E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com)
Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.
Thursday, September 18, 2025Below The Radar Election In ABQ Metro Is Underway; All Candidates In It Are Unopposed, Plus: More Gaming Of GOP Guv Race There is an election underway in the ABQ metro that hardly anyone is aware of. Four positions for the board of directors of the Midddle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MGRCD) district are being decided. The reason the election is receiving very little notice? There is only one candidate running for each slot so the election is basically over before it begins. The four running are all incumbent members on the seven member board. Only property owners within the district's boundaries--which includes parts of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Socorro counties, are eligible to vote. Election info is here. Early voting started Sept. 15 and Election Day is October 7. That's rare. Nearly all state municipalities follow a November schedule under the Local Election Act. Exceptions are mostly limited to special districts like the MRGCD. Former state Senator Daniel Ivey Soto tried unsuccessfully to get the MGRCD elections changed to November to increase participation. The MGRCD, established in 1925, manages irrigation, flood control, and water conservation along the Rio Grande from Cochiti Pueblo to Elephant Butte Reservoir. With climate change the board has been higher profile, wrestling with such issues as severe water shortages, river flow and drought. High assessment fees on irrigated lands to fund MGRCD have emerged as a flash point. Small farmers have been overwhelmed and that has led to land sales. The four unopposed candidates are: Position No. 3 – Bernalillo County– Karen Dunning; Position No. 4 – Bernalillo County– Colin T. Baugh; Position No. 6 – Socorro County– J. Chris Lopez; Position No. 7 – Sandoval County– Michael T. Sandoval. NAKAMURA ANALYSIS  I don't see Nakamura running. The GOP/MAGA primary voters aren't going to take the trade off of accepting her liberal social positions even if they think her odds are good for taking the Guv's Mansion. Even if it's a one-on-one match between Nakamura and Gregg Hull, I disagree with the Alligators who say she could beat him in that scenario. However, she might be able to win in a crowded field. Think of Gary Johnson in the 1994 GOP primary. A black and white/conservative versus a moderate liberal match-up--which is what a Hull-Nakamrua race would be--doesn't work for her but a multi-candidate race could. Rio Rancho Mayor Hull is the only GOP candidate currently in the '26 gubernatorial race. THE BOTTOM LINES Conservative reader Jim McClure couldn't resist making a crack about MLG's arm being in a sling after a recent surgery: This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
 
Links
Archives
|