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It wouldn’t be primary election season without barbs, jabs and accusations within one political party.
That’s the case in one state Senate district on the Westside.
The triangular-shaped Senate District 26 hugs a southern section of the Bosque and stretches west to Atrisco Vista Boulevard. The district’s Democratic incumbent Antonio “Moe” Maestas was appointed by the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners in 2022 to replace former Sen. Jacob Candelaria.
While Maestas is technically running for the seat for the first time, he’s a well-known name in New Mexico politics. Now, his primary challenger Julie Radoslovich, who was born and raised in the South Valley, is positioning herself as the candidate to make new and fresh changes to the district while also framing Maestas as career politician who’s failed constituents.
“You get better when you have competition,” Radoslovich tells The Paper. “He’s not had competition at all, and in my mind, I really believe that people deserve a choice and I’m offering them a choice, and a choice that represents the people.”
Maestas has represented Senate District 26 for less than two years, so Radoslovich is largley taking aim at Maestas’ time representing House District 16, a position he held for more than 15 years. During that time, Maestas faced only a handful of opponents, both in primary and general elections.
Radoslovich says Maestas “is not holding to Democratic ideals,” but Maestas tells The Paper. he begs to differ.
“The best indicator of future expectations is past accomplishments,” Maestas says. “So that kind of begs the question, imagine what we can accomplish from the Senate side, imagine what we could accomplish as a senior senator, considering what we accomplished as a rank and file House member.”
Maestas’ campaign website boasts a list of legislation he was a “prime sponsor” for, such as criminal justice reform bills, a film tax credit bill and legislation that added a new type of liquor license.
Radoslovich says one idea she’s “playing with” is the possibility of a guaranteed basic income pilot program to combat what she sees as a wealth disparity in the district. For example, she says, some constituents are asking for electric car charging stations, while others are still struggling to afford groceries.
“I can tell you, residents in the South Valley don’t have that luxury [of buying an electric car],” she says. “So it’s trying to find the balance of both, and how do you serve a very diverse district?”
Maestas says the district needs more “methodically” thought out development that “spurs economic growth.”
“We definitely need to get people out of their cars and into their homes,” Maestas says. “By creating jobs on the Westside, they spend more time with their families and less time in their cars polluting and driving east of the river.”
Radoslovich however says she’s more mindful of “the quality of life” of residents already living in District 26 neighborhoods.
“We need to think carefully about why people love New Mexico,” she says, referring to the Petroglyph National Monument and the Rio Grande.
With no Republican candidate running for the district, the winner of the primary election is all but guaranteed to win the general election and head to Santa Fe next year. Both Radoslovich and Maestas say they plan to work toward bettering their communities, but stopped short of saying they would offer direct help to their opponent during the session.
Radoslovich says “the work won’t stop.”
“I need to be active in communities and thinking how to help serve my neighbors,” she says.
Maestas has a similar goal.
“To serve in whatever capacity I can, is my goal,” he says. “I think I could best serve the Westside as the sitting senator for the next four years.”
The New Mexico primary election is on June 4.
For more information on early and absentee voting, visit NMVote.org or the Bernalillo County Clerk website.