Michael Ray Huerta
The dynamics in this year’s Las Cruces mayoral race may be about to change with the entry of a third candidate who would portray himself as an outsider running against two politicians.
Michael Ray Huerta, a longtime Democratic political activist, told NMPolitics.net that he has been encouraged to run by “Las Crucens from all over the city.” He says he’s still considering whether to run, but he sounds like someone who has put a lot of thought into the matter and is preparing a campaign.
“Whether young or old, Democrat or Republican, our community is ready for new leadership that puts results above political ideology and the interests of our city above personal agendas,” Huerta said. “If I run for mayor, I intend to be the candidate to bring that change.”
Mayor Ken Miyagishima is running for re-election on Nov. 8. District 2 City Councilor Dolores Connor is giving up her seat to run against him.
City elections are officially nonpartisan, but Miyagishima is a Democrat and Connor is a Republican, so some will say if Huerta runs that he’s helping Connor. While there is likely some truth to the claim that Huerta would draw support away from Miyagishima, if he runs a credible campaign, Huerta, who is 25 and openly gay, might also draw support from other areas.
He indicated that he would run as the anti-establishment candidate. With judicial and other scandal capturing headlines, Huerta might be able to attract support from people who are tired of politicians, if he can convince people he’s an outsider running against two longtime elected officials.
“We have politicians who have been in office for years,” Huerta said about Miyagishima and Connor. “Election after election, these politicians offer the same rhetoric with no results. This year, Las Crucens should have a choice: more of the same, or new leadership for our city.”
About Huerta
But Huerta is hardly a political outsider. He was a press secretary for former U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., and worked in various roles for Hillary Clinton. He said he is the youngest person in New Mexico history to be elected as a delegate to a national political convention, being chosen as a delegate for Clinton when she ran for president in 2008.
A group of Democrats urged him to run for state party chairman earlier in 2009, but he rejected the idea and backed Javier Gonzales.
Huerta is also a former Republican, and he once worked as a field representative for U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M.
The political experience could be a benefit if Huerta uses it to put together a sophisticated but genuine campaign – it takes both in a growing city like Las Cruces to attract widespread support. At the same time, Connor might be able to box Miyagishima and Huerta both in with the “progressive” label.
Huerta identifies himself as progressive on his Facebook page, and some Las Crucens, upset with the progressive takeover of the city council when Miyagishima was first elected mayor four years ago, are determined to defeat progressive-backed candidates this time around.
Huerta sounds as though he’s hoping to avoid labels.
“I believe in results-driven leadership that puts the interests of our city above personal agendas – leadership that truly embraces growth while focusing on our shrinking middle class, leadership that addresses the nearly 35 percent of Las Cruces children who live in poverty, leadership that understands our city needs a full-time mayor, and leadership that understands more of the same is not an option,” he said.
Huerta is a fourth-generation New Mexican who was born and raised in Las Cruces. His family owns several businesses in the area, including Emilia’s on the Plaza and Coss Real Estate. He’s back working with his family’s businesses after spending two years as the national spokesman for a suicide prevention and anti-bullying organization.
His youth isn’t likely to go unnoticed and may hurt him with some voters. On the other hand, District 4 voters elected Nathan Small to be their city councilor when he was 25.
The bottom line
When Republican Richard Berry was elected Albuquerque mayor in 2009 in a race that included him and two Democrats, Huerta pointed out the candidates’ party affiliations in an interview with me. Some 56 percent of voters picked one of the two Democrats, and he said their split “reveals a divide between the progressives and the more moderate Dems.”
“That’s something that Democrats need to stop from happening,” Huerta told me then, saying the party couldn’t let happen in the 2010 congressional and gubernatorial races the same thing that happened in the Albuquerque election.
“We need for Democrats to come together to decide where our party stands,” Huerta told me.
If he runs, those words may come back to haunt Huerta in this race.
At the same time, I’ve spoken with many Las Crucens who aren’t excited about Connor or Miyagishima and are hoping a third candidate enters the race. Among those who aren’t excited are some progressives, but also some in the business community and elsewhere.
If Huerta or someone else can run a campaign that transcends the standard labels in a nonpartisan municipal race, maybe that candidate can be a factor. But that candidate would first need to establish himself as credible and work to increase name recognition.
For now, even if Huerta enters the race, Miyagishima and Connor are the frontrunners.
But there’s lots of time before November and the dynamics in this race are far from settled. Regardless of what Huerta decides, others might join Miyagishima and Connor in the race.