Commentary: How do candidates running for office for the first time introduce themselves to the public at a time when public introductions can be deadly?
That is the dilemma faced by not just first-time office seekers, but all candidates running in this year’s election, which has already started with early voting for the primary.
You can’t squeeze people into a community center for town hall meetings. You can’t walk the neighborhood knocking on everybody’s front door. You can’t hold swanky meet-and-greets in the backyards of wealthy donors. You can’t post yourself at busy pedestrian crossings, wearing a campaign T-shirt and hat as you force people to take unwanted campaign flyers as the cost for passage.
Heck, you can’t even shake hands. And the idea of kissing somebody else’s baby seems almost criminal.
Not to mention the fact that it’s hard to get people’s attention when all eyes are on a death toll that is climbing steadily each day.
But, this election will decide who leads us out of this pandemic. That makes it more important, not less.
And, in several local districts, the primary election now will be more important than the general election in November.
Fifty years of experience in the state Senate is on the line in just two races. Mary Kay Papen, a senator since winning for the first time in 2000, and John Arthur Smith, who first won his seat in 1990, both face strong challengers.
Papen has been president pro temp. since 2013. Smith is chairman of the most powerful committee, Senate Finance. Both face GOP opponents in the fall, but that hasn’t been a problem in the past. Republicans have failed to crack the 40 percent mark in any of the past three elections for those two districts.
The real action is in the primary, where Carrie Hamblen, the incredibly active and public CEO of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce, will challenge for Papen’s seat. Neomi Martinez Parra, a former vice chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, will try to take the seat that Smith has held for 30 years.
Other big races are in Senate District 31, where incumbent Joseph Cervantes faces two challengers, Melissa Ontiverso and Arturo Terrezas; House District 34, which will be a rematch between Raymundo Laras and Bealquin Gomez; and County Commission District 4, where six candidates are vying to replace Isabella Solis, who is stepping down to run for the state House seat held by Joanne Ferrary.
But, how does anybody get their message out to the voters when we’re all stuck at home? And, how do voters get the information they need to make an informed decision?
KRWG is taping a forum with Yvette Herrell, Claire Chase and Chris Mathys, the three Republican candidates running for the chance to face Xochitl Torres Small in November. That will be aired on both radio and television, as well as posted online.
And, most candidates have some kind of online presence where you can learn more about their positions on the issues. The information is out there, but it may take more effort to find it.
This may not feel like an important election, but it is. And, you can safely participate by absentee ballot without putting your health at risk.
Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com.