City of Artesia

Election season is officially underway in Artesia. Candidates have filed their paperwork, lawn signs have gone up, and ads are all over the radio. This election will mark a big change for our city, as voters will decide on five council seats and a new mayor.

While local elections may not seem as glamorous as voting for President, they’re still important. Often times, decisions made by our city council can have more of an impact on your day-to-day life than decisions made in Washington, D.C. Recent impactful decisions from our council include the approval of money for housing incentives and new developments, the change to flag football for 5th and 6th graders, the acquisition of the Landsun Theater, and approval of maintenance work for our roads and waterlines.

Beyond voting for the mayor, all four districts will vote on a four-year council seat. District 4 will also vote on a two-year council seat in addition to their four-year council seat. The races for mayor, and the four-year seats for districts 2, 3 and 4 are all contested.

To find out more about each candidate, you can attend the Artesia Chamber of Commerce’s Mayoral Town Hall on Feb. 19. This will be a moderated question-and-answer period with the two candidates for mayor. There will be an afternoon session at noon at the country club, and another that same day at 5:30 p.m. at the Ocotillo Performing Arts Center. City council candidates will also be at these events so you can go up and speak directly to the candidates running in your district.

According to data from the Eddy County Clerk’s office, 1,512 votes were cast in our 2022 Mayoral election. This compared to our 7,489 eligible voters means that only 20% of eligible voters participated. We would love to see a higher turnout percentage in this election. We want everyone to feel represented in this process, instead of having these decisions made by only one-fifth of our registered voters.

Election Day is March 3. Polling locations on election day will be the Senior Center at 202 W Chisum, and Faith Baptist Church at 401 S 20th St. If you can’t make it to the polls on March 3, you can take advantage of early voting which is happening now. Early voting began Feb. 3 and will go until Feb. 28. While there are multiple polling locations for election day, early voting will only take place at city hall. City hall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We will have Saturday voting available only on Feb. 28.

Local elections matter. Big things are happening in Artesia, and we want everyone to have a say in what happens in our community. Don’t sit on the sidelines and let others make these decisions for you. No matter who you intend to vote for, we encourage everyone to get out and vote in this upcoming election.

Dr. Neil Woolf

As New Mexico’s 30-day legislative session begins this week, our state has an opportunity to look beyond short-term fixes and toward long-term impact. The decisions made in the coming weeks will shape not only budgets, but the future of higher education, workforce development and opportunity across New Mexico.

For more than a century, New Mexico Highlands University has been a place of access and possibility. Today, Highlands is also a university on the rise—growing in enrollment, advancing in research, and expanding its role as a driver of economic and civic vitality for northern New Mexico and beyond.

New Mexico’s Opportunity Scholarship has become an important pillar in expanding access to higher education across the state, reflecting a sustained commitment to making college attainable for New Mexicans. Highlands stands ready to meet that commitment. Once students enroll, however, our responsibility does not end—we must ensure their success by providing innovative, workforce-aligned academic programs and enhanced student services that support both the physical and mental well-being of our students.

Too often, approaches to funding for projects at Highlands have been viewed from a “let’s just make do and patch what needs to be patched” perspective.

The better question is: What could New Mexico achieve with a stronger, future-focused Highlands?

Highlands has recently achieved R3 research status, reflecting increased scholarly activity, faculty excellence, and growing relevance to the state’s needs. Our academic programs are expanding, partnerships are deepening and student success is improving.

This progress has come despite extraordinary challenges. The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent flooding disrupted operations, damaged infrastructure and tested every part of our institution. Highlands responded by serving evacuees, housing first responders and continuing to educate students under unprecedented conditions.

Resilience, however, is not our end goal. Growth is.

Like many public universities, Highlands faces deferred maintenance needs accumulated over decades. But focusing solely on patchwork repairs keeps attention fixed on the past. Our vision is different.

Highlands is choosing a forward-looking path—one centered on strategic investment, modern infrastructure and long-term sustainability, rather than short-term fixes that limit what our students and faculty can achieve.

That vision includes expanded and modernized student housing to improve retention, affordability and the student experience; upgraded athletics facilities that support recruitment, engagement and community pride; academic and research spaces that advance teaching, scholarship and workforce preparation; and campus systems designed for resilience, efficiency and growth.

These are not cosmetic projects. They are investments in outcomes—graduation rates, workforce readiness, institutional stability and regional vitality.

This same philosophy guides Highlands’ comprehensive capital campaign, Highlands Elevated. The campaign is intentionally broad and university-wide, supporting every discipline and function of the institution. To date, Highlands Elevated has exceeded its original goal and continues to build momentum.

Funds raised are advancing scholarships and access for students; student success and support services; academic programs across all colleges; and faculty, staff, athletics, facilities and operational needs. At the same time, Highlands is seeing continued growth in its endowment, strengthening long-term financial stability and ensuring today’s progress can be sustained.

Public investment does not replace private philanthropy—it amplifies it.

Highlands serves students from every corner of New Mexico, particularly rural and first-generation learners. Our graduates become teachers, nurses, social workers, public servants, business owners and community leaders who stay, serve and strengthen our state.

Across the country, universities that thrive do so because ambition and investment move together. Highlands is embracing that same mindset—one grounded in New Mexico’s values, workforce needs and communities.

As we navigate a challenging fiscal environment and uncertainty at the federal level, Highlands remains focused on what lies ahead. We are not retreating; we are advancing.

Highlands has a clear vision, a demonstrated record of momentum, and a deep commitment to students, faculty, staff and the communities we serve. We invite legislators, the Governor, alumni, faculty, staff and partners to continue supporting a university that is growing, resilient, and ready to lead.

A stronger Highlands means a stronger New Mexico. Together, we are moving forward.

Dr. Neil Woolf is president of New Mexico Highlands University.

Paul Gessing

The Rio Grande Foundation has been clear in expressing support for a multi-pronged approach to improving our State’s roads. To be clear, the deterioration of our roads is a real issue. Their poor condition costs New Mexicans thousands of dollars annually according to recent studies.

So, we applaud the focus on roads in Santa Fe. Sadly, SB 2 which would add $1.5 billion in road funding through bonding (debt) is the wrong approach for numerous reasons. Most notably,

1. New Mexico has been in a budget bonanza with rapidly increased spending (80 percent general fund growth since Lujan Grisham took office). There should never have been a shortage of road funds or deteriorating conditions on our roads in the first place. The Legislature and Gov. should use plentiful existing funds to improve and expand our roads.

2. There is $7 billion unspent capital outlay available that could be repurposed by the Legislature to essential transportation projects like roads.

3. Perhaps worst of all, the bill would increase taxes and fees to generate additional revenue for the State Road Fund, including a 35% increase to the weight-distance tax on heavy commercial vehicles and a 25% increase to vehicle registration fees.

New Mexicans should not be forced to pay for the unwillingness of the Legislature and Gov. to properly fund the most basic government services (basic infrastructure). This is especially true when the watchword nationwide is “affordability.” Raising taxes and taking on new debt when government has plenty of money and has had it for years would hurt hard-working New Mexicans by making vehicle registrations more expensive and raising costs for commercial vehicles that carry freight and other items throughout our State.

While there is one positive “revenue enhancement” contained in the bill (a fee on EV’s to fund the roads since they don’t pay the gas tax) that doesn’t save this proposal from being fatally flawed. SB 2 has been rated as a -6 out of a possible +8 to -8 in the Rio Grande Foundation’s Freedom Index.

The Legislature should remove the tax hikes from SB 2 and instead prioritize the use of existing revenues to provide needed infrastructure improvements. New Mexico consistently is ranked poorly on a variety of governance issues. One of the biggest reasons is that our elected officials prioritize new spending on things like “free” childcare while neglecting basic needs like roads.

The 30-day session is still in its early days. There is ample time to improve SB 2 and remove unnecessary tax and fee increases.

Paul Gessing is president of New Mexico’s Rio Grande Foundation. The Rio Grande Foundation is an independent, tax-exempt research and educational organization.