A crowd gathers at the League of Women Voters Los Alamos 2026 Primary Candidate Forum on Thursday at UNM-LA. Photo by Tomás Redondo/ladailypost.com
From left, candidates for Los Alamos County Council Eric Stromberg, R, Steven Lynne, D, Incumbent Theresa Cull, D, League of Women Voters Los Alamos President Felicia Orth, Incumbent Melanee Hand, D, David Hampton, D, Jason Chappel, R, and Jason Chappel, R, at Thursday’s forum. Photo by Tomás Redondo/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
A full slate of candidates running for Los Alamos County Council shared why they believe they are best suited for the job during the League of Women Voters Los Alamos 2026 Primary Candidate Forum on Thursday at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos.
Council candidates:
- Jason Chappel, R
- Incumbent Theresa Cull, D
- Joseph Granville, D
- David Hampton, D
- Incumbent Melanee Hand, D
- Steven Lynne, D
- Eric Stromberg, R
During the forum, each candidate spoke about their desire to serve the public and answered questions on key issues concerning Los Alamos.
In his opening statement, Chappel said he works as the assistant manager for Smith’s Marketplace. He explained he would like to take his work experience and accomplishments and apply them to the County.
“I’m definitely leaning towards transparency with the community (and) giving our community members a voice,” Chappel said. “I’m also wanting to work on spending (and) make sure we are being fiscally responsible … and I also want to help support small businesses.”
Stromberg said serving on the Board of Public Utilities for six years has been eye-opening to see what it takes to provide utilities to the public. He added serving on the board has allowed him to work with members of council, the County legal department, the County Clerk and the comptroller’s office “so I am pretty familiar with government.”
But, “we don’t always seem to have the information that we need to make decisions … sometimes we think well, I would like to know a little bit more about this or I would like to know a little more about what the community thinks … so what I want to do as a Councilor, I really want to get in touch with the community and have an open door and get the most feedback I could possible get from the County,” Stromberg added.
Lynne said he spent 28 years working for Los Alamos County. When he retired in 2024, he was the County Manager.
“I care about this community and that’s why I am running for County Council,” he said.
During his tenure at the County, “I’ve attended over 500 council meetings … I’ve worked with over a dozen different County Councils and I supported councils with information needed to make decisions that shaped our community,” Lynne said. “This experience has given me a clear understanding of how the County works, where challenges lie, and how to help turn ideas into results. However, I think attitude is just as important as experience. I always felt leadership starts with listening. Listening really well to understand different perspectives and to find common ground. I think focusing on that common ground will help ease some of our trickiest issues like our housing problems, economic development and downtown revitalization.”
Granville said he feels his work experience gives him an edge in the council race. He worked in the transportation industry – first as a driver and ending his career as the Chief Executive Officer for a delivery company in Santa Fe. Granville said he also worked in construction.
“I know what it is to work hard for low pay and no benefits,” he said.
Granville added his construction experience would be key in addressing the County’s housing issues.
“… I found great purpose in serving the community,” Granville said. “I’ve been a member of boards of Little Forest and Family Council. I served as Los Alamos County Sheriff from 2019-2022. I am currently volunteering at McCurdy Charter, helping Ms. Montoya’s class … I believe that our services should meet the needs of the community and should be done in a fiscally responsible way…”
Cull said she brings a varied and lengthy resume to the table; not only serving as a current member of the council but also as a former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, a coach to various teams and a member on a variety of boards.
“To summarize, I am familiar with our schools and many community organizations and activities,” she said. “I understand budgets and how non-profits, including our County government, operate … I shop and I support our local businesses and restaurants and our non-profit organizations whenever I can. I value fairness, diversity, quality of life, communication, safety and health and fiscal responsibility.”
Public service is something Hampton said he is no stranger to. He serves on a long list of public boards including the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Environmental Sustainability Board, the Transportation Board, the Personnel Board and the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos advisory board.
“I would like to take all that I learned there and continue using it to help make this a more vibrant and welcoming community,” Hampton said.
He added he would like to increase housing and housing affordability. Economic development is another area Hampton said he would like to address using the Metropolitan Redevelopment Act (MRA) and Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) tools.
As an incumbent councilor, Hand said, “my campaign motto is simple; it’s move forward hand to hand, together. This phase is more than just a slogan, it embodies my commitment to lead, listen and collaborate. Hand to hand together reflects my belief that progress is a shared effort. When we work hand-in-hand, we build a resilient community, prepared for whatever lies ahead…”
During the question-and-answer period, candidates were asked about how to improve the County’s business environment.
Stromberg said he felt a County should assign a liaison for businesses “that would be the go-to person who could help businesses navigate the maze and cut through all the noise and get established.”
Chappel said he would like to see the County make it easier for businesses to thrive.
“To … implementing policies and procedures to make it easier to start a business, to renovate a business, to grow your business,” he said.
Granville said there are couple of areas he would like to focus on. Adding more housing, he said, would bring more people into town and create more demand for businesses.
Another idea, Granville said, is attracting more sports tournaments to town.
Attending tournaments out of state, Granville said, “they’ll be 400- 500 people in town buying food, starting at hotels and finding other things to do …”
Cull said the County already has some tools in place such as MRA and LEDA.
“We can provide public/private partnership with private businesses that will hopefully support and enable them to expand their businesses or even develop vacant properties,” she said. “There’s also County owned properties that the County can look at developing new ways that support economic development …”
A frustration for her is how long things can take so “if there is some way we could speed things up, I think that would be one of the best things we could do,” Cull said.
Hampton said private/partnerships including MRA and LEDA are key.
“Looking forward to using those to get downtown redeveloped,” he said.
Hand said what is crucial is “that the County have better communication and hands-on involvement with businesses.”
She pointed out the business coalition was formed last year to improve communication and understand their needs.
“We need to help them during ongoing construction projects that impact them … LEDA is important, MRA, wherever we have financial assistance …,” Hand said.
Lynne echoed the necessity of LEDA and MRA.
“These are things we need to use to their maximum potential,” he said. “With staff, I would ask them to be more proactive. I would ask them to solicit proposals from developers within specific business sectors …”
Another question posed to candidates was how they would address affordable housing.
Stromberg said he would advocate for the County acquiring more land, possibly working with the laboratory. It is complex issue and he said he would work with his fellow councilors to figure it out.
Chappel said a variety of solutions should be considered such as repurposing old properties, getting new properties or acquiring more land.
To have more affordable housing, build more affordable houses, Cull said. More housing could help bring prices down, she added, noting several developments are in the works. Cull said she is also interested in housing opportunities in properties such as Mari Mac.
Hampton agreed with Cull that more housing is best solution. Chapter 16 of the development code and comprehensive plan should be re-examined, he said, to look beyond just single-family housing.
There are many efforts underway to look at affordable housing and find creative ways to collaborate with developers, Hand said, to accommodate different levels of income.
The single thing that can be done is maximize the leverage the County has with any project that involves County-owned land, Lynne said. Infill and redevelopment are also important, he added.
There are a few options that could be investigated, Granville said. One is having the costs to install infrastructure be covered by County, considering modular housing options is another.
The primary election for County Council will be held June 2.