Chavez, Holian, Others Take Santa Fe County Posts

Local voters on Tuesday night handed two incumbents and a longtime elected city official seats on the Santa Fe County Commission.

An unofficial count showed former Santa Fe City Councilor Miguel Chavez winning the District 2 Democratic nomination with 1112 votes, or 40.5 percent of the vote. Attorney Maria-Ester DeAnda was second with 31.5 percent of the vote, while retired Santa Fe County employee Dennis Hernandez had 28 percent.

With the results coming in late, Chavez said he was tired but excited. He said he had hoped to win by a larger margin than 246 votes but “it’s a victory nonetheless.”

“The numbers tell me it is going to be a lot if work. I’m going to have to work with the other county commissioners and the constituents at large so we can pull together to address the needs of the community,” Chavez said.

Kathy Holian, a retired computational physicist, tallied 72 percent in District 4. Opponent Victor Baca, a retired county and state worker, got 28 percent.

County Commissioner Liz Stefanics ran unopposed for a second term in District 5.

In other Santa Fe County Democratic races, Geraldine Salazar took the nomination for county clerk and Patrick “Pat” Varela soundly defeated Oliver Garcia for treasurer.

Tuesday’s Santa Fe County Democratic primary winners face no Republican opponents in the general election, essentially guaranteeing them victory next November unless independent or write-in candidates emerge.

“I just really want to say thank you to the community. I think they have really come through for me. I think it’s an example of the fact we have worked together and now we’re working together for me on my election. I’m really honored,” Holian said.

County elections chief Denise Lamb said there were a few problems during voting hours Tuesday.

She said sheriff’s deputies had to go to some polling places to get campaigners to move back the required distance. Also, “dozens” of campaign signs that were posted too close or at polling buildings had to be removed, Lamb said.

There was an evacuation of the polling place at El Museo Cultural in the Railyard for about a half-hour around mid-day because of a fire scare, after an odor that suggested something might have been burning was detected. But the fire department found no problems.

Also, a downed power line near Agua Fria and Lopez Lane made it difficult for some voters to reach the Agua Fria Community Center for much of the day.

Varela got 77.1 percent of the vote in the treasurer’s race. The nephew of longtime Santa Fe state Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, he works as a physical plant manager for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

Garcia, the county’s former deputy treasurer, saw his fortunes fall in April when he was fired from his post after being implicated in a scheme to use counterfeit car wash vouchers.

Garcia is accused of using photocopies of $17 car wash vouchers purchased by the treasurer’s office which were supposed to be used to clean county vehicles at the Oil Stop Drive Thru Oil Change and Car Wash on Cerrillos Road. He’s maintained he’s innocent of the multiple misdemeanor fraud charges levied against him.

Salazar, the clerk office’s public records liaison, handily won a promotion with 46.4 percent of the vote. Businesswoman Letitia Montoya was second with 25.4 percent, while Tara Lujan, who has worked for the New Mexico Legislature, took 18.7 percent. Gilbert Garcia tallied 9.5 percent.

Santa Fe County voter turnout numbers weren’t immediately available Tuesday night.