Business owner seeking Senate seat
SANTA FE — A second Democrat is entering the race to challenge Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen, in a district that covers parts of Valencia and Bernalillo counties.
Belen business owner Paul A. Baca announced his campaign this week and will compete for the Democratic nomination against Dick Wilkinson, the chief information security officer for the state court system.
Paul Baca said he has deep roots in the district and can trace his family in the area back 400 years. He isn’t related to Greg Baca, the incumbent senator.
Paul Baca is president and CEO of the Valley Improvement Association, an organization of landowners and homeowners that manages 61,000 acres in Valencia County. He also owns Young Baca’s convenience store, restaurant and gas station in Belen.
Baca, 54, said he has a good understanding of the community and would work to ensure adequate funding for schools and police. Promoting economic development and bringing high-paying jobs to the area are also priorities, he said.
He said he sees firsthand the struggle of working mothers collecting their change to pay for gas so they can get to work.
“We need to think creatively,” Baca said. “There are people out there who have some real needs.”
Sen. Greg Baca, a lawyer and Gulf War veteran, is seeking re-election.
All 112 seats in the New Mexico Legislature will be on the ballot next year. Democrats now hold strong majorities in both chambers.
Senators serve four-year terms.
TRUJILLO LAWSUIT: It looks like former state Rep. Carl Trujillo’s defamation lawsuit isn’t over just yet.
Earlier this month, Trujillo moved to dismiss his suit — accusing a lobbyist of defamation — but now the lobbyist is pushing to reopen the case.
Attorneys for Laura Bonar, a lobbyist for Animal Protection Voters, asked a judge Tuesday to force Trujillo to pay their legal fees for defending against the case, before allowing Trujillo to dismiss it.
Trujillo sued Bonar and others earlier this year, alleging he had been falsely accused of sexual harassment.
Bonar responded with counterclaims, arguing that Trujillo’s lawsuit was frivolous and retaliatory and that he should pay for her legal costs.