We Want Change

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

“We want change” a phrase that has been uttered quite a bit in Raton over the last few months and when asked what change do you want it is often followed by silence or I don’t know.

Recent social media posts wanted a clothing store or an Allsup Convenance store. Clothing stores have changed greatly over the years, and inventory needs to follow trends to remain current, what do you do with the out of date inventory. In a quick internet search over 41,000 retail stores closed just in 2025 a 12% increase over 2024. Some of the reasons cited included online shopping and shifting consumer habits, which include reduced foot traffic in malls and a decline in discretionary spending. With those trends in mind would you want to open a local retail store?

As for bringing in big retail store such as Target or a Walmart, the population density simply isn’t there to support a big retail store like that. Many of those stores won’t look at a location unless the population is at least 50,000 or more. Include Cimarron, Maxwell Springer, Des Moines and even Trinidad and the area is still well short of the minimum population requirement of many retailers.

As far as Allsup, Raton is host to eleven convenance gas station stores. Are the economics there to bring another convenance store to Raton? Another consideration is where to put it? Not a lot of open space in the places you would want to place a store like that along the major corridors. Wouldn’t it be better to support the locals stores we have here in Raton so that they can provide more as their profits go up from more support?

A question that was asked of the city government a few years ago when Rubens closed is why didn’t the city do something to keep them open? Why isn’t the city doing something to fill the empty downtown buildings? Many of the local businesses that have closed simply didn’t have a succession plan to keep them open after the owners decided to retire. Local businesses have to rethink the way they do business. Look at Solanos where their online sales are helping to keep that store open. According to Sandy Solano their online sales have increased every year since Ralph Solano began online sales in 2003.

Is it really the job of city government to actively seek economic development. In the basic scheme of things no. City government is to provide city services such as fire and police, sanitation, streets and in some cases electric and water utilities as well as maintain the parks and buildings they do own with a limited budget. About 70% of the city funding comes from gross receipts taxes collected by local businesses. As businesses closed in Raton the GRT went down, fortunately, the State of New Mexico saw fit to tax online sales and as such the city has seen an increase in GRT over the budgeted amount for the last two years. City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci noted the sales have been great for the city but estimating the GRT from online sales will be difficult for budgeting purposes until historical trends can be tracked.

Some will disagree with the above statement saying yes, it is the job of city government to seek economic development. However, with the state’s anti-donation laws and other regulations many things a community might do is severely restricted or not economically feasible on the limited budget they have. There are ways around some of that for example the government-to-government transfer of land from the City of Raton to the Picarius Tribe for the casino project that the tribe is wanting to build. Yes, that project is still in the works but is tied up in government red tape.

Another form of change is at the ballot box. If you don’t like the way your elected officials are handling things you can vote them out. Lets take a look at that thought, in the last election the most votes cast was 1161 in the Campbell, Bennett and Giacomo race. In the race between Hoger, Segotta and Bustos 1149 votes were cast. Interesting, a 12-vote difference between the two races. The Colfax County Clerk’s Office shows there are 3936 registered voters in just the Raton precincts. 29% of the registered voters cast ballots in the last city election. Why did 70% of the eligible voters not vote to effect the change that so many people say they want. Break the numbers down further and the 515 votes for Hoger is only 13% of the eligible voters and the 481 votes for Segotta is only 12%.

In the 2023 election Mark Honeyfield’s 510 votes and Ron Chavez’s 509 votes was essentially called a tie. Your vote does count, 10 more votes cast in that race, and it might not have come down to the draw of the cards to determine the winner. The point is that 70% of the voters are allowing 29% of the voters to make the decision of how city government is run. It’s often said if you don’t vote you don’t have the right to complain.

Raton city government relies heavily on grants and other funding solutions to do anything other than the basic needs of the community. For example, the grant that is making the improvements at Romero Park and Roundhouse Park. Without the grants those quality of life improvements would not be possible. Often times the city will apply for a grant and only get a portion of the funding they ask for. It may be a year later before they can again apply for the remainder of the money for a project pushing that project out by two or more years. The Transfer Station in South Raton is a perfect example of that process.

Another project that faced many challenges was the Aquatic Center which began when the outdoor swimming pool was in need of repairs that were going to exceed the cost of a new one. Hence a multipurpose recreation center with basketball courts, hand ball courts and a swimming pool were envisioned by then Mayor Joe Apache. Money was secured for the design phase, then sticker shock hit and a three phased project was developed. Just for what you see today was originally priced at about $4 million. By the time all the funding was finally secured a couple of years later the price had grown to over $7 million just for the swimming pool. That project went through two different administrations before it was finally built. It took over four years from design concept to completion of that project. Change happened but it took a long time to happen, something residents must keep in mind when asking for change.

Many of the grant funding requests have associated costs such as city matching funds of one to five or ten percent. The city has requested MAP or COOP funding for road projects that require matching funds. The gas tax which is based on the number of gallons of fuel sold not the price of the fuel is often used for matching funds on those road projects. The city has seen a continuous drop in gas tax over the 18 months. Less matching money means smaller grant requests.

Often times state funding requires cooperation with state legislators. Those relationships just don’t happen overnight and require time to build. By electing new people to office those relationships with state legislators have to be rebuilt from scratch. In New Mexico politics its often said it’s not what you know it’s who you know.