Lifeless lizard hangs over candidate’s run for office
Jon Paul Romero carries plenty of reptilian baggage in his campaign for Santa Fe County commissioner. He admits to stealing a 4-foot-long bronze sculpture of an iguana from Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino in 2013.
“It was a dumb prank. It was wrong for me to do it,” Romero said Tuesday in an interview. “I had been drinking, and someone dared me to do it. I have grown since that mistake.”
Asked if he drove after pirating the iguana, Romero said he did. He must have been a slow learner.
Romero had been arrested six times for drunken driving and convicted twice, most recently in 2004. He made it home with the iguana, managing not to hurt anyone.
Romero could have faced a felony charge for stealing the artwork, whose estimated value was a few thousand dollars. Prosecutors instead shuttled him to a diversionary program. That break enabled him to keep his seat on the Pojoaque Valley School Board.
So low is interest in New Mexico boards of education that Romero won a third fouryear term in Pojoaque without opposition. He served on the school board through 2021.
With Santa Fe County Commissioner Henry Roybal prohibited by law from seeking another term, Romero entered the race to succeed him. This one won’t be a walkover like the school board election.
Romero, 54, faces two opponents in the June Democratic primary in Commission District 1.
One contender is Justin Greene, founder and owner for 19 years of Santa Fe’s Dashing Delivery food service.
The other is Orlando A. Romero, who’s retired after careers in the public and private sectors. Orlando Romero most recently worked as Roybal’s aide for five years.
Supporters of Orlando Romero worry about voters mixing up their candidate with Jon Paul Romero.
“One of the candidates, Orlando
Romero, has a sterling public record,” they wrote in an email. “The other, Jon Paul Romero, is an embarrassment to the community.”
Orlando Romero shares the concern about candidates with the same last name blurring before the public’s eyes.
“It’s an issue for me as well. But I trust the majority of the voters,” Orlando Romero said.
Greene, who turns 53 on Sunday, says he’s not focusing on either Romero. Greene says he’s running on his record in business and on public projects, such as helping plan Santa Fe’s Railyard commercial district.
Orlando Romero, 71, says being retired would enable him to devote all his working time to county business, unlike the two younger candidates.
Orlando Romero held various state jobs when Democratic governors were in office. During Republican administrations, he left government service for private ventures that included establishing a company that specialized in lobbying.
Orlando Romero also was the first chief of staff of the state Public Regulation Commission. It turned into an unhappy marriage that lasted less than four months.
By Orlando Romero’s account, three of the five elected PRC members had grandiose ideas for district offices and more staffing. He said he balked, as no money was available to grow the bureaucracy. The PRC majority fired him.
Outside of work, Orlando Romero had one encounter with the law similar to some of the other Romero’s troubles.
Santa Fe prosecutors in 2002 charged Orlando Romero with aggravated drunken driving and reckless driving, according to court records. The charges were dismissed in 2004 on grounds he did not receive a speedy trial.
Orlando Romero said he quit drinking after his arrest 20 years ago.
Jon Paul Romero told me he changed his behavior following the iguana case. He said he joined Alcoholics Anonymous, though he did not stop drinking.
“I didn’t quit completely. I might have an occasional drink. I don’t drink and drive,” Jon Paul Romero said.
Orlando Romero said he met recently with Jon Paul Romero for a talk about the competition for county commissioner.
“I asked why he wanted to put himself through all this,” Orlando Romero said.
Jon Paul Romero told me he views his story as one of redemption.
“I think I’ve proven myself as a leader,” he said of his service on the Pojoaque Valley School Board and as a director for two years on National Hispanic Council of School Board Members.
With a degree in civil engineering and a contracting business, Jon Paul Romero is making his second run for county commissioner. He lost a race in 2010. Job creation and affordable housing are his top issues, he said.
“I’m committed to my community. I think I have the pulse of what people are looking for in a leader and a county commissioner for our district,” Jon Paul Romero said.
To hear him tell it, his night of the iguana is all but forgotten.