The Española Municipal election is scheduled for March 3. The roles of mayor, one councilor from each of the four districts and the municipal judge are up for grabs.
This year, the Rio Grande SUN staff asked each candidate to answer a series of questions by email in hope of receiving detailed answers that give voters insight into who they might be electing to public office.
Candidates in each role received the same questions and their answers will be listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity, but without altering their original meaning.
District 3
Floyd Archuleta served on the city council for 20 years. He also served 12 years on the McCurdy and Española School boards and is the former president of the New Mexico Municipal League. His professional experience includes time at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Department of Workforce Solutions and the U.S. Department of Labor. Archuleta has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management. He is married and has two sons and two daughters.
Manuel Martinez previously served on the city council for eight years. He has worked for the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative for 37 years.
He is passionate about music and art and has been the president of the Española Valley Arts Festival for six years.
He is also the children and youth talent coordinator for the New Mexico Hispano Music Association and volunteers for several other organizations.
He is from Santa Cruz and has four children. He has six granddaughters and is raising three of them.
District 4
Justin Salazar-Torrez is running unopposed in District 4. He did not respond to questions for this report. Salazar-Torrez is a republican and recently won a seat on the Española Public School Board. He currently serves as the city council’s mayor pro tem.
Where do you believe the current council has fallen short and what would you do differently and why?
Floyd Archuleta: They have failed to work together. A united council is imperative if we’re going to be successful.
Finger pointing at each other in the governing body doesn’t accomplish anything. Respect each other’s opinions and concerns and learn how to compromise and work together.
Manuel Martinez: The City Council must be more diligent in its financial responsibility and hold the mayor and city manager accountable for audits not being on time.
The city council must work together and cannot give any mayor a free pass for the deficit. If the city finances are not taken care of, all city services and projects will suffer.
Española faces many interconnected challenges: homelessness, lack of affordable housing, drug use and its impacts on people and the economy, crime and lack of economic growth. What do you believe is the main obstacle preventing the city council from making progress on these issues? What specific policies/initiatives would you introduce or support as a councilor to tackle these challenges in a coordinated effort?
Floyd Archuleta: I would convene governing body meetings and workshops to establish a team systems approach to problem solving and strategic planning. We will work together and establish a plan with goals and objectives identifying priorities and commitments of everyone. Short and Long term plans should be established
Manuel Martinez: The idea has already been brought up of having a unit through our public safety department to be the boots on the street to try and get these people the help they need.
We need to check for warrants to get the criminals off the street. We need to make sure it’s safe to shop for people from our community and from the surrounding areas.
There is a lack of affordable housing in the city. What specific criteria should a housing project meet in order to gain your support?
Floyd Archuleta: Low income housing programs should be brought back under the city’s local administration.
This will ensure that our local residents are being assisted by the availability of housing authority resources. We need to work with investors who are interested in developing affordable housing and work with them.
Manuel Martinez: If there is any housing development in Española, we need to make sure there is a number of affordable units within the development.
As a council, we need to take a good look at zoning and city codes and make sure they are up-to-date so we can be a friendly city to work with.