Mattiace wants to finish major infrastructure projects

This article is part of a series running this week profiling the candidates in the Nov. 6 Las Cruces municipal election.

By Vicki Nisbett

Las Cruces Mayor William “Bill” Mattiace said he decided to seek another term as the city’s leader because he wants to see some projects finished that were started under his watch.

Those projects include swimming pools, an aquatic center, a convention center, the new city hall and downtown revitalization. Announcing his re-election bid on the steps of city hall on Sept. 12, Mattiace, 60, gave a speech about his decision to run for mayor with his friends and family standing behind him.

“I seek re-election because we’ve come so far in such a short time,” Mattiace said. “Serving as mayor is rewarding, but it’s not easy. I know, because I am the mayor.”

Mattiace is being challenged by District 6 Councilor Ken Miyagishima on Nov. 6. Mattiace has been mayor since 2003 and, before that, served as the District 2 city councilor for almost four years.

Bailey Sachs, a New Mexico State University student who attended Mattiace’s announcement, said she likes the mayor’s open-door policy and has spoken with him before. She said she thinks “it’s great” that Mattiace is running again.

Mattiace has, literally, an open door policy. He said he removed the door to the mayor’s office to dissuade temptations for “improper meetings” or favors.

“It’s total sunshine,” Mattiace said.

The recent and controversial development on the East Mesa called The Vistas at Presidio, a 6,000-acre project that could add 30,000 homes to Las Cruces, is a hot topic this election, and one Mattiace brings up frequently and defends.

“Let’s do controlled growth,” Mattiace said. “We can’t build walls high enough to keep people from this beautiful area. We must find a way to both manage and come to terms with our growth.”

Miyagishima says the annexation was approved without careful consideration and adequate citizen input, but Mattiace disagrees. Mattiace pointed out that the public was notified through newspaper articles, and the council meetings were televised. Notices in the newspaper, a sign posted on the land and letters also notified the public about the project.

Accomplishments, future plans

Mattiace said he is a proponent of protecting local farmland. He said most new developments in the city are built in the desert. He also said it is the Extra-Territorial Zoning Authority, not the city council, that is allowing most development on farmland, and he wonders why no one is loudly protesting that.

In listing his accomplishments, Mattiace talked about the building projects that are underway or will soon begin, and also said he has successfully overcome favoritism and nepotism in some city departments.

He said he has other plans for another term. Mattiace said he wants to see the local farmer’s market expanded so it resembles, at least in scale, the Renaissance Craft Faire the city puts on each November, but the expanded farmer’s market would be put on weekly. Mattiace also pledged a renewed focus on the needs of existing neighborhoods, senior communities and impoverished children.

Robert Estrada, owner of Roberto’s Restaurant, said he has known Mattiace since 1980 and supports his re-election bid.

“(Mattiace) is doing such a great job,” he said. “He’s always trying to help people. He’s always there when you need him.”

From Long Island to Las Cruces

Born on Long Island, New York, Mattiace was raised in a Roman Catholic family. His father, Vito Mattiace, was a longshoreman, and his mother, Evelyn Mattiace, was a telephone operator. Mattiace graduate from high school in Queens, then attended college in New York.

He transferred to New Mexico State University in 1968, and that’s where he met his wife, Wanda. Mattiace became a top car salesman for two dealerships in Las Cruces. Currently, Wanda Mattiace owns Adventure Travel, and Mattiace serves as its vice president.

Mattiace said his high school required students to complete community service. Mattiace worked as a volunteer at Bellevue Mental Hospital in New York, and he said it still impacts him to this day. Because of that experience, Mattiace said he remains involved in programs and centers for the impoverished, including Community of Hope and the Ending Homelessness Task Force.

William A. Mattiace, son and campaign public relations officer for his father’s re-election campaign, knows his father as an active and caring member of the community. He said the Mattiace family usually volunteers at El Caldito soup kitchen at Thanksgiving.

One Thanksgiving, when the Mattiace family was leaving El Caldito, there was a homeless man sitting outside who told the mayor his feet were cold. When Mattiace asked him where his socks were, the man replied, “I don’t have any (expletive deleted) socks because I’m homeless,” Mattiace’s son said.

Mattiace went to Wal-Mart and bought the man socks. When Mattiace returned, he handed the man the new socks, but the man complained because they weren’t 100-percent wool. The mayor went back to Wal-Mart and bought the man 100-percent wool socks. When he returned and handed the man the socks, the man thanked him, put the socks on and walked away.

Mattiace said he enjoys spending time with his children, Michelle, who is an attorney-at-law, William, executive producer of News22 and a journalism student at NMSU, and Lauren, who attends Las Cruces High School. He also has two grandchildren, Lila, 6, and Jack, 4.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 6. Early and absentee voting are underway.

Nisbett is a reporting intern for Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics.