Last night, the town of Espanola, in northern New Mexico elected a new Republican mayor, the first Republican the city has had in decades. Congratulations, Javier Sanchez!!

Ironically this race was won with little Republican party structure in the county of Rio Arriba and no help from outside statewide conservative groups or the state party. Espanola residents, and a few allies from Santa Fe, chose to reject corruption and vote for a candidate based on the candidate’s ethics and integrity over party affiliation.

In February we reported on the Espanola race and the rampant corruption coming from the city’s Democratic candidate for mayor Robert Seeds whose wife Laura Seeds, has been charged with 13 counts of election fraud. Word got out and it helped stop Seeds seedy corruption…

Yes, politics in northern New Mexico are that bad. I know because I started out in New Mexico politics working in the north and the corruption, bullying and fear-mongering are very real; until you’ve lived and worked in it, you really can’t understand the way it works.

Sadly, the rest of the state, by and large, likes to ignore Taos, Espanola and Santa Fe as unwinnable. It is past time we take on these winnable cities and counties in lower profile elections because when we work hard and get boots on the ground, we can defeat corruption and win.

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