Miyagishima announces candidacy for mayor

Las Cruces City Councilor Ken Miyagishima officially announced today his candidacy for mayor of the state’s second-largest city.

I reported Tuesday night that Miyagishima, 44, would announce his candidacy today. He did so in a news release, saying that encouragement from residents throughout the city was a key factor in his decision. The councilor has earned support in recent months from residents who have been galvanized by their belief that growth is out of control.

“I have received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls in recent months urging me to run for mayor,” Miyagishima said in the release. “People are clearly ready for more dynamic leadership at this critical point in our city’s development.”

Miyagishima’s current term as the District 6 councilor runs until 2009, so he will not have to give up his seat to run for mayor.

This will be Miyagishima’s third attempt at the city’s top job. He ran for mayor in 2003, receiving 25 percent of the vote in the unsuccessful effort to unseat Bill Mattiace, who received just under 40 percent of the vote. Three additional challengers split the other 35 percent. He also lost to Mattiace earlier that year in a special election to replace Ruben Smith, who left to take a job in Santa Fe.

Mattiace is asking voters to give him another term when they go to the polls on Nov. 6. No one else has announced his or her candidacy for mayor.

Miyagishima referred in the release to the city’s development process. He was the only councilor to oppose in May the annexation and master plan for The Vistas at Presidio, a massive development on the East Mesa.

“Recently, there has been widespread unhappiness about annexations that have been approved without careful consideration and adequate citizen input,” Miyagishima said. “Residents were appreciative of the fact I took a stand in voting against these annexations.”

“It’s obvious that we are a growing and vibrant city with the need to deliver additional housing opportunities,” he said. “But to do so with a no-questions-asked attitude or allowing little public participation or debate is poor governance. Key decisions about our city’s future should involve everyone, not just a powerful few.”

Miyagishima said he is committed to combating gangs and criminal activity, developing more affordable housing, increasing city support for development of a high-wage industry and improving roads and infrastructure throughout the city. He stressed the importance of paying as much attention to the health of existing neighborhoods as to the building of new ones and said he would encourage the city to adopt “best practices” for new subdivisions and annexations, looking to other communities that have successfully negotiated rapid growth.

“Las Cruces is growing up fast, and the time has come for all of us – elected officials, city and county staff and members of the public – to work together in shaping our community’s future,” Miyagishima said. “As mayor, I will provide the energy and leadership necessary for this task.”

Miyagishima has been a city councilor since 2001 and was unchallenged when he ran for re-election in 2005. He is a former Doña Ana County commissioner who twice served as that board’s chairman.

A resident of Las Cruces since 1971, Miyagishima is a graduate of Las Cruces High School and New Mexico State University, from which he earned bachelor’s degrees in finance and real estate in 1985. He owns an insurance and financial services business and is a member of a number of community organizations.

Miyagishima is married to former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Susana Chaparro, and they have two children. Michael attends NMSU and is pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Danielle attends Oñate High School.

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that this will be Miyagishima’s second run for mayor.