Businesswoman enters race for City Council seat
Vigil Coppler first to announce run for District 4 in 2018 municipal election
Businesswoman JoAnne Vigil Coppler announced Monday she is running for the open seat in City Council District 4, becoming the first person to enter a council race in next year’s municipal election.
Vigil Coppler, 63, is seeking the seat being vacated by Councilor Ron Trujillo, who is running for mayor. She owns a real estate company, said she’s lived in the district since 1990.
“I’ve been in Santa Fe my whole life,” she said.
Vigil Coppler has a broad range of experience that includes serving as court clerk for the First Judicial District, deputy director of the state Supreme Court and human resources director for the city of Santa Fe, Los Alamos County and the New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue. She has also chaired the New Mexico State Personnel Board and served as treasurer of the Santa Fe County Democratic Party.
“I have a lot to offer as far as my experience, and I care very deeply about this city, having been around for a while,” she said in an interview. “I think I can make a difference.”
In addition to owning JoAnne Coppler Real Estate LLC, Vigil Coppler currently serves as vice chairwoman of the State Employees Credit Union Board.
She said she hasn’t decided whether she will seek public financing or run a privately financed campaign. The city election is March 6.
In a statement, Vigil Coppler said she believes city government “must get back to the basics” and that she will make it a priority for the city to develop a comprehensive economic development jobs plan.
“I will make it a priority to focus on efficient city spending,” she said. “We need to make it our primary directive to properly maintain our streets and parks as well as our many public buildings and infrastructure. I think there’s
nothing more important than to listen to constituents about how to improve their quality of life because it is they who mostly understand when public projects are working well and when they’re not.”
Vigil Coppler, who graduated from Santa Fe High School, received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern New Mexico University and a master’s in public administration from The University of New Mexico. In her announcement, she described herself as a single mother of one son, George Quintana, Jr., who graduated from UNM.
Trujillo said he has no plans to make an endorsement in the south-central District 4 council race but hopes voters continue to elect someone whose focus is on “the locals” and “those of us who live here 24/7.”