Surprise announcement has four pondering mayoral run

With Mayor Javier Gonzales’ bombshell announcement Wednesday that he won’t seek re-election shaking Santa Fe’s political world, four possible candidates told The New Mexican they are considering jumping in.

Those who said they could be making announcements in the near future are City Councilor Joseph Maestas, state Public Regulation Commissioner Valerie Espinoza, Zozobra organizer Ray Sandoval and entrepreneur Alan Webber.

Already running for mayor are City Councilor Ron Trujillo, who has been a leading critic of Gonzales, and political newcomer Abigail Fox, a former teacher. Trujillo’s signs and bumper stickers have been appearing around town.

Almost everyone interviewed expressed surprise at Gonzales’ decision. And in at least one case, it prompted a candidate to change course in his election plans.

Maestas recently announced he would seek re-election to his District 2 council seat instead of running for mayor. A former mayor of Española, Maestas said he had been considering running for mayor of Santa Fe because he thought Gonzales might be running for governor next year. But by July, Maestas said, he assumed Gonzales was not going to run for governor and would seek re-election. So Maestas announced he would run for a second council term.

“So now that’s a vacant seat,” he said, referring to the mayor’s position. “It certainly warrants strong consideration. I’ll be talking it over with my family and [political] team. I’ve been calling folks I know, community leaders.”

Maestas, who described himself as a “pragmatic independent voice,” said he’ll

be making a decision in the near future.

Espinoza, who last year was elected without opposition to a second term on the Public Regulation Commission, said in a text message, “You cannot imagine how my phone is blowing up — big time and you can bet your last dollar, I am seriously going to consider it!

“Santa Fe needs Val and do you want to know why? Because I can handle the issues that this gorgeous city is facing,” Espinoza wrote.

“I’ve done it as county clerk and I have restored public confidence to both offices that I’ve held,” she said. “While the PRC is technical in nature, I have done this job whole-heartedly with all my devotion/effort and it’s been great serving and protecting people from monopolies that exist. Plus, I deal with attack alligators every day! And the issues at the state level and local level are relatively identical.”

Sandoval said he was saddened when he heard the news that Gonzales wouldn’t run again. But he said several people had asked him to consider running for mayor. “I’ve got to talk it over with my friends and family, as well as my employer,” he said.

He works full time as a spokesman for Public Service Company of New Mexico. But he’s best known locally in recent years for being in charge of the annual Zozobra spectacle, which last week drew an estimated crowd of more than 60,000.

“I know I’m up for the job,” Sandoval said. “I have the ability to bring people together.”

Webber, a co-founder of Fast Company, a business magazine, ran as a Democrat in the 2014 governor’s race, but he came in second to then-Attorney General Gary King in the primary. Though he lost the state, Webber was the top vote-getter in Santa Fe County — King’s home county — thanks mainly to support from progressive and east-side Santa Fe residents.

He considered running for governor again in 2018 but decided earlier this year to stay out of that race and instead back a fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham of Albuquerque.

“I was truly surprised at the mayor’s announcement,” Webber said Wednesday. “I had not really considered the mayor’s race because, like many people, I assumed Javier was running for re-election.”

But he said many people had asked him to consider running, “so I will.”