New SF County treasurer will be one of three

Incumbent Varela ineligible for reelection

To use political jargon, Santa Fe County Treasurer Patrick Varela is “termed out” and ineligible to run for reelection. There are three candidates, all Democrats and all with considerable financial experience, vying to fill his position.

One of the candidates, Jennifer “Jenn” Manzanares, is already in the treasurer’s office. She’s currently chief deputy treasurer for Santa Fe County, an appointed position.

Manzanares, who prefers to be known as Jenn, has deep roots in the Pojoaque Valley, worked as a tribal liaison for U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján for eight years and has been involved in public service for 24 years.

One of her opponents, Robert Rubin (pronounced Rubeen), is a retired longtime state and county employee who has deep knowledge of New Mexico’s tax code. Although he hails from Wagon Mound, he has lived and worked in Santa Fe for 42 years.

Rubin has worked for both the Santa Fe County Treasurer’s office and the State of New Mexico Property Tax Division

for more than 30 years. He currently has a private consulting business to help property owners with tax issues.

Lucinda Marker, a New York City transplant with deep finance experience who was born in Dayton, Ohio, is also seeking the position.

Marker, who was a professional actress, has endured some tough times. She and her husband both were diagnosed with the plague not long after 2000. The couple then went through some ups and downs before her husband died of a rare cancer.

Rubin is sensitive to the burdens of property taxes on senior citizens and pledges to try to bring about tax relief for older property owners, while knowing such help can come about only through the New Mexico State Legislature.

Manzanares, who repeatedly referred to taxpayers as “customers,” thinks the county needs to up its game on technology to make it easier for out-ofstate property owners to file taxes.

On a seemingly contradictory note, she spoke about the difficulty of New Mexico land owners to gain access to government services when they live in a rural part of the state where internet connections are poor.

In a phone interview, she praised the efforts of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham prior to the coronavirus to bring government services to the people with open-house events.

Marker, who lived through the 9/11 crisis in New York City and the health issues of her late husband John Tull, said she feels called to public service by the tenor of the times.

She had considered running for Santa Fe County Commission, but because of her background, in the Santa Fe offices of such finance firms as Davis Select Advisers and Ameriprise Investment Advisors, decided that the county treasurer position might be more aligned with her skills.

Although his emphasis appears to be on tax relief for seniors, Rubin also sees the need for improvement in the treasurer’s online website. In a letter that he has been dropping off in his community, he called for “more thorough information, as well as a user-friendly inquiry and payment system.”

In a telephone interview, Manzanares spoke about her deep roots in the community and her connections with tribal neighbors.

One of these candidates will likely be the county’s next treasurer as no one from any other party sought the position.