Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez running a second time for mayor of Las Cruces

For the second time, Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez will be on the ballot with hopes of becoming mayor of Las Cruces.

Fresquez, 35, was born and raised in Las Cruces and graduated from Mayfield High in 2006. He is a craftsman who, for the last few years, has worked as a sawmill operator. He builds structures and furniture with the goal of working his way up to building tiny homes.

Fresquez worked as a seasonal employee for Conservation Corps New Mexico, conducting conservation and restorative work in Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area near Carlsbad, in Ruidoso and in Cloudcroft. He also worked for several years with Families and Youth, Inc. AmeriCorps, providing after-school programs and tutoring throughout Las Cruces Public Schools.

Fresquez also ran for mayor in 2019. He lost to incumbent Ken Miyagishima in the city's first-ranked choice election.

Environmental action is a large portion of Fresquez’s platform, as well as public housing and meeting the needs of the people of Las Cruces.

Here is where Fresquez stands on several key issues.

Why should the people of Las Cruces elect you?

“Because I think that we need action right now,” Fresquez said. “I just feel that I personally tackle problems a little bit differently. A lot of people that have served in public office, they’ve grown accustomed to the red tape, and some of them will see that red tape and not even consider one option as a solution to a problem.”

Fresquez explained that members of his immediate family all live in Las Cruces, and he wants to ensure the next generation has a future in the city. He is particularly concerned with the city’s water supply over the next four decades.

“We can’t run from it. We have to run towards it. We have to do things about it here, now,” he said.

Do you believe that the City of Las Cruces is doing enough to affect the affordable housing crisis?

“I think the city has done as much as they can,” Fresquez said.

He said the city has created policies and forged relationships with area developers, builders and realtors, but the problem is that prospective local buyers have been “priced out of the housing market by people who moved here from California or any of the other places.”

Fresquez said he believes the city has done a good job of establishing policy incentivizing affordable housing builds. However, the problem he sees is that area builders are not set up to take on these particular loans and build housing in accordance with federal standards.

“I think that we can incentivize that kind of building practice and business model,” he said.

He suggested working with the Las Cruces Home Builders Association to get more builders to build affordable housing. Fresquez also highlighted the association’s partnerships with local high schools. Students would be able to learn more about the building and housing industries through first-hand experience while also providing homes or tiny homes for veterans or others unable to afford larger residences.

Fresquez suggested the Mesquite Historic District could be a location for one or two tiny homes to fill vacant properties.

What changes, if any, should be made to Las Cruces rules over cannabis and dispensary operations?

“I think those changes will come naturally. It’s a new industry,” he said.

Fresquez said he has not done specific research into the industry, but noted that it is bringing in tax revenue. He recognized that some locals are not happy with the presence of so many dispensaries in town currently, but said the industry will even itself out as businesses come and go.

“I don’t really have a strong opinion one way or another whether major changes should happen at this point in time,” Fresquez said.

Do you believe that LCPD needs reform?

“There’s a lot of different things that an organization like the police department can undergo,” he said.

Fresquez said he thinks the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to a community oversight board, particularly having an outside, neutral person involved, which “alleviates the kind of pressures that exist within a police department to take care of your own.”

“One way that I’ve read that a police department can reform itself and make itself more effective is to get other entities within the community to help to shoulder the burdens of those public safety issues,” Fresquez said. “To expect a police department to do all of those things is, I think, a little bit outdated.”

Las Cruces has grown and has diverse needs, which means the city needs to diversify its responses, he said.

Addressing the shortage of mental health care providers in Las Cruces is one way Fresquez suggested to relieve the burden on police. And in mental health crises, a mental health worker could respond with police there to assist.

The mental health care shortage is a statewide issue, but Fresquez wants to incentivize working in Las Cruces by offering a scholarship to students in the required fields with the ask of working in town for a few years. The scholarship, which he also suggests for other needed industries such as building trades, would come out of his salary as mayor.

What steps would you take to help reduce the rise in certain types of crime in our community?

“A lot of people would say, ‘Well, just lock them up. Put them in jail,’ but I don’t know. It’s a bigger social problem. It’s a bigger social issue than just incarceration,” Fresquez said.

He noted that while poverty is not a determining factor in who commits crimes, it is a contributing factor, and Las Cruces has a high poverty rate.

“I feel like the longer-term solution to that problem isn’t to build bigger jails and put more cops on the street and arrest more people. It’s to deal with the underlying contributing factors. It’s to deal with people who are experiencing generational disparities, generational inequities,” he said.

He added that he wants to see local schools emphasize social-emotional skills and offer services to address food shortages in the home and other issues.

Another solution he offered is providing mobile services to indigent community members where they are, such as near major intersections throughout town.

Are there any other issues that you see affecting Las Cruces?

Fresquez highlighted “brain drain” as a major problem the city is faced with – where students leave to pursue an education or career outside of the city and even the state. He said much of this issue is due to there not being enough recreation and business in town.

He suggested revitalizing Solano, as well as a new skatepark and a public art park. He also suggested handing out movie passes or swim passes so people can enjoy the entertainment currently in town.

Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on X, formerly Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez running a second time for mayor of Las Cruces