering to oil and gas exploration. Of course, that would possibly bring fracking.” Another disagreement involves support for unions. She opposes what she refers to as “right to work… for less” provisions before the commission. “I definitely believe workers should have the right to organize for better wages and safe work spaces. I have a history of having a union fight for us when I worked in the Roswell school district.”

She described as “volatile” the commission’s designating Sandoval County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.” “I would not agree with that,” she pointed out. “I believe we need regulations on firearms. I am not against guns, so that’s not the issue.” The candidate supports the State’s new “Red Flag” law allowing police officers to temporarily remove a gun from the home of someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. She entered the occupational therapy profession through a program at Eastern New Mexico University in Roswell where she was working toward a degree in education. “I got diverted,” she explained. “I’ve been doing this for 23 years now.”

Sandoval County Clerk
Anne Brady Romero, the Democratic candidate to replace the current Sandoval County Clerk, is now Chief Deputy Clerk. Her opponent in the November 3 election is Republican Lawrence Griego, who has more than 14 years’ experience in county government.

Anne Brady Romero
Democrat
Having worked in the Sandoval County Clerk’s office for more than a decade, the candidate is now Chief Deputy County Clerk and considers herself ready for the top job. She has been second in command for more than seven years. Among innovations she has overseen have been the recording of documents on line and improvements in the County’s Bureau of Elections.

“One of the things I’d like to implement if I’m elected is a new Native American Advisory Committee made up of the Pueblo governors or their designees.” Among the topics they might consider is use of mobile voting units that would visit Pueblos and other rural areas. “I would like to implement that so we can go out and register people to vote. “And if we do get the voting unit, I would like to use it in Rio Rancho and other communities for voter registration and information and collecting ballots.”

Another priority for Brady Romero is to make sure that all voting sites comply with provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act. “Hopefully, when I am County Clerk, that will happen.” She pointed out that, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Pueblo officials are “very hesitant to allow people into their pueblos, which I completely understand, since I am a cancer survivor who went through all that last year during which I was able to work the entire time.”

The candidate said she is confident that voting for this year’s elections will not be vulnerable to attack. “That is all controlled by the N.M. Secretary of State, and she has done a terrific job preparing for the elections. I don’t think there’s going to be any problem.

“But rather than standing around waiting to vote on election day, you can request an absentee ballot which will be mailed to you. You can then research your candidates and then fill out the ballot and take it to any polling place or early voting site. The Secretary of State assures us there will be secure ballot drop box where both a Republican and Democrat will be stationed.

“If you’re not comfortable putting your ballot in the mail, you have that option which is phenomenal. That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve already requested my absentee ballot.” But anticipating heavy voting for the 2020 election, officials have agreed to halt vote counting at 11 p.m. November 3 and resume the following morning since “mistakes are made when people are tired.” Brady Romero said she’s the best choice for County Clerk “because I know the job. I have the experience and dedication for it. I promise transparency and honesty.”

Lawrence Griego
Republican
The man who wants to become Sandoval County Clerk, Lawrence Griego, grew up in Alameda but says he has deep roots in Corrales. He explained he is a direct descendant of Corrales’ founder, Juan Gonzales Bas. He is now in the County Assessor’s Office where he has served for nearly 15 years. His father had worked there for more than 20 years.

His family has owned property in Corrales, Rio Rancho and Cuba for decades. “I’m running for Sandoval County Clerk to protect election integrity,” the candidate said. “Voter fraud comes in many forms and as your chief election officer, I will make sure our votes are protected against election abuse.” He said if elected, he will “inform all county residents of the importance of voting and voter fraud prevention.” Griego said he would clean up the voter rolls to weed out “deceased people, people that have moved, duplicates, dogs, cats, etcetera.” For other functions in the Clerk’s office, he said he will streamline record-keeping and assure records are accessible. He said the office does not currently have them available on line.

In the Assessor’s office, he uses the same software package, Tyler Eagle, as that implemented in the Clerk’s office. After graduating from the Menaul School in Albuquerque, he worked for a printer toner cartridge firm, but when that firm merged with a copier business, he was laid off. Seeking a new opportunity, he was hired into the Sandoval County Assessor’s office, initially on a temporary basis.

Over the years, he gained certifications and then a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from National American University in 2013. After completing a course with New Mexico State University, he became an instructor for a professional development program for public sector employees. Griego says if he is elected County Clerk, he will clean up its voter rolls and “stop the dangerous practice of ballot harvesting” which he described as a suspect method by which people gather up completed ballots and deliver them to ballot boxes.

He said he was not aware that this had actually happened in Sandoval County. The candidate supports the proposal that every voter in the county be sent an application to request an absentee ballot. “The absentee ballot application process is safer than universal vote-by-mail because the voter is still required to complete and submit an application before a live ballot is mailed.” Griego urged voters to cast their ballot for him to have confidence in secure and protected elections.

Sandoval County Treasurer
The deputy County Treasurer, Democrat Jennie Taylor, wants to move up to the top position, while a Republican working in the County Assessor’s office, Benay Ward, wants it as well.

Jennifer Taylor
Democrat
Sandoval County Deputy Treasurer Jenny Taylor intends to coax more returns from the County’s $24.3 million investments and see what can be done to bring in what is owed from the 18,855 properties in the county that are in arrears for property taxes.

Taylor said, “The total dollar amount that is delinquent is $11,434,511.54” as of 2019. Even so, she explained, the Treasurer’s office “now has the highest collection rate we’ve ever had.” She went to work in the Treasurer’s office as administrative assistant in November 2017 and rose to become Chief Deputy Treasurer in February 2019. After graduating from high school in West Denver in 1993, she attended Colorado Christian University and then the Metro State College of Denver.

In New Mexico, before joining the Treasurer’s office, Taylor was an office manager, operations manager and private investigator for an Albuquerque legal services company, Ancillary Legal Support and Investigations, from 2008 to 2017.
She has lived in Sandoval County nearly 20 years.

If elected in November, Taylor intends to manage the office so that the property tax rolls are cleaned up and financial transactions are better protected. A way to do that, she said, is to make sure payments from the treasury are legitimate. “We now send out thousands of check every month, so I want to make sure there’s less chance of fraud.” Taylor urged voters to choose her because “I have the experience, knowledge and integrity that the job requires.”

Benay Ward
Republican
The challenger for Sandoval County Treasurer, Republican Benay Ward, contrasts her candidacy with that of her opponent by pointing out she has a master’s degree in business administration and nearly 17 years experience in county government. But most of it was in San Juan County where she was quality control supervisor for the assessor’s office there. She and her husband moved to Rio Rancho two and a half years ago.

From 2017 to 2019, Ward was office manager for the N.M. Engineers and Surveyors Board. She is currently unemployed. “With my experience and dedication, I will bring to this position a common sense approach for the common good. I will take action with the highest standard of professionalism and in a timely and effective manner.”

In a campaign statement, Ward defended the necessity of property taxes. “Property taxes are the backbone that keeps local governmental entities functioning. Without this revenue, things like schools, colleges, police departments, fire departments, the judicial system, jails and community programs would not receive sufficient funding. “Taxes are understandable, but inequities and injustices are not.” If elected, Ward intends to fill vacant positions so that the office runs more smoothly.

“It needs to be fully staffed so we can improve customer service.” She understands criticisms that she does not have experience in Sandoval County. “I sometimes hear that it’s a put-off that I didn’t work in this county, but San Juan County, like Sandoval, is a Class A county with the same requirements.” Her bachelor’s degree (2010) and master’s in business administration (2016) were earned through N.M. Highlands University.