Candidates earn close victories in Santa Fe down-ballot races

While the governor's race is getting most of the attention today, Democratic primary voters also chose local candidates who now find themselves in the spotlight of Santa Fe's power structure.

Some of the candidates were just barely victorious, like Henry Roybal, who inched out District 1 County Commission incumbent Danny Mayfield by a margin of 77 votes, according to results posted on the Secretary of State's website. Roybal's victory after Mayfield's single term on the board is perhaps one of the more surprising results of the primary. He earned 1,893 votes, 43 percent of total ballots cast in Santa Fe County. The third candidate, Kenneth Borrego earned 659 votes total, peeling away 15 percent of the electorate from the top two candidates.

Roybal, 44, faces no general election opponent, and his presence on the commission could serve as a contrast to Mayfield's occasionally contrarian personality on the board. A Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, he's known for his involvement in little league sports. He emphasized constituent relations in his race.  Robert Anaya was re-elected to his commission seat with no opposition.

Gus Martinez earned a decisive victory in the county assessor race, taking 57 percent of the vote and beating out Phillip Pacheco and Sef Valdez. Martinez, 40, is familiar with the work in the assessor's office, where he's been employed for 16 years. He currently heads the appraisal division.

Donita Sena earned more decisive victory in the magistrate judge race, with nearly 65 percent of the vote over former police officer Marcus Romero. Sena is also already familiar with her office, having worked at the office for six years.

She promised in her campaign to work with offenders in diversion programs, but also said she'd be tough on crime.

Sena, however, must square away her differences with Magistrate Judge Donna Bevacqua-Young, who called the police on Sena in a May 17 incident in which Sena allegedly approached the sitting judge outside her home, alleging her friends were spreading rumors about Sena. Santa Fe Police have been investigating the incident as an assault case, but have not filed charges. Bevacqua-Young's own statements to an officer indicate there was no physical contact.

First Judicial District Court candidate David Thomson also won on a slim margin against sitting judge Matthew Justin Wilson, taking a lead by four percentage points with a 36 percent of the vote for the job that handles the family court docket for Santa Fe, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties. Wilson was appointed to the post by Gov. Susana Martinez, and the victory is sweet for Thomson, who was appointed to a different judgeship by Gov. Bill Richardson but lost a previous election bid to keep the post. Yvonne Quintana wasn't far behind with 31 percent of votes.

The race for probate judge also proved close. Shannon Broderick Bulman took almost 43 percent of the vote, beating two opponents by a margin of  408 votes.  Second in the contest was Katherine Basham, the wife of outgoing probate Judge Mark Basham.

View the unofficial results here.

Santa Fe Reporter