Santa Fe Elects Villarreal, Vigil

Villarreal bests field four for for District 1 City Council seat, Vigil wins a closer race for municipal judge

With all ballots counted in Santa Fe’s municipal elections, Renee Villarreal has been elected to represent District 1 for Santa Fe, replacing Councilor Patti Bushee, who chose not to run for re-election after holding the seat for 22 years, and Virginia Vigil has become the new municipal judge, Judge Ann Yalman having retired after 10 years on the bench.


Though results are still unofficial, the last round of reports from the city clerk show Villarreal taking a commanding 65 percent of the vote, while the three other candidates edged in with 13 percent of the vote or less.


Villarreal spent the early hours after polls closed at 7 pm at City Council chambers to hear results as they were read off. She also participated in KSFR’s commentary of the election and then went to meet supporters at the Cowgirl, including friends and family, in an affair that was still going on after 10 pm.


"I'm humbled by the win. It's truly a team win, because this campaign was a grassroots effort, and hundreds of volunteers and people just participating in so many different levels, and I think the fact that because I did run a publicly financed campaign, it did allow me to start meeting with voters from the very beginning and hearing from them and their concerns about the city,” Villarreal said. “But now, the real work begins. It's hard to run a campaign, but I think that it's a hard job to be a public servant, and I'm ready for the challenge.”


Villarreal told SFR she's preparing to transition to a part-time position at the New Mexico Community Foundation so she can be "dedicated to City Council."


District 1 saw the only contested race in this year’s City Council elections, with four candidates vying for the seat: repeat candidate Marie Campos, an artist and organizer; Frank Montaño, who previously served three terms on Santa Fe City Council and two terms on the school board, and owner/operator of Fiesta Tours; Kathryn P Kennedy, partner at Skylight and political newcomer, who ran as the only privately financed candidate and raised more than double the $15,000 her competitors received for public financing; and Villarreal, director of programs and community outreach for New Mexico Community Foundation, and a former Planning Commission member.


The final tally shows Villarreal with 2,783 votes, followed by Montaño with 543, Kennedy with 525, and Campos with 372.


“I’m thrilled that District 1 turned out in great numbers and great numbers for Renee [Villarreal],” Bushee said. “I mean, almost 3,00 votes for a candidate in a four-way highly contested race with folks that have had great experience with elections. And the other thing that I’m ecstatic about is they didn’t let money make the difference in District 1’s election. I’m really excited that she has a mandate to go forward with. She’s the most qualified, she’s energetic, she’s dedicated, she’s passionate about her community, and I was just thrilled to see her do so well and run such a great campaign. And that’s the other thing: I’m grateful it didn’t turn too personal, and everybody really understood there was one candidate that stood out that had the raw materials Santa Fe needs for its future.”

The race for municipal judge, which hears cases in which there was a violation of city code, often traffic infractions, teetered at nearly a 50/50 split for most of the evening, with Vigil gradually edging a lead over political newcomer Ignacio Gallegos to finish with 56 percent to his 44 percent of the vote. Vigil is a practicing criminal defense attorney, Santa Fe municipal judge pro tem and a former county commissioner. Gallegos works as an administrative law judge at the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department, hearing DUI cases.


“I’m humbled and honored that the voters of Santa Fe came forth, and I promise and commit to them that the faith they’ve instilled in me, I will re-instill in the court by being fair and partial and consistent in all I do there, with respect and dignity,” Vigil told SFR shortly following the election results announcement.


District 1 voters dominated the election, showing a turnout that nearly doubled the numbers seen in any of the other three districts, not surprising, given their uncontested City Council races.


Councilors Peter Ives and Chris Rivera ran unopposed to hold their seats, representing Districts 2 and 3, respectively, and Michael Harris, president of Harris Consultants, LLC, and chairman of the Santa Fe Planning Commission, was the sole candidate to replace Councilor Bill Dimas, who decided not to run for re-election in District 4. Still, Ives secured 1,510 votes, Rivera 415 and Harris 1,115. In each of those races, more people total voted than voted for those uncontested candidates, meaning some voters cast a ballot marked only for the one competitive race for municipal judge.


“I’m so pleased to welcome Mike Harris and Renee Villarreal to the City Council, and to congratulate Councilor Rivera and Mayor Pro Tem Ives on their re-election,” Mayor Javier M Gonzales said in a statement  welcoming the winners to the governing body. “It is an incredibly exciting time to be an elected official in Santa Fe. As we work to create opportunity for every child, combat poverty and climate change, and build a stronger economy, it’s going to take all of us coming together to have success. I know the new members will be ready to hit the ground running, and I can’t wait to work with them.


“I want to congratulate not just the winners, but everyone who had the courage to run for public office, and I look forward to their continued involvement in civic life.”


This election marked the first in which the city clerk turned to voting convenience centers, available to any registered voter, rather than 33 district- or precinct-specific polling places. Just under 16 percent of Santa Fe’s 50,707 registered voters turned out for the election, according to City Clerk Yolanda Vigil, who said the new system at least helped reduce confused calls to the city offices about where to vote. 


"I think they did [help]," Vigil said. "You've got to remember, this was an election with three uncontested races."



Julie Ann Grimm contributed to the reporting for this story.


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