Candidates talk issues, projects

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Three of the four city wards have opposition in the upcoming city council election on March 1.

Tuesday marked filing day for Portales City Council candidates with Incumbent Michael Lucero being opposed by Veronica Cordova for Ward A and Incumbent Keith Thomas being opposed by Jim Lucero for Ward D.

Lucero said Tuesday he has been considering running for city council for quite some time.

“I've been a lifelong resident of Portales, and I thought it was time to start giving back,” he said.

Lucero said he knows water is a major priority for the city and will continue to be a focus.

“I'll have to get the hot topics to the best of my abilities,” he said. "I'm excited for the opportunity to serve my ward. I was raised on Colorado Drive, raised in a house on Oklahoma Drive, and I live on Kansas Drive. The opportunity to serve my ward is exciting."

Thomas said last week that a lot has been accomplished during his two terms as city councilor, but there are still things he wants to see come to fruition.

“This is the kind of work I enjoy doing,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we do what’s right.”

Lucero said it has been an honor to serve the city so far, and he wants to see projects started during his time on council completed, such as the fire substation on the north side of town and the water reuse project.

“We’ve got it going, and I’m pretty proud of that fact,” Lucero said of the new fire station. “And I think we have the capability of finding other resources with water, and I want to see the water reuse project complete as well.”

Cordova said when she went through the Portales Leadership program, she was intrigued to see how the city and other entities operate.

“I love Portales, and I want to see it grow and not whither away because of our water problem,” she said. “Our road issues that we have, I want to work on those. I know there are elderly in our community that need help. I’d like to see more revitalization of our downtown area. Our economy is on the rebound, so I want to see things growing downtown.”

Two newcomers for Ward C, local business owner Chad Heflin, is running against Michelle Lee Bailey.

Current Ward C Councilor Leo Lovett did not register to run again on Tuesday.

Heflin said he has had good friends on city council, and he believes he can bring good experience to the council as far as “knowing what’s been going on with ongoing projects.”

“I am going into this with an open agenda,” Heflin said. “I want to talk to people in my ward and see what they have to say about things and see what concerns they have.”

Bailey said as a realtor, she deals with water issues daily, because people will have concerns about where they buy a house due to concerns over water issues.

“I want to be part of solving that issue,” Bailey said. “I want to better the community and make it thrive to benefit everybody, and be a voice for my ward to address their issues.”

Ward B candidate Jessica Smith is running unopposed.

“I've been a member of the community since third grade, went to Eastern, graduated there and am regional manager at Ashley Furniture,” she said. "I'm viewing it as an opportunity to get involved. I have a lot at stake here, because we're trying to settle here, my kids both go to school here. I've got a lot to invest in. I just look forward to how the elections turn out in March."

Absentee voting will begin Feb. 10 and early voting will begin Feb. 26.

The Floyd schools bond election will be held Feb. 2 to determine if Floyd schools will be authorized “to issue general obligation bonds of the district, in one series or more, in the aggregate principal amount not exceeding $1 million for the purpose of erecting, remodeling, making additions to and furnishing school buildings; purchasing or improving school grounds; purchasing computer software and hardware for student use ...”

Early voting for this election begins Friday.

— Staff Writer Eamon Scarbrough contributed to this report