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Thursday, September 25, 2025Poll Says Santa Fe Voters Are Very Unhappy Over City's Direction and Turning To Michael Garcia In Mayor's Race; He Sports A Solid Lead And Challengers Appear To Face Steep Climb Catching
The Garcia surge to replace two-term Mayor Alan Webber was actually recorded Aug18-24 in a poll conducted on behalf of the Santa Fe Realtors Association, but the group did not release the survey until this week. When they did it was a jaw dropper because Garcia appeared considerably ahead. There is another catch to the poll by American Strategies which does polling for real estate groups nationally. They did not have a horse race question, matching the contenders against each other. Instead they chose to ask voters if they rated the candidates favorably or unfavorably. Garcia fared far better than any other candidate in the race, with 14% of voters rating him "very favorably" and 29% "somewhat favorably." Ron Trujillo ranked second, with 31% finding him favorable (8% very favorable), and JoAnne Vigil Coppler third, with 28% finding her favorable (5% very favorable). This is Trujillo's second try for mayor. He is an anti-Webber populist but Garcia is doing better at bottling the anger of voters. The other four candidates, including progressive Santa Fe County Commissioner Justin Greene, were largely unknown to those polled. All the hopefuls have only about a month to turn the race around. That will take a hearty Stop Garcia movement featuring high octane negative messaging to reverse the trend, say experts such as Sana Fe Fe attorney, former state legislator and political consultant Greg Payne: I think it's an uphill battle for all of the Garcia challengers. If I had to predict today, I'd say Garcia wins. But my main take away from this poll is, the people of Santa Fe are pissed off. Mayor Webber is seen as a total failure. Payne's perception is grounded in this finding of the poll of 400 Santa Fe registered voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent: As we've commented of late crime and homelessness in Santa Fe are starting to remind us of how ABQs problems accelerated with the same issues and contue to challenge the city today. Garcia can't wave a magic wand but as a pragmatic centrist with a masters in public administration, he said he plans to restore stable management to the city which has he says has been hampered under Webber. His mantra on improving basic city services is apparently catching fire. On homelessness he says he would like to pursue a plan that is similar to ABQ's Gateway Center where a variety of services are offered to assist people start anew rather than simply providing temporary shelters. The front running Garcia is not without baggage. He has developed a reputation for confrontation over unity and he has bailed on some key council votes on key issues like crime. But overall he projects confidence and competence and most important, he is not a woke progressive like Webber who after eight years has worn out his welcome. That Garcia and Trujillo are the two candidates who poll the best also may speak to a yearning by City Different voters to have a native son with deep roots in the community take the helm. Garcia is not a businessmen, his career has been in the nonprofit world, but he is fond of saying running a city is not a business and points to Webber's experience as a wealthy entrepreneur in administering the city and coming up short. He gives the mayor's performance an F minus. MLG recently endorsed her old friend Joanne Vigil Coppler for mayor but that is seen as a personal nod and having little impact on the race. For Garcia, who was also ahead in the only other public poll released over the summer, now needs to avoid a foot-in-the-mouth moment, take his positive numbers and steer to victory. For the challengers the heavy guns must be fired to slow his march but with no big money poised to do that, a win could be in store for the 45 year old Garcia. Here is video of a recent in-depth interview done with Garcia. American Strategies says it uses in-person telephoning, online sampling and text messaging to compile their surveys. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
 
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