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Progressives Sweep Three Seats in City Election

By Steve Klinger

The Las Cruces City Council picked up two more progressive members tonight and retained another as Sharon Thomas, Gill Sorg and Olga Pedroza won their races after a hotly contested campaign.

The New Mexico Independent first reported online that Thomas won her District 6 race against James W. Harbison, while Sorg unseated incumbent Gil Jones by a wide margin in District 5. With one precinct still out in District 3, Olga Pedroza had a seemingly insurmountable lead over incumbent Dolores Archuleta.

Despite an aggressive campaign to portray Thomas and Sorg as radicals, including flyers proclaiming that they favored chicken-keeping in city limits, and at least one push poll that implied Thomas is an environmental extremist, voters were not persuaded. All three candidates endorsed by the Las Cruces Sun-News lost, and some heated rhetoric and fundraising by the Building Industry Association also failed to slow the progressive candidates.

The Independent reported tonight that Thomas won the city’s largest district with 1,444 votes, or 55 percent, to the 1,201 votes, or 45 percent, that went to challenger James W. Harbison. That was according to unofficial results obtained by NMI and includes tallies collected from receipts posted on the doors of all five polling places in the district and early and absentee voting, the web site reported.

According to the web site, Thomas could not be reached for comment, but Harbison confirmed that the race “is over.” He said he’s called Thomas to concede the race but has been unable to reach her.

“The voters have spoken. I don’t understand their vote but I respect their vote, and that’s all I can say,” Harbison told the Independent.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was in District 5 where Sorg nearly doubled up on incumbent Jones. Sorg had 1,163 votes to Jones’ 631 votes, according to unofficial results obtained by NMI. That includes tallies collected from receipts posted on the doors of all five polling places in the district and early and absentee voting, the web site said.

Sorg said in an interview with the Independent that he is declaring victory but had not yet talked with Jones.

“I think it makes a statement about what’s going on here in Las Cruces,” Sorg said of his victory to NMI. “There needs to be a change — a change for better planning, smart growth.”

In District 3, Pedroza had 328 votes, or 65 percent, to Archuleta’s 176 votes, or 35 percent. The results don’t include votes cast at Conlee Elementary School, but that polling place won’t change the outcome of the race, according to knowledgeable sources.

The numbers reported come from unofficial results obtained by NMI.

“We’re still waiting on that one last polling place. … I’m a cautious person,” Pedroza told NMI, in declining to claim victory. “We’re expecting it to be announced pretty soon, but I think it’s not going to be big surprise.”

The voting gives progressives six solid votes on the new council, including Mayor Ken Miyagishima, and current councilors Nathan Small and Miguel Silva. Dolores Connor, though not aligned with the progressive movement, often votes with progressives on environmental issues.

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