Chavez leaning toward running for city council

Isaac Chavez, who failed in a bid to unseat state Rep. Andy Nuñez last year, is leaning toward running for a seat on the Las Cruces City Council in November.

He would run for the District 4 seat currently held by Steve Trowbridge, who is not seeking re-election. No one has officially declared their candidacy for the seat.

“I’m leaning towards it,” Chavez said. “A non-partisan race is pretty attractive to me. I can get a lot done. I’m a loyal Republican, but I really do consider myself to be a Las Crucen first and foremost.”

Chavez’s wife is pregnant with their first child, who is due in about a month. In addition, they are in the process of selling a Laundromat they own. Chavez said he wants to sell the business and make sure the birth goes well before deciding whether to run.

He said he expects to make a decision by July. Candidates won’t file for the Nov. 6 election until August.

But Chavez is clearly serious about a potential run. He has been attending meetings of the council and other city boards for a couple of months.

Chavez ran a competitive race against Nuñez last year, raising almost $70,000 and coming within eight percent of beating the popular incumbent. If he doesn’t run for city council, Chavez said he will probably run for Nuñez’s seat again in 2008.

Nuñez, who was named chair of the Agriculture and Water Resources Committee this year, said he plans to seek re-election and welcomes another challenge from Chavez. He said Chavez needs to hold a position like city councilor to build credibility before he can be elected to the House.

One of the main issues in the city election will be Las Cruces’ rapid growth. Chavez, who has a commercial real estate license and is co-owner of a company that plans to fly people’s ashes into space for a fee, said he is “pro-growth.” However, Chavez is also a fifth-generation Las Crucen who has seen family members lose farmland to the city’s rapid expansion. He said he is “stuck in the middle” of the controversial debate about how Las Cruces should grow.

“I want the city to grow, but I want it to grow in the right way,” Chavez said.

Chavez’s father is a first cousin of Las Cruces Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores Connor, but Chavez said that won’t be a factor in whether he runs. He said Las Cruces is a small town, and many public officials are related to other public officials.