Pop Quiz: 2024 Primary Election

for Santa Fe County Commission, District 4

by

Every election season, SFR reprises one of our favorite traditions: pop quizzing candidates. We’re kicking off our June 4 primary election series with the three-way Democratic District 4 race for Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners.

As Commissioner Anna Hamilton terms out, voters in the district—which covers most of east side Santa Fe all the way to Glorieta—will choose between Old Santa Fe Association Executive Director Adam Fulton Johnson; businesswoman Mika Old; and business owner and former teacher Stephen Chiulli. No Republicans or Libertarians are running for the seat, so the primary will likely decide the race.

Per SFR’s ground rules, the candidates agree to not use any sources besides their own knowledge to answer the quiz questions. SFR records the conversations and reports the answers verbatim. Early voting in the June election begins May 7. Find voting locations and additional information at www.santafecountynm.gov/clerk/elections/pollinglocations.

County Commission District 4 questions:

  1. Which two facilities does the Santa Fe Solid Waste Management Agency operate?
  2. When did Santa Fe County’s short-term rental ordinance go into effect, and what is the max number of licenses one person or entity can own?
  3. What was the median sales price for a single-family home in Glorieta, according to the Santa Fe Association of Realtors’ Q1 2024 statistics? Bonus: By how much (dollar amount or percentage) did it increase or decrease in comparison to the last quarter of 2023?
  4. Describe the county’s approach to developing long-range water resource management plans, and when are first plans expected to be published?
  5. What is the Single-Use Plastic Product Ordinance and when will it go into effect in Santa Fe County?

Adam Fulton Johnson (50/100)

Fulton Johnson serves as the executive director of the Old Santa Fe Association. His campaign focuses on cultural heritage preservation; environmental stewardship; water sustainability; wildfire prevention and affordable housing.

Answers:

  1. The facility by La Cienega and La Cieneguilla and the Eldorado Utility. 0/20
  2. The max number of entities is two investor-tied short term rentals. Each individual may also have a primary residence permit, such as a casita or renting your house. The original ordinance was enacted June 2023, and the new limit was voted on in January 2024. I believe it’s going into effect in May 2024. 10/20
  3. For Glorieta? I’m going to say $700,000. 20/20 Bonus: I think it increased by 20%. 0/10
  4. The long range plan is to continue the Buckman Direct Diversion; complete the return flow pipeline; bring online the Pojoaque Valley water utility by 2026, and the plans should be published by the end of the summer. 10/20
  5. It banned single-use plastic bags with some exceptions, and it goes into effect August 2024. 15/20

Mika Old (25/100)

Old is a third-generation Santa Fean and businesswoman making a run for the county commissioner seat. Her platform includes affordable housing; land use and wildfires. Old is one of the youngest candidates at age 32.

Answers:

  1. I have no idea. 0/20
  2. Ooooh, give me a second. So I believe it went into effect in January of this year, January or February, and the current max number of licenses I believe is five. 5/20
  3. For Glorieta, I believe it was $650,000. No, excuse me. $650,000 was the medium income price for Santa Fe County. Glorietta was closer to $400,000. 0/20 Bonus: I couldn’t even begin to tell you. 0/10
  4. Santa Fe County’s current plans for long-range water is purchasing new water rights. I believe they just agreed to spend another $60 million on water rights, which would put it into the next 15 years. In my opinion, that’s not quite enough. We need a minimum of 30 to 50 years. And I believe that’s set to come out either in June or July of this year. 10/20
  5. The single-use plastic ordinance is no plastic bags, no plastic straws, no foam containers and I’m not quite sure when that goes into effect. I know that it was passed by the county. 10/20

Stephen Chiulli (55/100)

A New York native and 20-year resident of Santa Fe is making his first run for public office. Chiulli’s key issues are crime; homelessness; affordable housing and environmental issues, such as fire prevention and water conservation. He has spent most of his career in construction prior to his bid for Board of County Commissioners.

Answers:

  1. Buckman Road and Caja Del Rio, which is down by the municipal golf course and that area down there. The Caja Del Rio I think is the name. 20/20
  2. It was voted in in January, I believe. Let me back that up. It originally was partially passed a year before and then the county commissioners passed the most recent iteration in January. I believe a total number of 1,000 can be permitted and I believe each owner can own five. 10/20
  3. I am not exactly certain. I would imagine, if I had to hazard a guess, it’s somewhere around mid $500,000s—$545,000 or $550,000. Somewhere in there. 0/20 Bonus: I would say it stayed around the same. Glorieta is a unique market. 0/20
  4. You got me thinking on that one. Let me think that through a second here. I think we’re looking at a 50-year plan if I remember correctly and, you know, it’s designed around sustainable growth and water conservation and of course having reliable supplies and that type of you know how we get our water. Y [and in Spanish] I believe they’re being implemented now as we speak. And I know they’re over a course of time working on projections and strategies as we go over the course of the next few years and of course that’s going to deal with the next 50 or so years. 10/20
  5. The single-use plastic bag ordinance was just passed. And I believe it goes into effect…I have to remember that ordinance. It was just passed. If I’m not mistaken, I think it goes into effect on June 1. I’m not certain about that. It stops the use of single-use plastic bags and other pollutants that affect our environment 15/20

County Commission District 4 answers:

  1. Per its website, SFSWMA operates the Buckman Road Recycling & Transfer Station and the Caja Del Rio Landfill.
  2. November 2022; As part of January 2024 revisions, the max number of licenses a single person or entity can own is now two licenses.
  3. $717,000; Bonus: It increased by $48,000, or 7.2%
  4. The City of Santa Fe Water Division and the Santa Fe County Utilities Division in 2020 initiated a five-year planning cycle, known as the Santa Fe 2100, aimed at ultimately producing 40-year and 80-year water plans. Although the plan initially was slated to publish by the end of this year, a county spokeswoman says that will not happen.
  5. The ordinance—passed unanimously at the end of March—prohibits the provision of single-use plastic bags; expanded polystyrene plates, cups, and food containers; and single-use plastic stirrers and plastic splash guards by retail establishments from the point of sale. It will go into effect on Oct. 26.