Eight Democrats, two seats=one lively election.
After a barely competitive Santa Fe City Council election, it’s refreshing to see a jam-packed candidate lineup for the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners in Districts 4 and 5. The seats are currently held by Paul Campos and Jack Sullivan, both of whom are ineligible to run again due to the two-term term limit.
All eight candidates are Democrats running in the June 3 primary. And yes, all are opposed to oil drilling in the Galisteo Basin. But as the
Transformers
theme song goes: There’s “more than meets the eye,� which is why SFR included each candidate’s “Transformer� identity (via the Cartoon Network’s name generator). SFR also asked all of them to rate their sitting commissioners on a scale of one to five (with one being worst ever and five being best ever).
District 4
Kathleen Suzanne Holian
Transformer name:
Laserburst
***image1***
Political virgin?
Yup.
Résumé topper:
Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist
Pet issues:
Water, land use, global warming, energy prices
Galisteo Basin: “I think that the real answer to it is to have the people of Santa Fe County speak with one voice and I think if the people were to pass a resolution on this, that could be quite powerful.�
Paul Campos, Scale 1-5: 4. “Well, he’s my friend. He’s really very forward thinking on a lot of issues. Maybe he hasn’t interacted with the people as much as he could’ve…�
Random trivia:
Holian and her husband were the only Los Alamos National Lab scientists to join the employees’ union.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
One month after 9.11, the Holians signed a Los Alamos Study Group advertisement calling for an end to military strikes in Afghanistan.
Elizabeth J Lujan
Transformer name:
Mechacrusher
***image2***
Political virgin?
Planned to run for Rep. Lucky Varela’s, D-Santa Fe, seat in 2006, but dropped out when Varela re-entered the race.
Résumé topper:
District president of the National Hospital and Health Care Employees Union #1199
Pet issues:
Development, water, oil and gas
Galisteo Basin:
“It’s going to bring a lot of revenue into the community, but the longterm destruction that it brings is just not worth it.�
Paul Campos, Scale 1-5: 4. “Mr. Campos, I think, has been a very effective politician.�
Random trivia:
She has two grandsons and five granddaughters.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com
: Lujan’s salary as the union’s district president is $2,351 per year, according to US Department of Labor records.
Mark J Marquez
Transformer name:
Electrostreak
***image3***
Political virgin?
Yup.
Résumé topper:
Former president of the International Association of Fire Fighters #2059
Pet issues:
Public safety, natural resources, development, small business
Galisteo Basin:
“I’m willing to go to court over it. For me, the issue is not drilling in the Galisteo Basin. For me the issue is drilling in Santa Fe County.�
Paul Campos, Scale 1-5:
“Seven…oh wait, one to five?…3½.�
Random trivia:
An avid scuba diver, he is not afraid of stingrays.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com: Marquez shaved his head on March 16, 2008, to raise money for cancer treatment.
District 5
Joe D Auburg
Transformer name:
Steeltron
***image4***
Political virgin?
Yup.
Résumé topper:
“I trained in the big boys’ league� as a Army Corps of Engineers’ DC liaison.
Pet issues:
Buckman diversion, county courthouse
Galisteo Basin:
“The best thing you can say for that issue is that you’d get you a day and a half’s worth of oil. It’s a waste of time.�
Jack Sullivan, Scale 1-5:
4.
Random trivia:
Auburg worked in California Gov. Ronald Reagan’s office until he “got fired for being a Democrat.�
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
In 2004-2005, Auburg and his car insurance company were sued for his involvement in a car wreck. After more than a year, the case was dismissed with prejudice.
Ralph L Jaramillo
Transformer name:
Nitrocrusher
***image5***
Political virgin?
Nope. Ran against Jack Sullivan in 2004.
Résumé topper:
Manager of RL Leeder, an asphalt company
Pet issues:
Customer service, drilling, city-county cooperation
Galisteo Basin:
“I will fight ’til the end, whether or not it goes to court. I will exhaust every effort as your county commissioner to stop this.�
Jack Sullivan, Scale 1-5:
4. “He’s an intelligent man who covers his bases, crosses his t’s, dotted his i’s; I’m very impressed with him.�
Random trivia:
He’s a part-time bus driver for Agua Fria Elementary School and Capital High School.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
Jaramillo’s employer, RL Leeder, used to operate the Leeder Pit, a surface mine on Agua Fria.
Mark J Martinez
Transformer name:
Electrospear
***image6***
Political virgin?
Yup
Résumé topper:
Assistant chief, Turquoise Trail Volunteer Fire Department
Pet issues:
Public safety, oil and gas, road maintenance, water
Galisteo Basin:
“I’d like to see the whole ordinance rewritten so that the restrictions on oil and gas out here are so high that they just will not want to even attempt to drill in Santa Fe County at all.�
Jack Sullivan, Scale 1-5:
2. “I know he’s done some good things, but any issue that I’ve ever had personally where I needed to get ahold of Jack Sullivan basically fell on deaf ears.�
Random trivia:
He lived in New Orleans as a kid. “I tried hard to get there during Katrina, but the services that they needed were just being overwhelmed.�
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
In March 2008, his family business, Capitol Moving & Storage, won nearly $10,000 in two civil complaints, one against an employee and another against a customer.
Liz Stefanics
Transformer name:
Wildspark
***image7***
Political virgin?
Nope. Served in the State Senate from 1993-1996. Has previously run for Public Regulation Commission.
Résumé topper:
State senator
Pet issues:
Oil and gas, St. Vincent Regional Medical Center merger, water, public safety, transportation
Galisteo Basin:
“If the oil companies want to go to lawsuits, the county should stand up to the lawsuits. We should also take it a step further and go to the Legislature to try to pass some laws that would protect private landowners.�
Jack Sullivan, Scale 1-5:
Answer retracted because it’s an “inappropriate question.�
Random trivia:
Kayaks with her partner every other summer.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
Federal Election Commission records show Stefanics and her partner, lobbyist Linda Siegle, contributed a total of $3,450 to Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign.
Stephen Louis Wust
Transformer name:
Ironquake
***image8***
Political virgin?
Yup.
Résumé topper:
Santa Fe County director of Natural Resources
Pet issues:
Open government, oil and gas, water, development
Galisteo Basin: “We should not be arguing oil versus no oil drilling. What government needs to do is to ask, ‘What are the community values of the Galisteo Basin?’ That’s what the ordinance should protect and preserve and then we’ll tell the oil companies you either do it this way or you don’t get to do it.�
Jack Sullivan, Scale 1-5:
“I’d better stay away from that because I’m a current county employee. I admire his ability to look at details and look very closely at everything presented to him. I think he may have had a bias about his neighborhood.�
Random trivia:
He met his wife at a bird-watching convention.
Found on MuckrakersGuide.com:
Cited by Dr. Ann McCampbell, a Santa-Fe based chemical-sensitivities advocate, in her letter to the Environmental Protection Agency opposing adding Fintrol, a pesticide, to the West Fork Gila River.
