Local politics revisited

Maggie says:
Now that we have a real registered Republican running for mayor (instead of the fake one currently holding down the job), I think this obviously changes the local political landscape quite a bit. Luckily for anyone who cares about the quality of life in Albuquerque, I see Marty being left out in the cold, without the support of the Republicans who would've voted for him had Winter not been in the race and losing the run-off to Eric Griego. I hope the Griego campaign can build on the push to get a minimum wage increase on the ballot and focus on rallying the progressive base in Albuquerque and appealing to voters Marty's policies have ignored and/or harmed.

So that said, the race for Griego's city council seat bugs me. I know lots of good folks give Diana Dorn-Jones credit for her community work in South Broadway and excuse her dealings with the Marty administration, but I'd like to see a much more progressive candidate there; in fact, I think we should demand one. This is the district to do that: we're talking downtown, not the Heights. Organizers are busy enough in this town to not always have to worry about how Dorn-Jones will vote and do an eleventh hour push to get her support for every issue. And as someone more in the know than me (and apparently much more in the know than Dorn-Jones apologists) recently said, "Don't kid yourself - Diana Dorn-Jones is in Marty's pocket just as much as Tina Cummings."

So this leaves me to wonder: why couldn't Judy Espinosa have run for Eric's seat instead of running for mayor? She's a great choice for that district: she has the right amount of name recognition to do well in a district, but getting votes citywide will be an uphill battle; she'd be in a winnable race were she running for Eric's seat, unlike the minefield of running for mayor in a crowded field; and most importantly we need her there. So I know this is too little too late (I believe Espinosa is announcing her candidacy for mayor today), but for what it's worth: Judy, why not take a shot at the City Council instead? Help us maintain our progressive city council. We need you!