With less than one month remaining before the June primaries that will effectively decide a winner, candidates in two crowded Santa Fe County Commission races are still trying to distinguish themselves from the pack.
At a Tuesday night candidate forum that featured more casual banter than pointed questions, that effort took on a personal feel.
District 5 candidate Joe Auburg described how he got the nickname "Bubba" while working for the Pentagon, opponent Stephen Wust talked about the business perspective gleaned from his rubber stamp making business and Ralph Jaramillo sounded a populist tone by declaring, "I'm about customer service."
But with another forum being held at the same time across town, only about 30 people showed up at the Marriott Courtyard hotel to listen.
District 4 candidate Mark Marquez— one of three Democrats running for the seat currently held by Paul Campos, who is not seeking re-election— called the scheduling conflict a disservice to voters.
"This shouldn't be happening," Marquez said. "We all need each other."
Tuesday's forum was hosted by the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, in conjunction with the city's Chamber of Commerce and Home Builders Association.
At least one candidate expressed discomfort with the Home Builders Association's recent decision to join a legal fight against the trailblazing affordable housing ordinance implemented by Santa Fe's city and county governments, but most agreed it's important to speak to whomever's willing to listen.
"We may not always agree on what our goals should be, but we can work together to solve our problems," said Wust, who recently started a 30-day leave of absence from his job as the county's director of natural resources.
Nine candidates had originally filed for the three County Commission seats up for election, including incumbent Virginia Vigil, who's running unopposed in District 2.
But one of the District 5 candidates, Mark Martinez, has dropped out, leaving four remaining aspirants— Auburg, Jaramillo, Wust and former state senator Liz Stefanics.
In District 4, Marquez is vying with Kathleen Holian and Elizabeth "Dolly" Lujan, whose son Eric spoke for her Tuesday.
Although each candidate was limited to a two-minute speech Tuesday before mingling with attendees, that gave ample time for prominent issues such as growth, water consumption and oil and gas mining to be aired.
But several candidates also spoke about soaring fuel costs and what can be done to offset the pinch on local pocketbooks.
"I believe that many solutions to our problems lie at the local level," said Holian, alluding to the potential of alternative energy programs.
Perhaps the evening's most colorful quotes belonged to Auburg, a longtime water planner who described the new Santa Fe County courthouse as a "monument to non-cooperation" between the city and county and the multi-million Buckman Direct Diversion Project as a "drink and glow" water plan due to the diversion site's proximity to runoff water from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Santa Fe County's primary elections are scheduled for June 3.
