If you are reading this article on or before June 25, and you might like to make this year\u2019s governor\u2019s race a little more interesting, there\u2019s something you can do.<\/p>\n
Go to the Secretary of State website and sign the nominating petition for Ken Miyagishima for Governor. Then sign the separate nominating petition for his running mate, JC Lopez, for lieutenant governor. It just takes a couple of minutes. The forms are at www.electronicpetitions.elections.sos.nm.gov.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s running as an independent and you can sign the petition even if you are registered in a major or minor party.<\/p>\n
June 25 is the deadline.<\/p>\n
If he succeeds in getting on the general election ballot, he will deserve the same consideration as the major party candidates. He describes himself as a moderate, with an eclectic mix of progressive and conservative policy positions, plus a few originals such as establishing a new state agency for people with disabilities. He took an early strong position in favor of fixing the medical malpractice law, unlike the two Democratic candidates, before the 2026 amendment was passed.<\/p>\n
Both he and Republican nominee Greg Hull are former mayors, both elected multiple times by their local constituencies. In a recent conversation, he said because mayors run in nonpartisan elections, they tend to be less partisan in governing than officeholders who run for partisan-based offices.<\/p>\n
But his chances to get on the ballot are not great.<\/p>\n
Because he is running as an independent, the signature requirement is 2% of all votes cast for governor in the last election. That equals 14,200 valid signatures for him and 14,200 valid signatures separately for his running mate. This is several times more than Democratic and Republican candidates and considerably more than minor party candidates.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s suing the New Mexico Secretary of State and trying to get the signature requirement reduced by half.<\/p>\n
But even if he gets on the ballot, there are other factors against him. First, as you probably noticed, is his name. Even though he is a U.S. native and so was his Japanese-origin father, the name is unfamiliar. He sometimes inserts the middle name Gallegos.<\/p>\n
Second, he\u2019s from Las Cruces. He was elected mayor four times, an impressive record, and held other local public offices before that. But Las Cruces gets little news coverage around most of New Mexico and so his record is unknown to most of us.<\/p>\n
If he doesn\u2019t succeed, that opens a public conversation on a different topic. Is New Mexico ready to make running for office easier for independent candidates?<\/p>\n
New Mexicans are increasingly registering as independents, or, in our local jargon, DTS \u2013 \u201cdecline to state.\u201d Of our 1.3 million voters, 42% are registered as Democrats, 32% as Republicans, 23% as DTS and 2% with minor parties.<\/p>\n
This year a new state law made voting in primaries easier for DTS voters. Participation was modest but that is to be expected for the first try.<\/p>\n
We can predict that more independent voters will take advantage of the option next time and perhaps that more voters might switch their registration to DTS. It\u2019s even possible that more New Mexicans who are disaffected with both major parties might decide to register.<\/p>\n
And we authorized the creation of a new minor political party, the Forward Party \u2013 another sign that some voters want different alternatives.<\/p>\n
But making it easier for unaffiliated candidates to run for office is a different matter. Changing the law has to be done by the legislature \u2013 that is, by legislators who were elected under the current system.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s legislators might not be enthusiastic about changing the rules to make it easy for other competitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you are reading this article on or before June 25, and you might like to make this year\u2019s governor\u2019s race a little more interesting, there\u2019s something you can do. Go to the Secretary of State website and sign the … Continue reading