Letitia Montoya says collecting shopping carts around Santa Fe helped inform her run for mayor
Letitia Montoya says collecting stray shopping carts dispersed throughout a city is a great way to understand a community and its issues. That’s what she’s been doing with her husband, Michael Segura, since June of 2023 through their company, Nebula Advisers LLC. The company is contracted by the city to collect and return stray carts to grocers and retailers. In the process, Montoya says she interacts with people from all walks of life, from members of the homeless population to business owners and shoppers. The experience, Montoya says, has greatly informed her campaign for mayor and her plan for the city. In the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse,” she discusses what she’s learned from her work and what she hopes to accomplish if elected mayor. Her priorities, she said, include increasing affordable housing, helping the homeless population and increasing wages for city employees. During the interview, Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Daniel J. Chacón questions Montoya on a wide range of topics. He asks her to explain the two bankruptcy filings she and her husband have made in the last 16 years, and what she would say to voters who may have concerns about electing someone who has filed for bankruptcy. He also asks her to explain her plans for increasing the amount of affordable housing in the city, how she would address homelessness and how the city could afford to increase wages for its employees to the degree she hopes. Montoya also shares her thoughts on what should happen with the Soldiers’ Monument on the Plaza.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jeanne O'Dean makes pitch for 'disruptive innovation' in race for Santa Fe mayor
Jeanne O’Dean was the last candidate to enter the race for Santa Fe mayor and lacks the name recognition of others who are running, but she hopes her background in “disruptive innovation” resonates with voters enough to send her to City Hall. In the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse,” host Daniel J. Chacón speaks with O’Dean about her plans for the city and asks her why she feels the electorate should choose her. O’Dean talks about initiatives she hopes to accomplish, including building 1,000 affordable adobe homes, through the backing of significant philanthropic funding. Chacón presses O’Dean about the sources of the funding, which she says she is unable to reveal. O’Dean discusses the struggles she had with black mold prior to the time she announced her candidacy for mayor and says the city needs to do more to address black mold and fungus through inspections. She also talks about her own struggles with finding housing in Santa Fe and her experiences with Casa Familia and Consuelo’s Place. Born and raised in Iowa, O’Dean talks about her upbringing in the Hawkeye State. She also discusses her work in consulting and education that she says has taken her around the world. O’Dean ends the episode by addressing issues she has with some businesses around the Santa Fe Plaza and shares her plans for the Soldiers’ Monument.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Tarin Nix calls for cutting red tape, fixing City Hall during campaign for Santa Fe mayor
Tarin Nix has had a taste of winning in New Mexico as a political consultant, including guiding Stephanie Garcia Richard to successful campaigns for the state House and, later, for state land commissioner. Now serving as the deputy commissioner of public affairs for the State Land Office, Nix is vying to win her own race in a crowded field of candidates running to be Santa Fe’s next mayor. Nix joins Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón on the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse” to share her vision for the city and discuss what she feels sets her apart from the other candidates. Nix said she’s spent many hours combing through city records and understanding ordinances and statues. In her research, she said she has found that the city is not following many of its own laws and ordinances. While she said she wants to cut red tape to help the city accomplish key objectives such as building more affordable housing, she said she is also committed to making sure the city is following its own laws. Nix shares some of the top priories that she has outlined for the first 30 days if she is elected mayor. She also offers her thoughts on addressing the city’s housing shortage, fixing problems at City Hall, tackling wastewater issues, and more. The daughter of two teachers, Nix discusses her background, what drew her to New Mexico and why she loves Santa Fe. She also talks about her experience building coalitions and the accomplishments she's most proud of in her time at the State Land Office.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Santa Fe mayoral candidate Oscar Rodriguez aims to fix basic services, deliver affordable housing
Oscar Rodriguez is a former finance director for the city of Santa Fe who has spent 30 years of his career in the public sector. He says his experiences serving in city management in communities large and small have given him the skills needed to be mayor of Santa Fe. Rodriguez joins Santa Fe New Mexican politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón to speak about his background and share his views on issues impacting the city in the latest of a series of interviews with Santa Fe mayoral candidates on the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast. An enrolled member of the Lipan Apache tribe, Rodriguez grew up in the Permian Basin and was the first in his family to go to college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s degree with a specialization in city management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 2016, he has served as the CFO for the New Mexico Finance Authority, where he said he manages $3.5 billion in assets. Chacón asks Rodriguez how he plans to compete in a mayoral race while lacking the name recognition and visibility of some of the other candidates. Rodriguez also speaks on how he’s been balancing his job as New Mexico Finance Authority CFO with campaigning for mayor. Rodriguez shares how the city’s shortcomings in basic services spurred him to run for office. He lists improving the quality of the city’s services among his top priorities, along with addressing the lack of affordable housing in Santa Fe. Rodriguez also discusses his plans to improve public safety and how he would address homelessness in the city. As former finance director in the Javier Gonzalez administration, Rodriguez shares how how would handle annual audits if elected mayor. He also discusses what he would like to do with the Soldiers’ Monument on the Santa Fe Plaza, offering a plan that he admits has its critics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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JoAnne Vigil Coppler says her experience sets her apart in her run to be Santa Fe's mayor
JoAnne Vigil Coppler has served for two Santa Fe mayors and two New Mexico governors during her career and has worked in every branch of government. In the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse” she touts her decades of experience as what will give her the edge in her second campaign to be Santa Fe’s mayor. Vigil Coppler finished runner-up to Alan Webber in the 2021 election and said she gained a lot from the experience that she can lean on in her current campaign. She said she feels more comfortable being herself, sharing her message and handling the demands that come with running for mayor. The former Santa Fe city councilor said she is disappointed in the job Webber has done in office, and the state of the city prompted her to want to run again. Vigil Coppler said the city needs to get tougher on crime, which she noted as the most important issue facing Santa Fe. She also discussed her plans for creating more affordable housing in Santa Fe and mentioned the need to streamline the permitting process that has been plagued by backlogs. When asked what needs to be done about the toppled Soldiers’ Monument in the center of the Plaza, Vigil Coppler said there needs to be action instead of continuing to delay a decision that has been drawn out for years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Santa Fe New Mexican’s weekly podcast hosted by state government and lead politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón features the policies, politics and personalities at the state Capitol during New Mexico's 2025 legislative session.
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