Two area legislators face credible primary challenges

The question in both Democratic state legislative primaries in Doña Ana County appears to be whether voters think the incumbents are successfully working for them or have become Santa Fe insiders who have lost touch with their needs.

Doña Ana County Commissioner Oscar Vásquez Butler is challenging Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, on June 3. Mesilla Mayor Pro Tem Jesus Caro is challenging Rep. Joni Gutierrez, D-Mesilla. Butler, using the campaign slogan “Time for a change,” argues that Garcia has served too long, has lost touch with her constituents and isn’t as effective as she once was. Caro, whose slogan is “Sharing our values,” says Gutierrez is out of touch with the rural communities in the district she represents.

New Mexico State University government professor Jose Z. Garcia, who is supporting Butler and Caro, said there’s a perception that both incumbents have been “very helpful to leadership” in Santa Fe on issues not supported by their constituents. The professor, who isn’t related to the state senator, mentioned the controversial tax increase to help fund Spaceport America as an example.

It was largely rural voters who, with a grassroots effort to combat an expensive media campaign by tax supporters, nearly defeated the tax proposal in April 2007. Gutierrez and Sen. Garcia supported the tax.

Gutierrez’s House District 33 includes part of the west side of Las Cruces, but also encompasses Mesilla and other rural communities in the south valley. Garcia’s Senate District 36 includes part of the north side of Las Cruces and all rural communities in the northwestern corner of the county.

The rural-urban split in both districts makes the races interesting, several people interviewed for this article said. So does the fact that Butler and Caro are both elected officials who have name recognition and experience campaigning. Both incumbents said in interviews that they’re taking the challenges seriously and are working hard.

The incumbents

Gutierrez said she has been campaigning continuously.

“I’m optimistic. I feel good about it, but I am not going to quit. I’m not taking anything for granted. We’re trying to go door-to-door and hit these people up and talk to them,” she said.

Sen. Garcia said she’s also spending a great deal of time in the communities across the district.

“I’m very optimistic. Everywhere I go people are so, so supportive of me,” she said. “… Most people, when I go talk to them, they already know me and they know the things I’ve done, and they’re thanking me for them.”

Butler and Caro are wrong to say that the two incumbents are out of touch with constituents, said Mary Gail Gwaltney, the Democratic national committeewoman for New Mexico and a Las Cruces resident who is supporting Sen. Garcia and Gutierrez. Gwaltney said she is confident that both will be re-elected.

“They do good work in Santa Fe and both do good work here and they keep in touch with their constituents,” Gwaltney said. “People like them.”

Sen. Garcia is spending a lot of time touting legislative accomplishments – including bills to criminalize human trafficking, strengthen penalties for child abuse resulting in death and ban cockfighting – and awards she has received for sponsoring those high-profile bills. Gutierrez’s strength, according to Gwaltney, is her seat on the House Appropriations Committee, an influential position that helps her get her bills passed and signed. Gutierrez is also touting the endorsements of several unions and lobbying groups.

Gwaltney said both work well with leadership in Santa Fe. She said that helps them get things done that benefit their constituents. Both incumbents have the support of Gov. Bill Richardson, whose political committee has given $2,500 to Gutierrez’s re-election campaign and $1,000 to Sen. Garcia’s.

The challengers

Butler and Caro sound similarly optimistic about their campaigns.

“I’ve got plenty of support, people that have really been positive. I’ve been going door-to-door. I’ve been getting good vibes,” Caro said.

Butler, whose county commission district overlaps much of Garcia’s Senate district, said he spoke with about 70 voters who live in both districts before deciding to run. Only two or three discouraged him from running, he said, while the others said something to the effect of, “It’s about time.”

“I agree with them. It’s time for a change,” Butler said. “However, the signs, the positive comments, they’re all good and dandy as far as support, but we’ve got to get out the vote.”

Jose Garcia said he thinks Caro will win, in part because Gutierrez supported the spaceport tax many of the district’s residents opposed. He said Caro “reflects the conservative cultural values that are in that district much more so than Joni Gutierrez does, and so, when push comes to shove, I think voters are going to identify with him and his values rather than with Joni.”

He said he’s less familiar with Sen. Garcia’s district, so he doesn’t have a prediction about who will win.

Arturo Uribe, a resident of Mesquite and one of the organizers whose work nearly led to the defeat of the spaceport tax, has been intimately involved in helping Butler and Caro. He said both challengers will probably win but, even if they don’t, the experience of helping credible challengers will be good for rural residents who are trying to increase their influence in the political process.

“I really respect Butler and Caro for standing up and representing their constituents and I think, win or lose, it’s been a great experience for all of us,” Uribe said. “I just think it’s time for a change. We need people who share our values.”

Turnout will be key

Jose Garcia agreed with Butler’s statement that turnout will be key. He said, because there’s no presidential or gubernatorial race at the top of the ticket, turnout could be low. That means it will be up to the legislative candidates to get their supporters out to vote, and while he said he believes Caro will win, he acknowledged that it’s only a prediction.

“It really all hinges on that turnout, and I have no idea what kind of organizational structure each campaign has to get that turnout. So, in that sense, anything can happen in these races,” he said.

Gwaltney agreed that turnout will be the deciding factor in both races even while expressing confidence that the incumbents will be re-elected.

“I think it’s really important for everybody to vote. If people feel strongly about a candidate, they really need to support those candidates,” she said.