National restaurant group pushes Tinsley to run

The National Restaurant Association is pushing GOP restaurant chain owner Ed Tinsley to run for the Second Congressional District seat being vacated by Steve Pearce.

Tinsley owns the K-Bob’s chain of restaurants and, after he lost to Pearce in the 2002 primary, he became heavily involved in the influential group, serving last year as the chairman of its board.

Tinsley is expected to announce as early as next week whether he’ll run for the congressional seat.

“Throughout his many years of service on the National Restaurant Association board and during his term as chairman, Ed has demonstrated that he is not only a talented leader, but that he has a keen understanding of the issues that small businesses face,” Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the association, said in a news release. “As chairman, Ed had a tremendous impact, representing the industry at White House meetings and on Capitol Hill. We encourage Ed to consider a run for Congress. He would make an exceptional representative of New Mexico’s second district.”

The news release also included quotes from New Mexico Restaurant Association CEO Carol Wright, Host Hotels & Resorts Chairman Richard E. Marriott, Golden Corral President and CEO Ted Fowler and Applebee’s International Board Chairman Lloyd Hill, all either encouraging Tinsley to run or praising him.

Tom Hutchinson, owner of La Posta De Mesilla restaurant in Mesilla, was also quoted.

“As a constituent of the second district, I encourage Ed Tinsley to run for Congress,” he said. “Ed is a New Mexican rancher who knows how Washington works. He understands the concerns of his neighbors and knows how to take those concerns to Washington and get results.”

Though Tinsley spends much of his time at a home he owns in Santa Fe, where his restaurant chain is based, he and his wife Meredith also own and operate a cattle ranch in Capitan, located in Lincoln County. That’s what makes him eligible to run for the seat, if he chooses.

Some Republicans see his time spent in Santa Fe a weakness that could affect a Tinsley campaign.

On the other hand, Tinsley is willing to help finance his own campaign, and today’s news release from the restaurant group suggests he’ll have a great deal of help raising money.

No Republican has entered the congressional race, but a number of others are also considering it, including Sierra County Republican Party Chair C. Earl Greer; Phelps Anderson, who also ran unsuccessfully against Pearce in the 2002 primary; state Rep. Don Bratton of Hobbs; Roswell Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Mike Kakuska; and former Roswell Mayor Bill Owen.

On the Democratic side, Al Kissling, Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley and former Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague are running, and state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, appears headed toward an announcement as early as next week that he’s running.