Ready, Set, Go

Santa Fe city election candidates can pick up packets to be in races for March 2016 ballot

Looking for change at City Hall? Are you ready to be the change you want to see in the world?

Prospective candidates for Santa Fe City Council can pick up information and necessary paperwork from the city clerk beginning today.

Since city councilors fill staggered four-year terms, one seat in each of the four districts is up for grabs in the March 1, 2016, election.

Councilors whose terms are expiring are Patti Bushee, in the northside District 1, Peter Ives, representing eastside District 2, Chris Rivera, from District 3 in the southwest region of the city, and Bill Dimas, who lives in District 4 in the south-central neighborhoods.

The municipal judge seat is also ripe for the taking, since Judge Ann Yalman tells SFR Monday morning that she's not planning to run for judge again. Appointed to fill a spot vacated when Judge Fran Gallegos resigned in 2005, Yalman then earned election twice.

After nearly 10 years in the court and at age 67, she's ready to retire.

"I'm young enough to run for president, but not young enough to run for municipal judge again," Yalman says with a hearty laugh.

City rules require all candidates for the judge job to have passed the New Mexico Bar. The court deals with traffic cases and misdemeanors such as shoplifting, drunken driving and code enforcement within Santa Fe's city limits.

Ives tells SFR he's ready to jump into the election cycle again and is planning to "enjoy the process."

"My hope is that the record has been strong enough that folks think I have been doing a good job in paying attention and putting the city in the right direction," he says, "and they will want to put me back in there."

He says he hopes to see more voters submit ballots this go-round.

But since the election doesn't feature a contest for mayor, history doesn't predict that will come true. The 2014 election saw about 29 percent of registered voters casting ballots compared to the 2012 election, which had a turnout of about 20 percent.

Rivera says he's also planning to run again and hopes to stop by City Hall today to pick up his candidate packet. As of about 2 pm, City Clerk Yolanda Vigil reports that both Bushee and Dimas have already picked up packets, along with former Councilor Frank Montaño, who says he wants to run against Bushee. Former County Commissioner Virginia Vigil also stopped by, the clerk says, because she's interested in running for the judge spot.

The first step for a candidate is to complete a nominating petition with signatures from at least one-half of 1 percent of the registered voters in the district where he or she is seeking office. For the judge office, voters can be from anywhere in the city. There's also information about getting started with the city's public campaign financing system. Vigil says she's meeting with those who stop by today in person and wants other potential candidates to make an appointment so she can get them started on the right foot. For more details, call her at 955-6521.

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