Abeyta runs for re-election in Council Dist. 2

“I vote first every single time,” Las Cruces City Councilor Tessa Abeyta said. “I don’t get to ride on the coattails of anyone else.”

As the District 2 councilor, Abeyta is the first to say “yes” or no” on every council vote because Kasandra Gandara, who represents District 1, serves as mayor pro tempore and sits next to Mayor Ken Miyagishima on the council dais.

“It’s a very interesting place to be. You have to stand on your decision in a very strong way.”

Abeyta launched her re-election campaign July 1 for a second four-year term as the council’s District 2 representative.

The election is Nov. 7.

“Access and equity have been really big factors for us on the council,” said Abeyta, chair of the city’s Quality of Life Policy Review Committee (PRC) and also serves on the Public Safety PRC, the city’s Juvenile Justice Continuum, Oversight Committee, Utilities Board, the University District Citizens Design Committee and is the city’s representative on the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance Board of Directors.

Abeyta said she has spent a great deal of time studying the city charter to become familiar with the policies and procedures that guide the council and city government.

In making decisions, council members must “follow the law,” she said, be thoughtful, do the necessary research and “look at the community as a whole.”

And, Abeyta said, “What’s a good idea isn’t always a good policy.”

Abeyta, 38, was born in Grants, New Mexico, and grew up in Los Alamos. She moved to Las Cruces to attend New Mexico State University, earning a bachelor of arts degree in government in 2009.

Abeyta has three children: 14-year-old twin sons and a 9-year-old daughter, and said she is the first woman elected to the city council to serve while raising children.

Being a member of city council is a full-time job, Abeyta said. She also serves as the part-time executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Public Health Association.

Abeyta becomes president of the New Mexico Municipal League Board of Directors in August. The organization represents 105 incorporated municipalities in the state.

“It’s good to have a statewide perspective,” she said. “You have to participate and show that Las Cruces is the place to be.”

Abeyta has been endorsed by Las Cruces Firefighters Local 2362.

Police and crime

“I asked good questions,” Abeyta said about the city council’s May 2023 work session regarding the possibility of creating a Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) oversight board.

There is “no quantifiable data” to support creating an oversight board, Abeyta said. “I want transparency and accountability,” she said, but an oversight board “may not be the best way. We have more questions.”

Abeyta said one of her greatest concerns about a local citizens group’s call for police oversight is access to police officers’ personnel files and allowing “non-city employees to address HR issues.”

City councilors “don’t see HR files, even in closed session,” Abeyta said, and allowing members of an oversight board to see those records would violate city charter and the city’s bargaining agreement with Las Cruces police officers.

Abeyta supports additional training for police officers and said the focus for the department and the guide for hiring a new police chief should also be on community and officer safety, recruitment, retention and training.

“We do have a lot of great officers,” Abeyta said.

“Systems must work together” to address the property crime, she said, and the city must “give our officers all the resources to respond.”

The city council must “address the root causes of our most pressing crime and public safety challenges by investing in public health approaches to interrupt cycles of trauma and addiction,” Abeyta said on her campaign website.

The city launched Project LIGHT (Lessen the Incidence of Grief, Harm and Trauma), earlier this year to provide teams of trauma-informed firefighter/paramedics and social workers to deal with behavioral health issues. That should help “take the stress off” police officers, Abeyta said.

City manager

Abeyta said she is pleased with the performance of City Manager Ifo Pili, whom the council hired in September 2020.

“I have been very happy with our choice,” Abeyta said about Pili, who has helped create “a stable foundation” within the city, she said. “I think he’s done very well.”

Accomplishments

If re-elected, Abeyta said she will continue to be “a champion for the district.” Among her first-term accomplishments for District 2, Abeyta listed improving insurance benefits for city employees, redevelopment of Tony Gomez and Frenger parks and community art projects.

Her priorities for the district going forward include building community engagement and communication, addressing aging infrastructure, supporting quality of life programs, and revitalization of the El Paseo Corridor, Abeyta said on her page on the city website.

“We are such a great city,” Abeyta said. “I want to be the city’s biggest champion and biggest marketer. I know I can help continue to move (Las Cruces) forward.”

2019 city council race

In the 2019 District 2 city council race, Abeyta received 55 percent of the vote and Philip VanVeen (who also ran for the seat in 2015) received 45 percent after three rounds of ranked-choice voting. After the first round, Abeyta had 43 percent, VanVeen 35 percent, former City Councilor Jack Valencia 17 percent and Jason Estrada 5.4 percent. Greg Smith represented the district for two terms, from 2011-19.

District 2

Las Cruces City Council District 2 includes southeast Las Cruces. The city council approved redistricting of council districts in October 2022. Visit www.lascruces.gov/2553/Redistricting, which includes a map of the approved redistricting concept.

Visit www.lascruces.gov/1939/District-2---Tessa-Abeyta (which also includes a map of the district), tessafortwo.com and www.facebook.com/tessafortwo.