County Commission District 4 candidate questionnaires
May 1—Stephen Chiulli
City or area of primary residence: Sunlit Hills, Santa Fe County
Age: 63
Party affiliation: Democrat
Educational background: MBA, finance/business
Occupation: Automotive restorer. Nonprofit animal rescue and sanctuary.
Political experience: Democratic Party state delegate and precinct captain.
Relevant life experience: 45 years of experience in business and community service; first responder World Trade Center; certified public school teacher.
Have you ever been charged or convicted of a crime, including drunken driving? No
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy or been involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, either personally or in business? No
Have you ever been the subject of liens for unpaid taxes? No
What makes you a good candidate for County Commission? I know how to get things done. I have over 45 years of experience in business and community service, a proven track record of leadership with the expertise and knowledge to tackle our communities' challenges. As a first responder at the World Trade Center in 2001, part of the search and rescue operation, I faced and overcame many very difficult situations.
I am an accredited public school teacher of math and business at Santa Fe High School, which helped me become a better communicator. I have served our community for 20 years by supporting our first responders, educators, medical professionals and county workers; as the founder and operator of an animal rescue and sanctuary; as Democratic Party state delegate and precinct captain; as a business owner creating rolling art in my custom car shop.
What two or three issues do you view as most important to District 4 residents? If elected, how would you address them? My campaign is focused on addressing these main challenges.
1. Housing for our critical job holders: first responders, educators, medical professionals, county workers. I have already assembled a coalition of suppliers, builders, labor, private investors and community banks to build affordable homes for these critical job holders to live in our community.
2. Public safety: We must support our first responders with the pay, benefits and affordable homes they need, so we can fill our ranks, which are 25% short-staffed presently. To address the people on our streets, I would build a care facility to provide mental health care, drug rehabilitation, health care, job training/placement and safe housing.
3. Emergency Management and Preparedness Plan. The county must have a plan to properly and safely deal with an emergency in our community.
Should Santa Fe County seek to expand affordable housing for residents, and if so, how? Affordable housing for our critical job holders is an absolute must in order for our community to prosper. My plan to build homes that are all affordable (100%) for these critical job holders will allow them to live in the community in which they serve, will improve our safety and overall wellbeing as a society.
What capital projects would you prioritize as a county commissioner? Capital projects I would include are the affordable housing projects and the care facility mentioned previously. As well, I would implement plans to improve infrastructure and overall safety. I would work to improve our water supply and conservation efforts and work to have more renewable energy sources in the county.
Adam Fulton Johnson
City or area of primary residence: Santa Fe
Age: 39
Party affiliation: Democrat
Educational background: Ph.D., (History, University of Michigan); master's degree (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Occupation: Executive director of a nonprofit
Political experience: None
Relevant life experience: College professor, nonprofit director, community advocate.
Have you ever been charged or convicted of a crime, including drunken driving? Yes.
If yes, please explain. I was arrested at a DWI checkpoint in 2012 but the case was not prosecuted.
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy or been involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, either personally or in business? No.
Have you ever been the subject of liens for unpaid taxes? No.
What makes you a good candidate for County Commission? I am a lifelong Democrat, raised in Santa Fe, committed to honoring Santa Fe's distinctive history while also providing a vision for our future. I have a background in education, community organizing and land use advocacy. I have a master's degree from MIT and a Ph.D. from Michigan in history and was a professor at Michigan State and SMU. I returned during the pandemic to spend time with my father, who passed away from cancer in 2021, and subsequently joined the Old Santa Fe Association as the executive director. I've expanded our nonprofit's work to include history education and community service, restoring the Salvador Perez train and cleaning up Guadalupe Cemetery on Early Street. I am a citizen adviser for the city's Land Development Code update, ensuring we preserve Santa Fe's unique qualities while also modernizing our code to provide affordable housing, expertise which I would readily bring to the County Commission.
What two or three issues do you view as most important to District 4 residents? If elected, how would you address them? Fire prevention and hazard mitigation are critical issues facing District 4. Fire prevention starts at the macro scale with coordinated forest management planning and oversight of prescribed burns. We need regional planning on multiple scales — resource and powers-sharing agreements with adjacent counties, neighborhood fire prevention and evacuation plans, and individual home-hardening fire mitigation. As commissioner, I will work to initiate a multiscale prevention-and-preparedness system.
Water sustainability is essential for our region. As a diplomatic, conscientious leader, I pledge to work diligently with the City Council and other county partners on water infrastructure projects that bring surface water to Santa Fe and keep groundwater as our backup resource. The county and city need to work together to modernize the wastewater treatment plant, complete the return-flow pipeline and manage the Buckman Direct Diversion that provides water to our region. In addition to water infrastructure expansion, household incentives like smart water meters and free rain barrels are also a priority.
I am committed to renewable energy and to decarbonizing our economy. With 300 days of sunshine a year, we have ample opportunities to expand our solar power capabilities, from large-scale arrays, to community solar projects, to distributed microgrids.
Should Santa Fe County seek to expand affordable housing for residents, and if so, how? Yes, Santa Fe County should absolutely expand affordable housing. At the policy level, we need to incentivize building affordable housing over luxury condos and streamline permitting processes for projects committed to higher percentages of attainable housing. We must also prioritize funding to the county's Housing Authority to develop affordable rental housing through new construction or acquisition. Notably, the county has a Transfer of Development Rights program that strikes a balance between open space and new infrastructure-connected housing, which we can use to provide new homes, prevent sprawl, and ensure multigenerational families and new locals alike can afford to live here.
What capital projects would you prioritize as a county commissioner? Adequately funding affordable housing and developing our sustainable infrastructure will provide new housing and move us closer to environmental goals. Developing our water and fire infrastructure are high priorities. Piping water means we can better measure and manage water use. For fire, we must increase the number of paid and volunteer firefighters in Santa Fe County.
I would also bolster public and behavioral health through the Santa Fe Connect program. Connect's "navigators" are community health workers, social workers and volunteers who link people to services and resources in our community, thus improving individual and community health.
Mika Old
City or area of primary residence: Santa Fe
Age: 32
Party affiliation: Democrat
Educational background: Bachelor's degree in international business, bachelor's degree in marketing
Occupation: Business owner/rancher
Political experience: None
Relevant life experience: Third-generation Santa Fean, business owner, EMS in Santa Fe, background in scientific forestry/fire mitigation and nonprofit work locally and overseas.
Have you ever been charged or convicted of a crime, including drunken driving? No
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy or been involved in a bankruptcy proceeding, either personally or in business? No
Have you ever been the subject of liens for unpaid taxes? No
What makes you a good candidate for County Commission? In short, my proven background and experience in the issues facing commissioners, which is mostly gained right here in Santa Fe County. I have practical, applied knowledge and experience in fire mitigation, water issues, sustainable development, land conservation, economic development and emergency services. My access to other community leaders and experts through a shared history of working together will allow me to be more effective in bridging government divides and finding the best, smartest solutions for Santa Fe County. I understand the communities in District 4 better than any other candidate because I have spent most of my life here, not just a few years. I understand not just policy, but also the real-world effects and consequences of those policies. I believe that my reputation for honesty and transparency in difficult situations is also of great benefit. I can be trusted to be upfront, direct and open about where I stand.
What two or three issues do you view as most important to District 4 residents? If elected, how would you address them?
1. Water: Conservation, recycling and new water rights are top priorities. I will address this by ensuring the county appropriately budgets for the purchase of additional water rights, which would take us to a minimum of 30 to 40 years. I will push to require all new developments to have mandatory rainwater collection and, when possible, recycling. I will advocate for return-flow credits and apply for federal grants available for this specific issue.
2. Fire mitigation: Santa Fe County is one of the highest-risk areas in the country for catastrophic wildfires. I will push to create incentives for landowners to take steps to mitigate risks on their properties and create a county program to help remove and recycle the materials from those efforts. I would require 24/7 oversight of all prescribed burns and advocate for on-call air-attack in the event of a burn becoming out of control. More attention must be paid to urban interface areas.
3. Sustainable development: We must grow smart to be sustainable for future generations. I would advocate for pro-small business policies, and incentives rather than disincentivize sustainable growth. I will emphasize smart, safe clean energy developments and growth while protecting our natural resources and open spaces.
Should Santa Fe County seek to expand affordable housing for residents, and if so, how? Yes. Expanding affordable housing, specifically workforce housing, is essential. I advocate to accomplish this by encouraging, not discouraging, ADUs, which are the most historically traditional form of housing in Northern New Mexico. This allows people to build equity and investment in their properties. I will also push to add incentives for homeowners to rent to our essential workforce (teachers, nurses, emergency response providers, etc.) at affordable rates. I will also push for pre-approved housing plans which will streamline, simplify, and make the permitting and new build process more accessible and affordable for all residents of Santa Fe County.
What capital projects would you prioritize as a county commissioner? As commissioner, I will prioritize the construction of a state-of-the-art substance abuse center to help address the issues that many of our residents face. We must take care of our most marginalized and underserved community members. Secondly, I will prioritize water infrastructure. We must ensure that we have a sustainable water supply for future growth and future generations. Many county residents have brown water issues regularly. I will prioritize ensuring that our water delivery pipelines are maintained and updated where needed to ensure that all residents have access to clean, safe water in their homes.