Rudy Jaramillo, a restaurant owner and city councilor, said he’s running for mayor of Belen because he wants to make city government more pro-business.

“The mayor and city council have never really addressed business issues, seeing what we can do to help businesses during the economic crisis that’s happening right now. I think we should step in and ask what we can do,” he said.

He wants to focus on the interior of Belen’s business community, to help existing businesses, before looking outside of the community for new business.

“If we take care of our businesses, they will hire employees. They will create jobs,” he said.

He said as a restaurant owner he’s seen how businesses can create jobs. He also stressed that major companies like Signet Solar, a solar manufacturer who wants to build a plant and create 600 jobs in Belen, are also important for the community.

He said city government should pay more attention to youth, helping foster a better future for them in terms of quality of life and jobs.

With businesses and the public in mind, Jaramillo said he voted against a gross receipts tax increase approved by the city council in 2008 without a public vote.

“I felt that it should have been brought to the voters, giving them a voice instead of four city councilors telling people we’re going to raise their taxes. I stood up against it. The vote was 3 to 1,” he said.

Jaramillo said he’s worked to put money toward neglected infrastructure.

For example, he’s spent years fighting for sidewalks, including one along Delgado Avenue near Belen High School for the safety of students who sometimes walk on the road to stay out of the mud.

“They walk in the road. Thank God nothing’s happened, but it’s an accident waiting to happen,” he said.

Part of Delgado Avenue, between the high school and Mesa Road, now has a sidewalk, but he’d like it to extend down to Tenth Street.

Jaramillo said Belen has a lot of infrastructure needs the city government should take a look at.

“Our roads are in disarray. They need a lot of attention,” he said.

He said the city’s done a good job of improving sewerage and drainage.

If elected mayor, Jaramillo would also focus on hiring a city manager who has good management skills, an education and even some engineering in his or her background.

“Our city employees do well. They can take care of their positions,” he said. “But the city manager’s position needs to be closely looked at and addressed.”

Jaramillo said he’s contributed a lot to the community over the years, and as mayor, he’d continue to be there for citizens who need his help.

“The mayor needs to be a community leader,” he said. “I’ve been involved with the community in all aspects. I involve myself with many events and issues.”

Alonzo Baldonado, a Los Lunas realtor, says he’s running for state representative in House district 8 because he wants to be a voice for the people of Valencia County.

“In state government, there’s a lack of listening to the people, listening to the constituents. I’m committed to the constitution of New Mexico, where it says the power is in the people,” he said.

District 8′s seat is currently held by Rep. Elias Barela.

Baldonado said district 8 needs leadership, in particular someone who will build coalitions in state and local government.

“We need someone who will sit down with the mayors’ offices in Belen and Los Lunas, who will sit down with the county commissioners, and ask them what direction they’re headed in,” he said.

Baldonado wants to bring sustainable growth and new development to Valencia County.

“We have good plans and great opportunities to grow here in Valencia County,” he said.

He also wants to create jobs, saying young people throughout the county shouldn’t have to leave the county to get a good job.

“They’re going off to work elsewhere because we don’t have a sufficient work environment for them to stay here,” he said.

Signet Solar, a solar technology manufacturer, was recently denied a federal loan guarantee, which has halted the construction of a plant that could create 600 jobs in Belen. Baldonado said he applauds officials with the City of Belen who are in Washington, DC, lobbying for Signet Solar.

As a realtor, Baldonado has seen the challenges of balancing growth in an urbanized area like Los Lunas with agriculture in a community like Los Chavez.

“The sustainability of this county lies in growth — in terms of controlled, planned, well-thought-out growth, not just ‘Let’s just throw it together and make it happen,’” he said.

Baldonado is a Republican and so far has no announced opponent in the district 8 Republican primary.

Barela will face Julian Luna, a Belen Consolidated Schools board member, in the Democratic primary.

To run, state representative candidates must formally file in mid-March. The primary election is scheduled for the first Tuesday in June.

Belen’s four mayoral candidates addressed a number of issues affecting residents and businesses during a candidate forum last week, each offering their ideas for Belen.

The forum was hosted by the Belen High School Student Council, with students asking questions and about 100 seniors listening to the responses. The public was not allowed in.

No candidate was asked the same question, except for a question about taxes, and the responses below aren’t necessarily indicative of candidates’ priorities.

Tibo Chavez Jr.

Tibo Chavez Jr., a local attorney, said he’s seen a lot of changes in Belen during the past three decades, including good growth and a faltering Main Street.

“When you have so many boarded up buildings on Main Street, it’s the type of thing that’s difficult to deal with because it’s not the Belen that I knew. It’s not the vibrant business community where we could shop for gifts, go to all kinds of different restaurants, or have places where you could shop for clothing,” he said.

He wants to create new jobs in Belen, fighting to save Signet Solar’s 600 jobs, a company which has been denied a federal loan guarantee that’s left construction of its Belen manufacturing facility in doubt.

“Since the railroad came in, there hasn’t been any other company that can offer 600 jobs for this area,” he said. “We need to fight for it every way we can — petitions, city hall, our congressmen and so on.”

He said there’s no reason why anyone should have to move out of Belen to find a good job.

On crime, he wants to fight it in part by forming neighborhood watches and coordinating with the district attorney and attorney general for prosecution of crimes.

He also wants city hall run like a business and more responsive to the needs of the community. For example, he wants to do away with the automated phones at city hall so a caller can speak with a real person instead.

“We can make city hall a place where people are proud to go,” he said.

Chavez said he wants to make Belen greener both in terms of trees and grass but also curtailing pollution.

“We always have to do things to make sure that upstream from Albuquerque, from industries, we’re not getting polluted down here,” he said of the Rio Grande.

He also wants Belen to initiate more recycling.

“There’s a little bit of recycling being done here in Belen. A lot more recycling could be done,” he said.

The way people toss trash from their vehicles is “disgusting,” he said. He would like to see a few signs warning against littering and showing the amount the person could be fined, coupled with better enforcement of a fine.

On taxes, Chavez said Belen has one of the highest sales tax rates in the state. He wants to balance a need for lowering taxes with the city’s need to provide services and projects.

“How can we in Belen compete with Los Lunas or Socorro and other communities that are doing well when our gross receipts tax is higher? We need to bring that tax rate down so that we are competitive, so we can bring in businesses,” he said.

Wayne Gallegos

Wayne Gallegos, a former fire chief for the City of Belen and current city councilor, said he first ran for office two years ago to deal with flooding in Belen.

“My priority is to continue with the flooding issues in the city. The economy will be good or bad, but it’s still going to rain and snow,” he said.

Gallegos said he’s concerned that there’s no money for flood control, but if flood projects are completed a little at a time the city can put an end to flooding.

His second priority is economic development.

“We can do something. We have to get together and work hard on that,” he said.

On illegal drugs, Gallegos said we can deal with the problem by having the Belen Police Department work on it.

“The drug problem is not going to go away. It’s been here for a long time, but if we all get together we can do something about it,” he said.

He would seek more funding for the police department.

He would also work with Belen Consolidated Schools, lauding the Belen High School Career Academy.

On taxes, Gallegos said he doesn’t think it’s realistic to lower taxes and any candidate who says he or she will lower taxes is placating voters.

“Government works on taxes, folks,” he said. “We need to tax people to get libraries. We need to tax to get fire stations. We need to tax people all the time. That’s where the money goes to.”

He said everyone wants lower taxes.

Rudy Jaramillo

Rudy Jaramillo, a restaurant owner and current city councilor, said there’s a lot the city has done that’s good but also a lot that needs improvement.

“I know that we need growth,” he said, adding, “We strive to get businesses to come in here.”

He said his focus would be on helping existing businesses stay in Belen, building a strong business community that businesses outside of Belen will want to join.

“We need to start inside our city,” he said, adding, “We need to ask them what the city can do to enhance their business.”

When asked how he would expand the city to compete with Los Lunas, Jaramillo struggled to answer the question at first, partly because he didn’t hear the question.

He then said the city needs to take a look at available buildings and land throughout Belen. He also pointed to the farmers’ market and art galleries as a direction to continue moving in.

“The only way that you can expand is with businesses that are profitable,” he said.

He wants to provide jobs.

“There are jobs that are promised from these big companies. But we need to look at the businesses that are here already and take care of them,” he said.

On taxes, Jaramillo said government can’t function without taxing people.

“We all want to see a lower tax, but to lower a tax is taking away from the areas you all are enjoying today,” he said, noting school buildings are constructed with tax dollars. “Taxes are a reality.”

Arturo Sais

Arturo Sais, who works as the interim city manager for the Town of Peralta, said he most concerned with the city’s budget.

“We can’t be spending like a drunken sailor. That’s the bottom line,” he said, calling for “change.”

He said the city’s annexation of Rancho Cielo west of Los Chavez is “fine,” but not what he would’ve done.

“We better look at our infrastructure here in Belen before we starting growing out,” he said. “I see Los Lunas. Los Lunas is not a well-planned city, I’ll tell you that right now. They’ve got a lot of problems.”

He said the city shouldn’t be throwing money into Rancho Cielo, especially without being more involved in the planning stages of the development.

“It can’t be a half-built project which later on could easily become a junk pile we’ve got to get rid of,” Sais said.

He said there’s no need to thwart growth, but the city must plan for it.

Asked about building a hospital in Valencia County, Sais said he was “all for it,” calling the hospital planning “shoddy” and saying he wants to plan progressively for all projects.

He said it’s up to the Valencia County Commission to decide what to do, acknowledging the fight over the location but taking no stance on which location is best.

“A hospital enhances the community and its quality of life,” he said.

Sais said he was concerned about Belen’s gross receipts tax, and other taxes like property and hospital taxes. Instead of high taxes, he prefers creative financing and budgetary foresight.

“We need some positive thinking. We know we live in a good community,” he said, pointing out he’ll have an “open door policy.”

Voting in the Belen municipal election is underway right now at city hall, and will continue until Election Day on March 2.

Frank A. Otero, a board member with Los Lunas Schools, said today he’s running for mayor of Los Lunas because he wants to make the village government more accessible to the citizens.

“I will make the village more accessible,” he said. “If you call right now you can’t get a hold of anybody. That’s where we really need to improve. We need to be accessible and available to the residents. We need to listen to their concerns.”

Continuing a campaign theme of accessibility, he’s also concerned about congestion on Main Street and its adjoining thoroughfares. He said he supports the construction of a new interchange near Morris Road at the southern end of Los Lunas.

“Morris Road would probably be the best place for that. It would also include the widening of Morris Road and possibly in the future another bridge in that area,” he said.

He said he’s concerned that the village won’t be able to secure the funding for seven to 10 years and will continue to have a congested Main Street.

“Due to a lack of funding in the foreseeable future, it’s good to talk about it, but I think we’re just spinning our wheels at this point in time,” he said.

Otero doesn’t think Los Lunas has any other infrastructure needs right now.

“To the best of my knowledge, the water, sewer and those types of things, and street improvements, have been achieved and are sustainable for the immediate future,” he said.

Making Los Lunas accessible to new businesses and jobs also tops Otero’s list of priorities.

“A lot of our kids are having to leave our community to find a good paying job and to find a career path,” he said. “I believe more attention should be given to trying to develop small businesses, especially in areas of the village that are kind of depressed.”

Otero pointed out that there are numerous vacant commercial properties in Los Lunas, along Main Street and near the Valencia Y.

He also wants to focus on maintaining services for residents in a slow economy.

“Maintaining the health and safety of our residents is the utmost priority,” he said. “With declining sales tax revenues, we’re in jeopardy of losing adequate police protection, fire and rescue and other basic services.”

Otero spotlighted his government experience. He’s spent three years on the school board, helping manage the district’s $60-million budget and overseeing district policy and operations.

“I’m always available. I’ve never missed a meeting,” he said. “I’ve been involved with the budget. I’ve been an officer of the board all three years.”

He also worked as a facilities operations manager for the New Mexico Department of Health.

Otero ran for mayor in 2002 and 2006. Both of those times he was up against a mayor who had been in office for decades. This time he’s up against Mayor Robert Vialpando, who’s been in office for a year.

Rep. Elias Barela said today he plans to spend his time at the state legislature’s 30-day session focused on finding a solution to the state’s budget deficit while advocating several bills, including one that would establish a new ethics commission.

Barela said he wants to reverse the deficit in a way that won’t “punish working people or the most vulnerable New Mexicans” and doesn’t “impede our ability to attract quality jobs to our state.” He said he would “resist” cuts to education.

The state needs a long-term solution, Barela said, to avoid ending up in the same situation it’s in now just a few years down the road.

“Many public servants, in times like these, are tempted to look for the easy or most politically expedient solution to the problem, but we cannot make that mistake,” he said.

He expressed opposition to tax hikes for middle class New Mexicans, including raising taxes on food or income. He also opposes budget cuts that will result in laying off state employees.

“These are the people that make our state run at the most basic level, and eliminating their jobs is not an answer to budget problems that are essentially caused by structural revenue shortfalls,” he said.

Barela said deficit-reducing solutions could include encouraging stronger businesses, making government more efficient and closing corporate tax loophole that allow some companies to “cheat” New Mexico out of tax revenue.

He also wants to eliminate double dipping, when a government employee receives both a salary and retirement check.

“This practice costs the state millions of dollars every year,” he said.

He would like to see the governor cut back on exempt employees, too. Exempt employees are typically political appointments, varying in how necessary they are to the everyday functions of state government.

Beyond the budget, Barela wants to establish a new ethics commission that can investigate ethics complaints against state and local elected officials.

“Real, meaningful ethics reform is key to building a government the people can trust again,” he said.

He said he will also continue to work to fund an overpass on Jarales Road, where busy Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains sometimes block the roadway, and additional training for firefighters, police and healthcare professionals.

A search of the state legislature’s website shows Barela hasn’t yet introduced any bills during the current session, which convened today but had a prefiling period.

Tibo Chavez Jr., a Belen attorney, says he’s running to be Belen’s next mayor to help bring business back to the city.

“Driving up and down Main Street and Becker Avenue and looking at all the boarded up buildings, including the old city hall across from my office, it’s depressing,” he said. “I felt there is something I could and should do to change that.”

Chavez, who said it feels like Belen’s “turning into a ghost town,” spoke with other mayoral candidates before deciding to run, but he wasn’t satisfied with what he heard from them. They didn’t have specific ideas for creating jobs and bringing new businesses, he said.

“I decided I would come up with a plan and an approach and run,” he said.

He wants Belen to have more retail options and a variety of restaurants.

“It’s difficult when all of the businesses that used to be here are boarded up and you have to go out of Belen to do most of your shopping or be at the mercy of our local Wal-Mart,” he said.

To create a better business environment, Chavez plans to make city hall more receptive to people who want to open a new business, eliminating “brick walls” that stand in the way of new businesses. For example, he wants to streamline zoning and building code processes.

“The business should be encouraged to locate here,” he said.

Chavez would designate or hire an employee who can be the go-to person for guiding entrepreneurs through these processes. He would also utilize tax incentives for business owners.

He also wants to encourage major business development like Signet Solar, a company planning to build a solar manufacturing facility west of Los Chavez, a project Chavez said is “stalled” under the current administration.

“Those kinds of businesses that produce a product that would be used not only in New Mexico but around the country and the world are really great businesses for us to have,” he said.

He said Belen is perfect for solar industry because the city has the right ingredients — easy railroad access and the nearby interstate.

He said the combination of the railroad, interstate, Belen Alexander Airport, and Belen’s location at the center of the state makes Belen prime for transportation- and shipping-related businesses.

Aside from jobs and business, Chavez will be anti-crime and make neighborhoods safer.

“More and more as the SWAT team and metro law enforcement in Albuquerque push the gangs and the drug members out of Albuquerque, they will look to communities like Belen to set up,” he said.

He wants to coordinate with the district attorney, the attorney general and local law enforcement to aggressively reduce crime. He also wants to help set up neighborhood watches in all of Belen’s neighborhoods.

Chavez would make changes in city hall, too, operating it more like a business. He wants full accountability of how taxpayers’ money is spent, partly by posting the city’s budget and audits on the internet for the public to view.

“If the audits show problems, then those should be posted,” he said. “Everything has to be open and transparent. It is taxpayers’ money, and there’s no reason to keep it quiet or be secretive about it.”

He said city hall needs to be friendly. He said people shouldn’t call in to city hall and hear an automated voice answering the phone.

“I think somebody should answer the phone and say, ‘Good morning. City of Belen. My name is such and such. How can I help you?’” Chavez said.

In terms of infrastructure, the city needs to plan strategically for improvements and then apply for federal and state assistance based on the plan, he said.

“It has to be a long-term approach so that Belen grows in a manner that’s conducive to good quality living,” he said.

He said new paving, sidewalks and lampposts are good for Belen, but they aren’t enough.

“Those types of cosmetic improvements are helpful, but they haven’t stemmed the tide,” he said.

Sen. Eric Griego has introduced public financing legislation for the 30-day legislature that starts tomorrow in Santa Fe.

The bill — SB51 — would allow candidates for certain state offices to voluntarily opt into public financing of their campaigns.

The candidate who decides to accept public funds will be allowed to receive $100 donations from people registered to vote in his or her district, receiving money from no other sources. The state will then give the candidate “matching funds” of four times the amount he or she has received from those registered voters.

The bill also sets amounts to be distributed to each candidate based on the office the candidate is seeking.

A candidate who’s accepted more than $500 in contributions prior to opting in to public financing, however, would be ineligible for public funds.

If no one is running against the candidate, the candidate can’t get public funds. If the candidate has funds left over after the primary or general elections, the money is put back into the state’s public financing fund.

Valencia! published a flurry of candidacy declarations as we received word of them. Here’s a summary:

City of Belen

The City of Belen’s current mayor, Ronnie Torres, decided not to run for reelection last year. While he expressed an interest in a council seat, he said he wouldn’t run for any position.

The candidates who filed today for mayor are Tibo Chavez Jr., Wayne Gallegos, Rudy Jaramillo, and Arturo Sais.

The race is guaranteed to be tough for all four candidates.

Gallegos and Jaramillo have their incumbency to help them out, with each serving on the Belen City Council. Gallegos was fire chief and has been very involved in older American issues. Jaramillo is a local restaurant owner.

Chavez has his strong family name, as well as his education and law firm. Sais has a lot of government experience, including his position as Peralta’s municipal clerk.

The city council has two seat up for election. Mary Aragon, Steve Castillo, Jerah Cordova, incumbent David Lopez and incumbent Terese Ulivarri will compete for the two seats.

The Belen council seats are at-large, not in districts.

The city’s municipal judge is up for election, too. Gilbert Garcia, Roy Gonzales and incumbent Kathy Savilla will compete for the seat.

Town of Peralta

The Town of Peralta has two council seats up for election. Incumbents Leon Otero and Joseph Romero both filed to run.

Edward Connelly Archuleta filed, too, according to the Valencia County News-Bulletin. Archuleta’s filing may have occurred shortly before the 5:00pm deadline.

The Peralta council seats are at-large, not in districts.

Village of Bosque Farms

The Village of Bosque Farms has two council seats up for election. Kevin Boyd, incumbent William Kennedy, Barbara Martinez-Keiser and Russell Walkup all filed to run for those two seats. Councilor Virgil Proctor didn’t file to run for reelection.

The Bosque Farms council seats are at-large, not in districts.

Village of Los Lunas

The Village of Los Lunas will have almost as compelling a mayoral race as the one in Belen.

Like Belen, Los Lunas doesn’t really have an incumbent mayor running for office. While Robert Vialpando is mayor, he was appointed to the position less than a year ago when former Mayor Louis Huning resigned.

Frank Otero, Gene Sais and Vialpando filed today to run for mayor.

All three appear to have a good chance to win. Vialpando has incumbency, both as mayor and as a village councilor prior to that. Otero is a Los Lunas school board member with a name in the community. Sais appears to be a well-liked local entrepreneur with ideas and the potential for a professionally-run campaign.

The Village of Los Lunas has two council seats up for election in two separate districts. Charles Griego filed for District 2 and has no challenger, meaning that race is over. Richard Lovato filed for District 4 and also has no challenger, which means he’ll be elected as long as he votes for himself.

The village’s municipal judge is also up for election. Two candidates filed: incumbent Jeff Aragon, who has already begun advertising and Stephanie Williams, who has a campaign website.

Frank A. Otero, a Los Lunas Schools board member, has filed his declaration of candidacy to run for mayor of Los Lunas.

The early morning sun hits this Rudy Jaramillo sign in Belen.

With the end of the holidays and the beginning of a new year, municipal elections across the county are getting underway this week.

The first political campaign shot was fired by Belen mayoral candidate Rudy Jaramillo who erected a huge billboard along the highway in Belen. The billboard doesn’t say he’s running for anything, but highlights his business, says he’s been serving the community since 1980 and shows his name as large as possible.

The Village of Bosque Farms, Village of Los Lunas and Town of Peralta will also hold elections on March 2.

The mayoral races in Belen and Los Lunas could prove to be the most exciting. For the first time in a very long time neither mayoral race has an incumbent running for office.

In Belen, the field remains wide open, as current Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres said months ago that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection.

Jaramillo is one of two announced candidates in the Belen mayoral race. Arturo Sais, who works for the Town of Peralta, is passing out cards saying he’s running. Other names bouncing around as possible Belen mayoral candidates include councilors Wayne Gallegos and Terese Ulivarri, as well as local attorney Tibo Chavez Jr.

A campaign card for Arturo Sais.

In Los Lunas, the only announced candidate is the current mayor, Robert Vialpando. While he can be considered an incumbent in many respects, he was appointed to the position less than a year ago after former Mayor Louis Huning resigned due to health concerns.

Other people rumored to be considering a run for mayor of Los Lunas include Councilor Gerard Saiz and Los Lunas Schools Board Member Frank Otero.

Filing day for all candidates for municipal office is tomorrow, when we’ll know for sure who’s running for which positions, including the various council and municipal judge candidates.