{"id":2465,"date":"2007-11-02T12:09:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-02T18:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/11\/mayoral-candidates-differences-were-clear-at-debate\/"},"modified":"2007-11-02T12:09:00","modified_gmt":"2007-11-02T18:09:00","slug":"mayoral-candidates-differences-were-clear-at-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/11\/mayoral-candidates-differences-were-clear-at-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayoral candidates’ differences were clear at debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The differences between the two candidates for Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> mayor were clear during this morning\u2019s debate on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

Mayor Bill Mattiace<\/a> believes Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is in great shape. He believes growth policies are moving the city in the right direction and that the city is doing a good job of involving residents in the process.<\/p>\n

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

District 6 Councilor Ken Miyagishima<\/a>, on the other hand, believes the city is growing too quickly. He wants the city to do a better job of planning and wants more requirements for developers to ensure better infrastructure in new neighborhoods. He believes the public is not being adequately involved in decisions, and says that needs to change.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Their similarities were also clear. Both pledge to do more for existing neighborhoods. Both support eventual implementation of a recycling program that doesn\u2019t cost residents much. Both want to keep the crosses in the city\u2019s logo.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s why the election has become about growth. It is the major difference between the candidates.<\/p>\n

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

Voters who missed it can listen to a podcast of the 105-minute debate by clicking here<\/a>. If you haven\u2019t yet decided how you\u2019ll vote on Tuesday, it\u2019s worth your time.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Though the candidates agree that growth, and the public\u2019s involvement in it, is not the only issue in the city\u2019s election, both have made it the focus of their campaigns. Both have attacked the other repeatedly on that issue. The debate was no different.<\/p>\n

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

Both on the offensive<\/span><\/p>\n

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

During his opening statement, Miyagishima took a shot at Mattiace\u2019s \u201cpeople first\u201d slogan.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI want responsible growth, not haphazard growth,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need roads first, not people first.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Mattiace then took a shot at Miyagishima\u2019s campaign slogan, \u201cfor a dynamic Las Cruces<\/st1:city>,\u201d saying it means he and his backers want \u201cto change everything\u201d in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. He citied the push by a small group to end the city\u2019s use of the three crosses in its logo, implying they were part of Miyagishima\u2019s campaign. He also implied, in saying he opposes a moratorium on growth, that Miyagishima supports one.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBashing me and beating up the staff gets a lot of attention, my friends, but it\u2019s a lousy way to lead and govern this great city,\u201d Mattiace said.<\/p>\n

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

Miyagishima said later in the debate that neither implication by Mattiace is true. And, when Mattiace spoke about the Vision 2040 plan that is being developed to help the region plan its growth, Miyagishima accused him of saying it was already complete \u2013 which Mattiace didn\u2019t say. But Miyagishima used that point to attack Mattiace for the other implications.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe show would have been boring without his half-truths and propaganda that he\u2019s spewing right now,\u201d Miyagishima said.<\/p>\n

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

More back-and-forth<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Miyagishima missed one opportunity to go after Mattiace. Mattiace, asked about the city\u2019s relationship with the county, said the commissioners are \u201cvery good\u201d and said there is a more professional relationship than there has been in the past. He named Commissioner Oscar V\u00e1squez Butler<\/a> as someone with whom the city has a professional relationship.<\/p>\n

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

But at the time of April\u2019s spaceport tax election in Do\u00f1a Ana County, Mattiace took cheap shots at Butler and Commissioner Karen Perez<\/a> in public for their opposition to the tax, at one point saying the sprawl that would result from the sentiment of those who opposed a massive annexation on the East Mesa would lead to a separate city that could be called Butlerville.<\/p>\n

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

\n

Mattiace got in a credible point about Miyagishima during the debate that Miyagishima didn\u2019t directly address. Miyagishima talks a lot about open government and the need for more transparency and yet, in 2003, when Mattiace was a councilor, then-Mayor Ruben Smith and the other councilors \u2013 including Miyagishima \u2013 agreed in secret to ask the ethics board to investigate allegations against Mattiace.<\/p>\n

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

\n

\n

Their action was illegal, a violation of the state\u2019s open meetings act, and was later overturned by a district judge. The city had to pay the legal costs of the Las Cruces Sun-News<\/a>, which sued to prove the violation.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

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

Who won the debate?<\/span><\/p>\n

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

So who won the debate? Nobody. The discussion of growth and other issues was informative, but the growth issues are so polarizing that most listeners probably knew who they supported before the debate. Both candidates made some important points, took some valid shots at the other and got caught in some awkward and\/or misleading statements.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019ve been continually surprised throughout this campaign that Mattiace has engaged Miyagishima so frequently in attacks related to the city\u2019s growth. He has not only responded to Miyagishima\u2019s assaults, but has often been the one who instigated back-and-forth negativity.<\/p>\n

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

Conventional wisdom suggests that, as the incumbent, Mattiace should have stayed above the fray, or, at most, only responded to Miyagishima\u2019s attacks on growth, not initiated his own attacks. By engaging Miyagishima in such an emotional and negative way, he has created the appearance that he is worried about losing and given credibility to his challenger\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n

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

What will that mean on Tuesday? I have no idea. My best guess is that this is a 50-50 race, and many others who are watching closely \u2013 supporters of both candidates \u2013 agree. Election night should be interesting.<\/p>\n

\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that the council and mayor secretly decided to censure Mattiace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The differences between the two candidates for Las Cruces mayor were clear during this morning\u2019s debate on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl. Mayor Bill Mattiace believes Las Cruces is in great shape. He believes growth policies are moving the city in the right direction and that the city is doing a good job of […]<\/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-2465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465","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=2465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}