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| Candidates Acevedo, Flores, Portillo, Silva, and Montoya at last night's forum |
Five candidates are running for two at-large seats in Anthony's Board of Trustee elections. One of them, Elva Flores, was appointed to the position a few months ago when a vacancy arose, and now is running herself for the position. Another, Juan Acevedo, a Protestant minister, ran unsuccessfully for Mayor a few years ago. Victor Montoya, a local activist, Javier Silva, a worker for the local telephone company, and Sarah Portillo, round out the field of candidates.
About 60 persons attended the forum, sponsored by the Southwest Organizing Project, was held at the Women's Intercultural Center. Mayor Diana Murillo-Trujillo and trustees Barrera and Gonzales were in attendance.
The political elite of Anthony has matured enormously since they struggled almost a decade ago to create a municipality. Most of the candidates were well prepared, and had reasonably clear ideas about what needs fixing. All expressed a strong need for improved policies and procedures, and for stronger accountability. Flores, an incumbent via appointment, defended efforts of the city to fulfill the vision of the Master Plan, and disputed some of the statements made by other candidates as being provably non-factual. The audience, composed largely of members of the Anthony political class, was also well informed and listened carefully.
There is a proposal for Anthony to purchase the Dos Lagos Golf course for the city. This is one of the best ideas in all of municipal government in New Mexico, and such an acquisition, if implemented, would serve as a powerful point of attraction for potential residents, businesses, and tourists into the indefinite future. The cost, from the discussion last night, would be only about $4 million, well within the financial capability of the support systems currently in place in New Mexico for municipalities. It will simply require some extensive legwork on the part of trustees, staff, and citizens to lay a solid proposal on the table.
