The cast of characters for Santa Fe's spring municipal election continues to shift, with candidates jumping into the races for mayor and District 2 city councilor and dropping out of the council contest for District 1.

Three-term City Councilor Miguel Chavez announced late Sunday that after consulting his "Kitchen Cabinet Exploratory Committee," he plans to run citywide for the mayor's post.

"I am running in part because of comments I'm hearing in public that there seems to be a sense of disappointment and a feeling that change has not been seen in certain areas such as cultural and heritage tourism, the budget, and managed growth," he wrote in an e-mail to local media.

Chavez, a self-employed furniture maker, has represented his southwest-side District 3 since 2000. He introduced an ordinance that resulted in the city's cell-phone ban for drivers and has worked on regional planning and annexation.

Other declared candidates in the mayor's race for the March 2, 2010, election are incumbent David Coss and Asenath Kepler, a former city attorney and city manager.

Meanwhile, in council races, Donado "Cove" Coviello picked up a candidate packet Monday that would allow him to campaign in District 2, and Angelo Jaramillo issued an e-mail Sunday explaining that he decided not to campaign for the District 1 Council seat.

Coviello is an artist who has run for local offices in Santa Fe more than a half-dozen times. In this case, he said, he didn't want incumbent Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger to run uncontested in her district, which covers the east and central regions of the city and includes the east-side foothills.

Jaramillo, meanwhile, said he decided he "didn't want any part of" running City Hall. The news came just three days after Jaramillo, the son of former Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, said he would run against the three other declared candidates in the north-side council district.

Jaramillo wrote late Sunday that "after serious deliberation, meditation, and soul searching over the weekend" he would not seek the office. Jaramillo said he felt that as an artist, he would be "working against the system."

Incumbent District 1 Councilor Chris Calvert is seeking a second four-year term and faces a challenge from Doug Nava, a state tax processor; and former journalist Russell Simon, a housing association manager.

Other council seats up for election in the spring include those of two incumbents with no declared challengers: District 3 Councilor Carmichael Dominguez and south-side District 4 Councilor Ron Trujillo.

Having three or more candidates in the mayor's race is not uncommon for Santa Fe, and it's anyone's guess whether Chavez entering the race will spur other candidates to jump into the fray.

Since 1994, when Debbie Jaramillo was elected from a field of 12 candidates, the city's mayoral ballots have featured an average of six candidates.

Candidates began collecting signatures last week for nominating petitions that are required to get their names on the ballot. Fundraising has also begun; however, no reports on collections or spending are due until after the ballot is set in early January.

In his weekend announcement, Chavez pledged to limit his campaign spending to $60,000. That amount is less than half the $146,169 that Coss raised during his 2006 campaign, but it's the same amount that a proposed public campaign finance system would allocate to candidates for mayor.

Although the system is up for debate by City Council next week, it's not likely it could be used for this election.

Coss and Chavez live within two miles of each other in neighborhoods just east of Agua Fría, and it's not the first time the two would appear head-to-head on the city ballot. In 2000, Coss was among three candidates on the ballot for a District 3 council seat when Chavez won the race with 41 percent of vote.

Coss was elected to the other District 3 seat in 2002 with 79 percent of votes. Chavez won re-election to his council seat in 2004 with 60 percent of the vote against Carmichael Dominguez. Last time around, Chavez inched past Martin Lujan with 54 percent of votes.

Kepler's only other campaign was in 1988, when she narrowly lost a district judge race to Steve Herrera. She worked at City Hall as the head attorney under Mayor Debbie Jaramillo and was city manager after Coss first became mayor.

She said Monday that she was glad to hear Chavez had entered the mayor's race.

"Having more than two candidates in an election field is a healthy sign for a democratic entity such as the city of Santa Fe," she said. "And I look forward to debating the issues with Councilor Chavez as well as the mayor."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

Note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that Kepler has never run for office.

RECENT MAYORAL ELECTIONS

Year Candidates Winner

1994 12 Debbie Jaramillo

1998 6 Larry Delgado

2002 4 Larry Delgado

2006 5 David Coss


Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Asenath Kepler has never run for office before. She appeared on the 1988 primary election ballot for District Judge and lost to Steve Herrera.