Commission District 1 candidates show differences

The candidates in the Doña Ana County Commission District 1 race revealed similar goals but different opinions about how to reach them at Thursday’s candidate forum in Mesquite.

The seat is currently held by Democrat Oscar Vasquez Butler, who is also president of the New Mexico Association of Counties. Republican John Zimmerman is seeking to unseat Butler.

District 1 includes 25 of the county’s 37 colonias and the Picacho Hills area on the east side of Las Cruces.

Community empowerment

Both candidates were asked how they would help empower communities. Zimmerman said he will listen to the people in those communities.

“The political process is by the people. … People can be a part of the problem or they can be a part of the solution,” he said. “I intend to be open, to be available to the people.”

Butler said it’s about more than being available, pointing out that, in his time on the commission, he has held meetings and been involved in what’s happening in communities throughout his district.

“You have to get down into the communities and work with the people. In order to help the people you have to know what their problems are,” he said. “That will empower them to know that their vote counts.”

Quality of life

The candidates were asked how they will help with projects that would improve the quality of life of residents. Zimmerman said the county has an outdated master plan that it’s just beginning to address, and said that plan must be updated frequently. Then, he said, the county can focus on improving infrastructure.

That, Zimmerman said, will lead to economic development, which will bring higher wages and better health insurance.

“Economic development is not going to come here without infrastructure,” Zimmerman said. “Doña Ana County is growing at a very fast pace, and if we don’t start planning our future, others are going to plan it for us, and we’re going to have what’s called urban sprawl.”

Butler said such plans must specifically address improving quality of life in rural communities, or those areas will be left out.

“Economic development is good, but there’s no assurances the jobs are going to hit the rural communities,” he said.

Butler said the key, and what he has worked to do during his time on the commission, is to help communities create local associations that can lobby the legislature for funding for infrastructure projects. He said it will take about $1 billion to bring the infrastructure in the county’s rural communities up to the standard of Las Cruces.

“We don’t have bike trails here,” Butler said. “…You can’t have economic development until you have infrastructure.”

Regulating growth

In response to a question about the unregulated growth that led to the development of poorly planned colonias in Doña Ana County, Butler announced that he is proposing a temporary moratorium on all development in and near arroyos and drainage ditches in Doña Ana County. The proposal will be considered by commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting.

Butler said a moratorium would give the county time to evaluate its policies and procedures in response to this summer’s flooding and enact new rules that would ensure smart growth.

“People think I’m anti-development. I’m not. I’m for smart growth,” Butler said. “The temporary moratorium is to give us a look at what we’re doing. … We have to put a temporary halt and make these developers comply with our ordinances and smart growth.”

Zimmerman referred again to the need for a better master plan. He said the county already has regulations in place, and has three codes inspectors, but they all work for different departments and the regulations have not been enforced consistently. That, he said, has contributed to unregulated growth.

He said better regulation needs to apply to developers and homeowners and said the master plan must “address the cumulative effect of all these things happening,” including flooding and unregulated development.

Pollution

Speaking in Mesquite, where there have been problems with pollution created by some companies, Butler said the county needs to focus on “clean industry coming in” and, through regulation and other means, encouraging dairies, chemical companies and others “to be good corporate citizens.”

“We’re not trying to run industry away, but we do want them to be corporately responsible,” Butler said.

Zimmerman said he believes companies are doing that. He said the dairy industry has done a lot to deal with the problem of nitrates in ponding areas.

“I believe all of them are doing that,” he said. “The dairy industry has done a lot of things. (New Mexico Environment Department) has done a lot of things.”

Partisan politics

In response to a question about how he would bridge the gap created by partisan politics, Zimmerman said he has never been a politician, but has been involved in community service most of his life.

“I know what it is to serve the people,” he said. “I think it’s important to speak the language of the people … (and) to get down with them, one on one, and listen to their concerns.”

Butler said in a Democracy, “regardless of if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, when you get into office you represent the people.”

“You’re just serving your communities, and if you don’t serve your communities, they’ll have their turn with the next ballot,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that they put us in these camps, but when it’s over, you just serve the people.”