Santa Fe voters who have already made up their minds about the municipal election or who will be out of town on election day may begin to cast ballots Tuesday.

Polling places across the city will be open on election day, March 6, but until then voters may visit the City Clerk's Office on the second floor of City Hall, 200 Lincoln Ave., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., or call 955-6519 to ask for an absentee ballot request form in the mail. (Mailed ballots must be returned to the clerk by 7 p.m. March 6.)

Four of the eight City Council seats are on the ballot -- one in each of four voting districts. Municipal Judge Ann Yalman is running unopposed for another four-year term.

Voters citywide also will decide whether the city should issue general obligation bonds funded with property taxes. Three bond proposals are on the ballot. The largest would raise $14 million for parks and trails. Another would generate $5 million for public safety, with much of it going to build a new fire station on Santa Fe's growing southwest side. The third would provide $3.8 million for drainage improvements and a solar energy project.

Residents who aren't already registered to vote can do so through Feb. 7 at the County Clerk's Office, 102 Grant Ave. More than 48,000 people are already eligible to vote in the city election. Voter registration is also available at the Motor Vehicle Division, 2546 Camino Entrada; Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave.; Main Library, 145 Washington Ave.; La Farge Branch Library, 1730 Llano St.; and Motor Vehicle Express, 850 St. Michael's Drive.

The New Mexican will publish a series of profiles of the council candidates beginning Sunday. Here is a quick look at the candidates:

DISTRICT 1

Patti Bushee

Age: 52

Education: Bachelor's degree in international affairs from the University of Maine, studied international economics at George Washington University; studied for a year in Spain at La Universidad de Sevilla.

Occupation: Owns landscaping company.

Experience: City councilor since 1994; chairs city Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee; serves on Finance Committee, Public Utilities Committee and Regional Planning Authority; former employee of Office of the State Engineer.

Personal: Born in Stoneham, Mass., moved to Santa Fe 27 years ago from Maine; lives north of Alameda in the Barrio de Torreon neighborhood.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign; http://pattibushee.com.


Houston J. Johansen

Age: 25

Education: 2005 Santa Fe Preparatory School graduate; bachelor's degree in political science from Creighton University.

Occupation: Intern at Santa Fe Innovation Park.

Experience: Serves on the board of Earth Care International; opened One World Coffee at age 19 and worked for a year as manager; interned for Bill Hume, former Gov. Bill Richardson's water policy adviser; worked on President Barack Obama's campaign in Omaha, Neb., and at a law office there.

Personal: Born and raised in Santa Fe, returned to the city after college; son of Carl Johansen and Mary Lattimore. Rents a house with a friend in the historic St. Catherine's neighborhood.

Campaign info: Privately financed campaign with $6,866 in contributions, including $1,000 donations from engineer James Garner, Megan Lloyd Hill, his mother, California rancher Robert Estrin and Ellis Logan of Chicago; www.houstonforsantafe.com.

DISTRICT 2

Peter N. Ives

Age: 57

Education: Bachelor's degree in philosophy from Harvard College; law degree from Georgetown University.

Occupation: Senior counsel with Trust for Public Land for the last 14 years.

Experience: Spent 15 years in private law practice before joining staff of the land conservation group; serves on boards of New Mexico Activities Association Foundation, Dine People's Legal Services and New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts; taught law courses at The University of New Mexico.

Personal: Moved to Santa Fe in 1983 to work for former Gov. Jack Campbell's law firm, and has lived in District 2 for most of that time; officer of Knights of Columbus for St. Francis Cathedral Council 1717; married to attorney Patricia Salazar; three adult children; lives in the Sol y Lomas neighborhood.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign; santafeives@aol.com.


Elizabeth "Dolly" Lujan

Age: 64

Education: Nursing degree from Northern New Mexico Community College.

Occupation: Nurse.

Experience: Worked at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for more than 40 years, now works at Southwestern Ear, Nose and Throat and for a nursing agency; served on Santa Fe County Health Board; former president of District #1199 Hospital Employees and Nurses Union; finished third of three in a race for county commissioner in 2008.

Personal: Lifelong Santa Fe resident; married to Tobias Lujan; three adult children, seven grandchildren; daughter Tara is running for Santa Fe County clerk; son Eric is past city council candidate.

Campaign info: Privately financed campaign with a $1,000 contribution from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and $150 from other nurses; dlujan@msn.com.


Bob Sarr

Age: 69

Education: Bachelor's degree in economics from Drew University, master's in business administration from Stanford University.

Occupation: Runs BSarradventures, a small business that hauls and sorts recyclables for institutions such as Santa Fe Community College.

Experience: Retired president of Santa Fe Southern Railway, an excursion and freight service between Santa Fe and Lamy; U.S. Army medical Service Corp. officer, 1967-70; labor relations specialist for Proctor and Gamble; personnel manager for Buckeye Cellulose; consultant for Colgate Palmolive Europe.

Personal: Born in Ellenville, N.Y., moved to Santa Fe in 1990; married to Carol Raymond; two adult children.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign; http://facebook.com/sarrbob.


DISTRICT 3

Marie Campos

Age: 52

Education: Bachelor's degree in fine arts from Excelsior College with course work from Kansas City Art Institute; master's degree from St. John's College.

Occupation: President of Native Hispanic Institute since 2002; runs a retail jewelry kiosk at DeVargas Center; also a painter and sculptor.

Experience: Worked on community development projects such as assisting Chimayó chile farmers in securing a trademark; consulted on the Zona del Sol building for youth organizations in Tierra Contenta and other nonprofits.

Personal: Single parent of two adult children.

Campaign info: Privately funded with contributions totaling about $1,400, including a $1,000 donation from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and $200 from state Rep. Nick Salazar; www.mariecampos.com.


Gilbert R. Martinez

Age: 58

Education: High school graduate; course work at El Centro and Mountain View junior colleges in Dallas and Santa Fe Community College.

Occupation: Substitute teacher and part-time manager of the Back 9 Grill at the city-owned Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe golf course; recently worked on contract for the city to oversee solar energy production.

Experience: Retired from Public Service Co. of New Mexico after 30 years; ran for county clerk in 2006; performed contract work for city utilities; summer youth coordinator at the SER Academy; also had part-time and temporary jobs in recent years at St. Elizabeth Shelter, Junior Achievement of New Mexico and the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority.

Personal: Married to Margaret Ryan; eight children and nine grandchildren.

Campaign info: Privately funded, with a personal loan of $1,000 and $1,200 in donations from more than a dozen people, including his wife, Dr. Warren Hoffman and general contractor Bill Dench; gilmtzcityofsfe11@yahoo.com.


Christopher Rivera

Age: 46

Education: St. Michael's High School graduate; associate's degree from Santa Fe Community College; course work at The University of New Mexico in education and business.

Occupation: Clinic manager for Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

Experience: Retired city firefighter who served as fire chief from 2006-09; worked briefly as a teacher's aide at Capshaw Middle School; serves on city Public Safety Committee; past board member of American Youth Soccer Organization.

Personal: Married to Angela Rivera; four daughters.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign; www.votechristopherrivera.com.


DISTRICT 4

Bill Dimas

Age: 66

Education: Santa Fe High School graduate; course work at Adams State and College of Santa Fe; New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.

Occupation: Retired.

Experience: Elected three terms as county magistrate before retiring in 2006; city police officer before serving a partial term as a city councilor from 1984-87; former board member of Recovery of Alcoholics Program.

Personal: Lifetime resident of Santa Fe; married to Candy Kane; three adult children.

Campaign info: Privately financed, with $2,000 in loans and $6,000 in contributions, including more than $5,000 from a fundraising dinner and $400 from a retired couple, Bill and Lee Rougemont. Contact Dimas at 920-4645.


Carol Robertson Lopez

Age: 62

Education: Bachelor's degree in secondary education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania; master's degree in education management from New Mexico State University and working on doctorate in education.

Occupation: Executive director of New Mexico Children's Foundation.

Experience: Chief of procurement office at New Mexico Department of Transportation before retiring in 2005; elected twice to City Council starting in 1998, before narrowly losing a bid for a third term in 2006; worked for developer Donald Tishman after leaving office; first ran for council seat in 1996.

Personal: Married to Jeff Case; one adult son; lives with her mother to provide Alzheimer's care.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign, www.carolrobertsonlopez.com.