The Doña Ana County Republican Party isn’t in crisis, says chair Sid Goddard. In fact, he says, it’s in the middle of a reorganization that is making the party stronger.
During a meeting I had with party officials Wednesday, Goddard didn’t appear concerned that there are Republicans running in only 10 of 19 local races this year.
“This is not a case of finding candidates to fill holes, but to fill the positions well, and if that means we leave the holes unfilled, so be it,” he told me.
Goddard has a point. The underdog county Republican Party has run candidates before who had no chance of winning. Why waste resources on such races?
Only four of the 19 positions up for grabs are currently held by Republicans, but party officials are optimistic that they might take a few more this year. Democrats, on the other hand, are optimistic they might take those four.
Goddard said a stumbling block to finding quality candidates for all races was the continually dwindling confidence in the integrity and competence of the county clerk’s office, which has been plagued by problems in recent times.
“There’s a concern about the conduct of the elections,” said Mary Thompson, a Republican Party volunteer who almost won the seat held by State Rep. Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch, two years ago.
Goddard said that won’t stop the party.
“We are a changed party, a committed party, and it is one that is going to deliver quality candidates,” he said.
For now, the focus is on the primary. One of the most interesting contests is the race for the Public Regulation Commission seat currently held by Democrat E. Shirley “I-am-not-going-to-admit-that-is-mine” Baca, who will face State Fair Chair Sandy Jones in the primary. On the Republican side, Earl Greer of T or C, who ran for Congress in 2002, will face Las Crucens Doyle Pruitt and Kent Evans, currently a county commissioner.
Let the games begin.
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Both parties are still buzzing about the March 13 resignations of Republican Mesilla trustees Wesley Dixon and Paul Pirtle. The two were apparently frustrated after Republican candidates who might have given them a majority on the board lost in the recent town elections.
Republicans and Democrats have been locked in a battle over whether to open up the town to more development.
The remaining trustees approved Mayor Michael Cadena’s appointment of Les Williamson as a trustee Wednesday night, and the mayor said he hopes to finalize the second appointment Monday. Some 18 residents, including former State Sen. Fernando Macias, have put their names in the hat.
Many Republicans have expressed confusion and frustration over the resignations. Goddard said the party wasn’t given advance notice by Dixon and Pirtle of their plans, and he still doesn’t know why they quit.
Goddard also noted that Democrat Cadena and his clan of “Los Mesilleros,” aided by several state legislators, helped secure the highest voter turnout in the town’s history in the election earlier this month. He said Democrats worked harder than Republicans in that election, and cited their work as an example of the sort of effort the Republican Party wants to launch in future contests.
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