Santa Fe is keeping it local moving forward.
Michael J. Garcia, Santa Fe born and raised, emerged from a field of eight to replace outgoing two-term mayor Alan Webber—a transplant from New York.
The mayor-elect celebrated the victory with a crowd of friends, family and supporters at the Center for Progress and Justice building on Tuesday night.
"It's an absolute honor to stand here to be your next mayor, the mayor of the city we all love," Garcia told supporters. "The trust that has been placed in my hands by the voters, I promise you I will give it my all."
Garcia leaves two terms as a District 2 City Councilor, which he began in 2019. Much of his time on the council was spent at odds with Webber. Tuesday’s victory gives Garcia a chance to push initiatives he’s previously stated Webber impeded.
Voters had more than a mayor to choose on Tuesday. Two city council seats were contested along with a school board seat. Santa Feans also chose a new board member for Santa Fe Community College and answered several ballot questions.
Here’s a recap:
The Mayoral Race
Garcia replaces Webber, who was first elected in 2018 in a similar kind of race. That year, incumbent Javier Gonzales didn’t seek re-election. It was also Santa Fe’s first crack at ranked-choice voting. Webber faced a field of five but was first choice on 39 percent of ballots and ultimately landed 66 percent of the vote after four rounds of instant runoffs. Webber won re-election easily in 2022, but announced he wouldn’t seek re-election earlier this year, setting up this year’s contest featuring eight hopefuls.
Garcia’s victory over seven was revealed after seven rounds of instant runoffs in the city’s second ranked-choice election.
All eight campaigns targeted the departing Webber at one point or another. Throughout various forums this campaign season, the Webber administration was accused of talking more about Santa Fe’s problems than solving them and lacking transparency.
Voters who spoke with SFR on Tuesday, said affordability and trust were among their top priorities for Santa Fe’s next mayor.
Katrina Miracle said the candidates might’ve lacked fanfare but any change from Webber was welcome.
“We’d all like to see somebody who actually does more, whether it’s good or bad. We just gotta do something, have somebody more proactive,” Miracle said after voting Tuesday at St. John’s Church.
After victory was confirmed Tuesday night for Garcia, the mayor-elect calmed a jubilant crowd to offer a hopeful outlook.
"Our campaign ran on a vision of improving the lives of everybody, no matter what side of town you lived on. My job is to uplift everybody's life, and that's the challenge I'm undertaking, and I know we can get it done. We'll get it done together. I think that's going to be the mantra of my administration,” he said. “And I can confidently tell you that change is coming to Santa Fe."
Garcia was the favorite entering Tuesday’s crowded race and after the first round of voting, it was clear he had a path to victory..
Santa Fe County Commissioner Justin Greene raised the most money, but finished with only 10 percent of the vote after the first round of voting. If there was a surprise, it was the second-place finish of Oscar Rodriguez with 5,536 votes (23%). Rodriguez faced controversy over comments he made during an event hosted by local nonprofit Creative Santa Fe and raised a pittance compared to Greene and JoAnne Vigil Coppler (8%), who finished fourth and fifth. Former City Councilor and mayoral candidate Ronald S. Trujillo finished third (14%).
In thanking the other candidates, Garcia voiced respect for their spirit.
"I appreciate their dedication and their support of our city, and I will be reaching out to them to ask for their help,” he told the audience. “This is how we're going to get out of the situation we're in—it's going to take all of us."
Garcia earned his master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Mexico and works for AmeriCorps VISTA, a federal agency for national service and volunteerism. Over the course of the campaign, Garcia made it clear he planned to resign should he be elected.
The new mayor campaigned on affordable housing, increasing the police force, establishing an office on the south side and a campus-based model for rehousing those without shelter.
Issues weren’t all Garcia campaigned on, pointing to his deep local roots. Earlier this year during a meeting of the Governing Body, Garcia made mention of how he kept track of council meetings as a high school student growing up in Santa Fe. The mayor-elect, his wife Elisha Valdez and their children reside in a multi-generational family home in the Hopewell Mann neighborhood.
Under the city charter, Garcia must appoint a council seat replacement, who will serve District 2 until the 2027 local election, within 30 days of vacating office. The appointment would then require approval of the Governing Body.
As a full-time mayor, Garcia will earn $117,000 annually, plus health benefits and a public pension.
He closed his victory speech Tuesday night with promises.
"Tomorrow, we begin a new journey, a journey that I'm proud and excited to have you all join alongside me," Garcia said. "I have great, great, great hope for our city, and I please ask you to share that hope with me, so tonight, let's celebrate, let's have fun—but tomorrow, we're getting to work."
City Council, Board Races & more
Garcia’s eventual appointee isn’t the only new face coming to Santa Fe’s Governing Body.
Patricia Feghali is the new District 1 City Councilor and Liz Barrett joins the mayor-elects successor in District 2.
Feghali held off challenges from David Montoya and Katherine Rivera. Barrett edged Paul Bustamante in the ranked-choice vote after Leroy Trujillo and Aurora Martiniez were eliminated.
Lee Garcia ran unopposed in District 3 as did Amanda Chavez in District 4.
Juan Blea held off Jakob Lain in a four-way race for the District 5 seat on the Santa Fe School Board, and Kate Noble ran unopposed to maintain her District 3 seat.
Four candidates sought a seat on the Board of Santa Fe Community College with Jody Pugh winning comfortably over second-place Stephen DeGuilio.
Voters also voted to authorize a super majority of six council members to suspend or remove the City Manager, City Attorney and/or City Clerk. Same for an amendment to the city charter to remove the mayor from voting on issues before the Governing Body except to break a tie.
Voters also voted to continue a tax to fund school activities, technology upgrades, and leases for the public school system. Santa Feans also supported issuing $150 million in general obligation bonds for improvements to public school facilities and purchasing computer equipment.
Election Day
1 of 3
Dave Cathey
2 of 3
Dave Cathey
3 of 3
Dave Cathey
The Santa Fe County Clerk’s office reported total turnout of 36,026 (31.5%) on Tuesday. Santa Fe County has 114,000 registered voters, per the New Mexico secretary of state as of the end of October. This year’s turnout is up from 30.98% in the last local election, the County Clerk’s Office reported.
Lines were steady at polling places around Santa Fe on Tuesday, but the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds were in for a traffic jam from morning til evening.
The polling place at St. John’s United Methodist Church popped with enthusiastic voters. Up and down the Old Pecos Trail sidewalk, electioneers stood in droves with their brightly colored signs, begging for attention and waving oncoming drivers into the church parking lot.
While the line into the voting booths wasn’t quite out the church doors mid-morning, it was snaking close to them. Even mayoral candidate Justin Greene (who was kicked off a spot on church grounds for being too close while SFR’s Callie Elkins asked him questions) was there. “There's been a nice little rush today here at St. John's, and I think it’s a good mix of ages that represents Santa Fe, pretty well,” Greene told SFR.
Miracle, who voted at St. John’s, also noticed a mix of ages at the ballot box.
“Honestly, I was surprised. I was worried it would be just older voters like you see sometimes, but it's a good mix of both young and old.”
Other polling locations weren’t so gleaming, however. At the Southside Public Library, there was a noticeable tension in the air, with hordes of electioneers getting as close to the premises as possible. There were impassioned voters, sure, but it was clear that many in the booths were tired and ready for election season to end.
The New Fort Marcy Recreation Complex, while having a good turnout, lacked younger voters. When asked if many young people had come here to vote, Liz Montoya, mother of council candidate David Montoya, answered with a flat and definitive “no.”
Dave Cathey
Over at St. John’s earlier Tuesday morning, SFR walked into calm discourse between warring factions. Between honks from passing cars, eventual second-place mayoral candidate Oscar Rodriguez stood shoulder to shoulder with Bernadette Garcia, mother of the mayor-elect.
They held opposing signs but agreed that no matter the outcome, this year’s candidates showed help was on the way for Santa Fe.
“What a team!,” Bernadette Garcia said of the eight candidates, whom she hoped would work together moving forward, “no matter the outcome.”
She said, “Everybody, I would hope, after tonight, everybody regroups and says, ‘You know, we only did this because we love Santa Fe, and we need to continue to share our vision and our thoughts.’ Because that’s gonna be the true test if people really love Santa Fe.”
Rodriguez added, “That’s right, if you don’t win, you still stay engaged.”
“You still have to stay engaged,” Garcia echoed without knowing her son would stand before a victory party 12 hours later and say “together” would be the mantra of his new administration.
Election Results
Results from the Secretary of State’s Office and Santa Fe County Clerk are in but remain unofficial until certification.
Mayor
Michael J. Garcia, 8,831 (36%)
Oscar Rodriguez, 5,536 (22.6%)
Ronald S. Trujillo, 3418 (13.9%)
Justin S. Greene, 2,452 (10%)
JoAnne Vigil Coppler, 1,918 (7.8%)
Tarin J. Nix, 1,557 (6.3%)
Letitia Montoya, 711 (2.9%)
Jeanne M. O’Dean, 125 (0.5%)
City Councilor District 1
Patricia Feghali, 3,410 (40.4%)
Katherine T. Rivera, 2,531 (30%)
David M. Montoya, 2,498 (29.6%)
City Councilor District 2
Elizabeth Barrett, 2,885 (39.1%)
Paul C. Bustamante, 2,252 (30.5%)
Aurora F. Martinez 1,505 (20.4%)
Leroy Trujillo, 737 (10%)
City Councilor District 3
Lee A. Garcia, unopposed
City Councilor District 4
Amanda Camille Chavez, unopposed
Voter Turnout Breakdown:
Total turnout: 36026 (31.5%)
Early & absentee votes: 17,852 (15.6 %)
Election Day votes: 18,454 (16.1%)
Campaign Finance Reports
According to campaign finance statements submitted to the City Clerk’s Office on Nov. 3, Justin Greene raised the most funds among mayoral candidates with $134,987, followed by JoAnne Vigil Coppler at $92,192.
The $32,974 raised by District 2 candidate Liz Barrett led city council hopefuls, followed by District 1 candidate David Montoya at $30,281.
Filings show Greene loaned his campaign $15,000 throughout the campaign, followed by Vigil Coppler at $20,000. Montoya loaned himself the most among city council candidates at $14,199.
Among mayoral candidates, only Ron Trujillo and Michael Garcia used public financing in the mayoral campaign. Garcia raised $33,906 in matching funds to date while Trujillo reported none.
In the District 1 council race, candidates Katherine Rivera and Pat Feghali raised the maximum of $22,500 in public funding and matching funds and both spent close to or all of it.
In the District 2 council race, Paul Bustamante’s fund-raising reached $15,000 in public funding and an additional $2,665 in matching funds. Aurora Martinez raised $6,167, while Leroy Trujillo reported no money raised this period but did report a $1,746 personal loan in his Oct. 28 campaign finance filing report.
The final campaign report is due a month after the election on Dec. 4.
Mayoral Race
Michael Garcia: $93,906 in public financing and matching funds, $65,051 spent
Justin Greene: $134,987 raised, $106,014 spent
Letitia Montoya: $7,455 raised, $6,842 spent
Tarin Nix: $82,567 raised, $71,814 spent
Jeanne O’Dean: $100 loan; spent
Oscar Rodriguez: $76,061 raised, $60,606 spent
Ron Trujillo: $60,000 in public financing, $54,693 spent
JoAnne Vigil Coppler: $92,192 raised, $89,063 spent
District 1
Pat Feghali: $22,500 in public financing and matching funds, $22,220 spent
David Montoya: $30,281 raised, $28,211 spent
Katherine Rivera: $22,500 in public funding and matching funds, all spent
District 2
Liz Barrett: $32,974 raised, $16,465 spent
Paul Bustamante: $17,665 in public financing and matching funds, entirity spent
Aurora Martinez: $6,167 raised, $5,873 spent
Leroy Trujillo: $608 raised and spent
District 3
Lee Garcia: $1,201 raised, $336 spent
District 4
Amanda Chavez: $1,500 in public financing raised and spent
(Dave Cathey)
