Democrat, Republican win 2 seats
Moderate GOPer LeDoux won by 31 votes; Archuleta-Toya tops incumbent Martinez
Two newcomers to elected office — one Democrat and one Republican, both bent on restoring public safety in Española — won four-year terms on the Española City Council on Tuesday.
“I deeply love Española. I think it’s one of the most amazing cities in the state; it’s just in a bad situation right now,” Councilor-elect Sam LeDoux said Tuesday.
“Right now, it’s hurting, and we need to fight for it,” he said.
LeDoux beat Joseph Salazar by 31 votes out of 267 cast to win the District 4 seat being vacated by Councilor Dorothy Valdez, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office Tuesday night. Challenger Felicia Archuleta-Toya beat incumbent District 3 Councilor Manuel
“Manny” Martinez in a 193-72 landslide, according to the state’s numbers.
Former Councilor Pedro Valdez ran unopposed for the District 1 seat, and incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Peggy Sue Martinez was unopposed in District 2. District 1 incumbent Dennis Tim Salazar, first elected in 2004, chose not to run for a sixth term.
Many of the candidates, winners and losers, said increasing crime, homelessness and drug addiction in Española motivated them to run for the eight-member council.
Both LeDoux, 32, and Archuleta-Toya, 40, said enhancing public safety will be their top priorities on the council.
A registered Republican, LeDoux described himself as a moderate whose conservatism comes from “trying to provide government accountability, fiscal responsibility and strong enforcement of the law.” He believes this resonated with voters in a heavily Democratic city where
most precincts voted for Joe Biden by margins of about 2-1 over Donald Trump in 2020.
LeDoux has worked for Republicans in New Mexico, Arizona and Maryland, including in the administrations of Gov. Doug Ducey in Arizona and Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland and on the campaigns of former New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and the late Arizona Sen. John McCain.
LeDoux grew up in Española and works as an educator in Española Public Schools and as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos and Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He said he ran for office because he is “deeply disappointed in the direction the city has been headed,” citing not only increased crime and addiction but also Española’s financial struggles and difficulty keeping up infrastructure such as parks.
“I just got tired of sitting around and watching my hometown fall into disrepair,” he said.
His opponent, 77-year-old Joseph Salazar, is a retired accountant and self-described moderate Democrat who worked in state government for 27 years and similarly campaigned on cleaning up Española’s finances. Española’s budget for the current fiscal year has been “in question” since the state Department of Finance and Administration did not approve the city’s submitted budget, Salazar said, and the city is behind on its audits.
Archuleta-Toya, a Democrat and another Española native who works as a project manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said she ran to both give back to the community and address problems such as increased homelessness, decreased safety for residents and businesses and limited healthy outlets for youth.
As a city councilor, she will focus on ensuring transparency in city government, bringing the council together to work as a team and engaging with Santa Fe County to bring emergency resources to her district, which spans Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, Archuleta-Toya said.
“When people say ‘Española,’ I want them to think, ‘That’s a great community, it’s a beautiful place, it’s full of culture’ and all those things, instead of thinking, ‘Whatever you do, don’t stop in Española.’ It’s so negative now,” she said.
“I’m still taking it all in, but I’m very, very excited and grateful to the supporters that came out and put their faith and trust in me,” Archuleta-Toya said after learning of her win.
Incumbent Councilor Manuel “Manny” Martinez did not respond to requests for comment. Outgoing Councilor Dennis Tim Salazar and LeDoux had both publicly endorsed Martinez, calling him a watchdog against corruption in city government.