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Monday, June 20, 2011
Michael Huerta Launches Campaign for Mayor of Las Cruces
Michael Ray Huerta, a native of Las Cruces who describes himself as "a longtime advocate for education reform and the prevention of youth bullying and suicide," today announced his campaign to become Mayor of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“Over the past few months, I’ve been asked by hundreds of Las Crucens to run for mayor,” Huerta said in a statement released today. “I, like all Las Crucens, want leadership that puts results above rhetoric, and people above political agendas. I’m running for mayor because I’m the candidate who will bring that fresh approach to City Hall.”
Huerta also announced his first initiative of the campaign through his website, MichaelRayHuerta.com, and the campaign’s YouTube channel (see video above). The initiative, which focuses on fiscal accountability, proposes that elected politicians at Las Cruces City Hall reverse the pay increase they implemented in 2008.
“In the past four years, the city budget has decreased by nearly 30%,” Huerta said. “Middle class incomes have gone down, and one out of every five Las Crucens now live in poverty, including 35% of our children. Revenues are down, and services to Las Crucens have been drastically cut. Yet in that same time, city politicians - some of whom now want to be Mayor - voted to increase their own salaries by 10-15%. That isn’t right, it isn’t fair, and it isn’t fiscally accountable to Las Cruces tax payers.”
“I don’t expect this initiative to be popular with some of the politicians at city hall,” added Huerta. “For years, they’ve failed to act on this important issue. It’s about time they put the fiscal interests of Las Crucens ahead of their own personal agendas. They need to cut back the salary increase they gave themselves because in this economy, we can’t afford to keep a 15% raise for elected politicians.”
Michael Ray Huerta is a native of Las Cruces. He previously served as the Press Secretary for a US Member of Congress, while working various high level positions on national campaigns. Most recently, Huerta he worked in education reform that focused on low-income, low-performing schools throughout New Mexico. Now, Huerta says he works with his family’s small businesses across the Mesilla Valley.
The Las Cruces mayoral election is set for November 8. Current Mayor Ken Miyagishima says he is running for re-election, and District 2 City Councilor Dolores Connor has announced she is giving up her seat to run for mayor. Although the election is officially nonpartisan, it's well known that Miyagishima is a Democrat, as is Huerta. Connor is a Republican.
June 20, 2011 at 08:02 PM in Las Cruces, | Permalink
Comments
Nice message-but the kid still lives at home with his mom.
Posted by: Dolores | Jun 20, 2011 8:34:15 PM
Dolores - It's actually well known that he and his brother's home went down in a fire, and that while it is being rebuilt, he is living with his family. How about you address the substance of his message, rather than attack him personally.
Posted by: Timothy | Jun 20, 2011 8:41:32 PM
Stupid move. We want to keep Ken as mayor and now there is another Dem running who will split the Dem vote. How selfish. Huerta has no chance of winning.
Posted by: Ian | Jun 21, 2011 9:01:19 AM
Local Hispanic culture does not throw their children out of the home at any age. Children are free to stay or go as they will. Children and their progeny are always welcome to stay with their mother/grandma in particular.
Kicking out the kids at 18 is for other people who spend holidays apart and lose track of each other. Kicking out the kids are for those people that abandon their elderly.
In these hard economic times we will be seeing more family cohesiveness for the sake of survival.
Posted by: qofdisks | Jun 21, 2011 9:45:56 AM
He was recently actually fired from his job in Abq because of his lack of accountability esp. in the fiscal realm. Ask him about his personal charges that he put on the business credit card and still has not paid the debt back.
Posted by: Antoinette | Jul 13, 2011 2:43:16 PM