{"id":2241,"date":"2007-09-14T12:54:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-14T18:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/mesilla-trustee-to-take-on-gutierrez-in-2008-primary\/"},"modified":"2007-09-14T12:54:00","modified_gmt":"2007-09-14T18:54:00","slug":"mesilla-trustee-to-take-on-gutierrez-in-2008-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/09\/mesilla-trustee-to-take-on-gutierrez-in-2008-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"Mesilla trustee to take on Gutierrez in 2008 primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mesilla Mayor Pro Tem Jesus M. Caro<\/a> has decided to challenge state Rep. Joni Gutierrez<\/a> in the 2008 Democratic primary. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro began informing supporters of his decision on Thursday.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI really could do what I\u2019m doing now at the town of Mesilla<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> on a bigger scale, and invest in the long-term for us,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cI want to keep trying to see what I can do to keep our values, our culture the way things are, and keep control of the growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Gutierrez could not be reached for comment. Caro\u2019s candidacy could present a serious challenge to the three-year representative of District 33<\/a>. Born and raised in Mesilla, Caro has been a town trustee for 12 years. Gutierrez is influential, but many in communities south of Mesilla are unhappy with what they believe she has done \u2013 or hasn\u2019t done \u2013 for them since taking office.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The district stretches from Picacho Avenue<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> south through Mesilla to Tortugas and San Miguel.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro said he was pushed by a group of activists to run against Gutierrez. The same activists helped convince Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Oscar V\u00e1squez Butler<\/a> to announce Thursday that he\u2019s taking on Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia<\/a> in the 2008 Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro said he has known Gutierrez a long time and went to school with her brothers, but didn\u2019t get to know her until she moved to Mesilla to run for the House seat. In the interview, he wasn\u2019t highly critical of her.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a few things that I might have thought that she could have looked at a little bit better for our interests, but I\u2019m really not so much running against her as I am running for the position so I can fight for things up here that we need in the area,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving grown up here and knowing the people and knowing what their values and issues are, I think I can better address and meet their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro said he\u2019ll develop a campaign platform as he meets with people throughout the district and hears their concerns.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be a little bit open-minded and see what others think, and then later say what I would do on those issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro has been outspoken about growth, pushing for strict policies in Mesilla.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that growth is inevitable but what we want is controlled growth, to try to sustain our way of life as long as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Opposition to spaceport and tax increase<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro has been an outspoken opponent of Spaceport America<\/a> and the county gross receipts tax increase that is helping fund its construction, while Gutierrez has been one of the most outspoken among the county\u2019s legislative delegation in favor of the spaceport and the tax.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro is a retired engineer from White<\/st1:placename> Sands<\/st1:placename> Missile<\/st1:placename> Range<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>, and said he has never understood why the state couldn\u2019t work with WSMR to use facilities there for a spaceport. He said working with the missile range \u201cwould have been a fraction of the cost\u201d of the facility the state is building at Upham for almost $200 million<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also believes the entire state, not just a few poor southern counties, should have to raise taxes to help fund the spaceport.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro is married and has three children and six grandchildren. Until recently, he worked as an educational assistant at Mesilla<\/st1:placename> Elementary School<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>, a job he took after retiring from WSMR, but said if he\u2019s elected to the House he intends to also keep his position on the town\u2019s Board of Trustees, so he won\u2019t return to work. Caro also maintains five acres of land he and his wife own.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Caro, who was re-elected to the town\u2019s board in 2005, said he would step down from the trustee position if he found both required more than he could give.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, I think I can probably handle both,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He acknowledged that defeating Gutierrez will be tough, but said he has never considered himself a politician and is running because he wants to help \u2013 something he can also continue to do in the trustee position.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don\u2019t win, I\u2019ll just continue with what I\u2019m doing here,\u201d Caro said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Gutierrez upset many liberal Democrats during this year\u2019s legislative session for her flip-flopping votes on a bill that would provide an $85-million tax break for the Desert Rock coal plant on the Navajo Nation. Gutierrez originally voted with other Democrats on a committee to table the bill. Under pressure, she made a motion two weeks later to reconsider the bill and voted with Republicans to bring it back to life.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But hard lobbying and pressure from environmental groups and colleagues convinced Gutierrez to change her mind again and vote with Democrats to permanently shelve the bill for the remainder of the session. Throughout, Gutierrez refused to speak publicly about the situation, angering many.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The tax credit was controversial because the plant will send an estimated 10.5 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> has a goal of reducing such emissions throughout the state by 11 million tons each year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mesilla Mayor Pro Tem Jesus M. Caro has decided to challenge state Rep. Joni Gutierrez in the 2008 Democratic primary. Caro began informing supporters of his decision on Thursday. \u201cI really could do what I\u2019m doing now at the town of Mesilla on a bigger scale, and invest in the long-term for us,\u201d he said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}