By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post
bjgordon@ladailypost.com

The League of Women Voters of Los Alamos had a big week helping voters gain a better understanding of the candidates running for local, state and national offices in the Nov. 8 election.

The League hosted two candidate forums, the first held Sept. 29 featured candidates running for Los Alamos County Council. The second forum held Oct. 3 highlighted State Representative District 43, Magistrate Judge, County Sheriff, County Assessor, Probate Judge and Municipal Judge.

The League also produced the Los Alamos Voter Guide, which was inserted in the Oct. 6 editon of the Los Alamos Daily Post.

Those who missed the forums can watch both of them on the League’s YouTube channel, here.

League Co-President Barbara Calef moderated the Sept. 29 Council Forum, assisted by Lynn Jones who read the questions and timekeeper Willow Chartrand.

Candidates gave a three-minute opening statement. Libertarian County Council Candidate James Wernicke kicked things off.

“I think I would be a unique councilor here because I’m still a mid-career worker and I have young kids, so I hope to give my voice to the workforce and families,” he said. “They’re the engine of our community and unfortunately many can’t live here so I don’t think they get as much say as they should in how it’s driven.”

Wernicke said some of his “radical ideas” include building high-density and mixed income housing and supporting small business.

Republican Candidate Sharon Dry was unable to attend the forum and sent a statement. She pointed to her deep roots in Los Alamos—four generations of her family live here. Supporting small business is a priority for Dry, she said.

“During my campaign I talked with many local business owners who expressed great frustration in attempting to open and operate a business in Los Alamos County,” she said.

Dry supports efficient delivery of a mix of low cost, reliable power and utilities to all residents with a base load of sources such as nuclear, coal, hydro and natural gas. Alternative sources of solar and wind are important for peak needs, she said.

“I stand for freedom from government overreach and dictating how we live in our homes,” Dry said.

Republican Reginald Page said he is running to represent residents and local businesses.

“I’m not doing this for myself,” he said. “I’m doing this for the residents and the people that aren’t getting their voices out there. I don’t believe we’re being heard by our local county council. So, I want to support those people … They’re very surprised about some of the things that are going on in the background.”

Republican Gary Stradling said he is running because Los Alamos has a “particularly acute housing problem”. His work experience is directly applicable to serving the community, Stradling said.

I’ve had the opportunity of leading an international negotiation of 26 nations to a successful agreement on the Open Skies Treaty,” he said. “I’ve managed difficult and unique national scale problems.”

Stradling said his main objective for the Council is ‘to obtain significant land transfers from the federal government to build extensive new housing for the people who work in Los Alamos County including those non-LANL people who we desperately need in our community,”

Democrat Melanee Hand was appointed a few months ago to fill the remainder of a vacancy on council and is now running to retain it. She pointed to her background in long-range planning at Los Alamos National Laboratory to make her effect on the Council.

“Through planning, Los Alamos County achieves the right balance of housing and small businesses, environmental sustainability and conservation, infrastructure upgrades, health and welfare of our citizens and more,” she said.

Democrat Suzie Havemann pointed to her considerable volunteer and civic contributions and varied work experience as evidence of her understanding of Los Alamos.

As a long-time realtor, I learned a lot more about the perspective of newcomers including our town’s strengths and weaknesses and about our housing challenges from home sellers, buyers and renters,” she said.

Havemann is especially focused on four issues: housing, small business support, along with the economic diversification goal, environmental sustainability and good governance.

Democrat Theresa Cull said she is running to give back to the community. She listed extensive volunteer experience, including at LANL where her career focused on environmental safety and health and management. She was involved in LANL’s diversity effort and served on its diversity action board.

Current Chair of the Los Alamos County Council, Randall Ryti is a Democrat. He has served on the Council for four years.

He listed his main goals as seeking housing opportunities for all ages and income levels, helping existing businesses to survive in a challenging economy, developing a social services hub that coordinates the needs of all residents, from newborn to the elderly and fills the existing gaps in services for both physical and mental health and protecting our environment and advocating for quick and comprehensive cleanup of all legacy waste from the DOE.

“I support the careful and pragmatic development or redevelopment of available or underutilized land and buildings in the county to best meet the needs of the community, first looking at specific demographics such as the missing middle, seniors and those who qualify for income-based affordable housing instead of rushing to approve as much housing as possible,” he said.

When asked how the County can grow while maintain quality of life, Page, Hand and Havemann, mentioned developing housing downtown by building above businesses. Page and Stradling said the County should work with LANL to acquire more land. Hand said we need to work more regionally. Cull said she thought we could add  a maximum of 25,000 people to the County  Ryti said development takes time. He stressed protecting open space.

Wernicke said he was “not opposed to developing the golf course” as a means of securing land for housing.

All of the candidates agreed that new businesses struggle with the County permitting process and need more help in navigating it.

When asked about the impact of more housing on evacuation plans, the candidates were in agreement that a traffic study should be conducted in addition to revision of the County’s emergency plan.

The next question focused on raising the County minimum wage from $11.50 to $17.

Cull said, “Increasing the wages of the employees is going to increase the expenses of the employer, but I honestly think that’s the right thing to do. We need to pay people at least a livable wage.”

Ryti said his short answer was yes, though the downside was an increase in business costs.

Page opposed raising the minimum wage and said reducing the cost of living, including affordable housing could help low income residents. Stradling said expanding housing options would help create a “natural, balanced community”.

Havemann said lab contractors should be asked to pay a living wage.

Hand worried about the impact on small businesses.

Wernicke said he would support raising the minimum wage even more because, “$17 is not enough to live here”. Big corporate employers exploit some workers, he said.

When asked if they had concerns about voting in Los Alamos. Ryti, Wernicke, Hand, Havemann and Cull said no. Page said the state should require voter ID. Stradling said every legal vote should count, but “false votes” should not.

When asked how Los Alamos can support trans and queer youth, Stradling ignited some controversy with his answer.

“In my own group of loved ones, I have people who have autism, bi-polar depression, who are gay, who have ADHD and other things,” he said. “We put a lot of effort in the Americans With Disabilities Act to provide access to people who have certain kinds of handicaps.”

Stradling stressed that everyone should be treated with respect, and no one should be bullied. All of the candidates agreed with these sentiments. Ryti stressed showing up at events like Pride. Cull said members of these communities should be welcomed “with open arms”.

On the question about solar and wind power, Page said he supported wind and solar initiatives, but does not think it is viable to depend on them for our energy needs. He stressed improving current infrastructure. Stradling said the technology that would allow the County to go green “is not there yet”. Hand agreed with this. Stradling suggested looking at natural gas as a fuel source. Wernicke said nuclear power needs another look. Cull, Havemann and Ryti said that, in spite of the problems with implementation, the County must support planning for a green future.

The Monday Oct. 3 forum featured candidates in contested races for County Assessor, County Sheriff and Magistrate Judge. Incumbents District 43 Representative Christine Chandler, Municipal Judge Elizabeth Allen and Probate Judge Michal Redondo do not have opponents in this election. They gave statements and answered questions. Ellen Mills moderated the forum. Lynn Jones read the questions. The timekeeper was Luke Favorite.

Rep. Chandler opened the forum. While Chandler said that she feels good about the ability of the New Mexico Legislature to get things done, she has fears for the future.

“While many good things have been happening in New Mexico and while I am very optimistic about our future, that optimism is tempered by the continuing pressure from political figures, pundits, and activists both here and nationally that espouse the big lies that our elections are corrupt, that the attack on our capitol and law enforcement was a media exaggeration, that school curricula are brainwashing our children,” she said.

Chandler called out candidates who seek to disguise or deny their views and convictions because certain of them are unpopular in New Mexico, which is a solidly blue state. It is important to know the candidate’s views on national issues because they reveal the person’s “respect for law and for decency and their proclivity to latch on to conspiracy theories”.

When asked about the greatest opportunities for high-impact spending by the legislature, Chandler pointed to investing in early childhood education, behavioral heath and broadband. She voiced her support for increasing voting access through drop boxes and improvements to absentee voting regulations. She supports expanding mail-in balloting.

Candidates for Magistrate Judge, Catherine Taylor (Democrat) and Tim Bullock (Republican) spoke next.

Taylor outlined her qualifications, including a stint as a Deputy District attorney. She highlighted her service as Teen Court Coordinator for Los Alamos. She has been an attorney for more than 20 years, she said.

“Staying informed on the problems facing so many of our kids, our families, our communities are essential to addressing many of the factors that bring people into the criminal justice system in the first place, Taylor said.

Bullock pointed to his local service as a Rotarian and Eagle Scout Advisor for Troop 22. In addition to law, he holds a degree in business from the London School of Economics, Bullock said. He has been a practicing lawyer for several decades.

“I will be compassionate and respectful to all who appear before the bench and I pledge to hold repeat offenders accountable,” he said.

When asked if they supported changes to the qualifications for Magistrate Judge, Bullock said, “I think it matters that the Magistrate Judge be licensed and have practiced in the jurisdiction in which they wish to serve”.

“I’m the only candidate that meets that qualification in this race,” Bullock said.

Taylor does not support changing the qualifications.

“I think having a legal background and a legal education is valuable,” she said. “I think years of practice can be valuable but there’s nothing magic about being a judge.”

When asked about local cases they have been involved in, Taylor said she could not comment because her cases involve juveniles. Bullock pointed to the Sirphy case, involving “an over-stepping of county government”.

Both candidates pledged to give up current obligations to serve full-time as judge.

Democratic candidate for sheriff Jason Wardlow Herrera highlighted his 16 years as a Los Alamos Police Officer and six years as Deputy Chief. He has a “close relationship” with local law enforcement. The sheriff’s sole duty is maintaining the sex offender registry, Wardlow Herrera said, but he considers this an important duty.

Libertarian Chris Luchini said he would like to see the police department be converted to a sheriff’s office with an elected sheriff. He would like to see law enforcement be accountable to the voters. He is bothered by the $10,000 cost of maintaining the position of sheriff when there are so few duties and would support doing away with it if the voters reject changing to a sheriff model of law enforcement.

County Assessor candidate George Chandler (Democrat) attended the forum. Laura Burrows (Libertarian) sent a written statement.

Burrows wrote that she has no connection to real estate, construction or any other business that might be a conflict of interest. She stressed that the community must have the upmost confidence in the assessor’s integrity.

Chandler stressed his administration experience as a physicist at LANL and in numerous County offices, including County Council, assessor and municipal court judge. He got “hooked on politics” and obtained a law degree to learn more after retirement. He said the role of elected citizen in government is to “gum up the works”. Professionals must answer to non-expert elected citizen who can ask “the right dumb questions”.

Early voting in Los Alamos County begins Oct. 11, by mail or in-person at the Municipal Building.Voter registration books close Oct. 11. Residents not registered, have moved or changed their mailing address can submit a voter registration by mail or apply online at www.NMVote.org.