Former Santa Fe County clerk to challenge incumbent in Democratic primary
Feb. 21—Former Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar has come out of retirement to vie for a third term in the position, compelled by what she said are concerns about the quality of services at the office.
Salazar, 70, who served two terms from 2013 to 2020, said she decided late last month she will run against incumbent County Clerk Katharine Clark in the June 4 Democratic primary. Clark, 42, is seeking a second term.
Salazar has received calls from people who complained "the recording and records divisions are downgrading and there is poor customer service" at the County Clerk's Office, as well as staff turnover, she said.
"I've tried to stay positive and supportive of the current county clerk. I no longer can," she said. "I want to do an assessment of all office operations and rebuild services and staff morale. I want to make customer service a priority once again."
Clark disputed the office has seen an increase in complaints. Rather, she wrote in a text, it has received "kudos from our new features including a centralized email address, new website, help desk, follow-up metrics, accessible research computers in the foyer and the ability to now purchase documents via credit card online instantly."
Her team has instituted "a level of customer service never before seen at the clerks' office," such as following up with voters who have not returned an absentee ballot, she wrote.
The vacancy rate "is not significantly different" from when she stepped into the position, Clark said, adding, 60% of staff members are long-term employees and newer workers are filling new positions.
Salazar worked various jobs in education, health and social services before then-County Clerk Valerie Espinoza recruited her to join the Clerk's Office in 2008, she said.
She "started at the bottom" as a recording clerk before moving up the ranks and then served two consecutive four-year terms as clerk. She could not run for another term in 2020.
That year, Clark decisively beat four other candidates in the Democratic primary, which decided the race; no Republicans have run for the office in at least the past three elections.
Clark, who describes herself as "very technology savvy," previously owned a small consulting business, where she worked on campaign and event marketing.
She welcomed having at least one primary challenger in the upcoming election, noting that's how democracy works.
"It's a good opportunity to communicate with voters all the great things we've done," Clark said. "I appreciated Geraldine's endorsement for the first campaign, but for this campaign, I have a record I can run on — a really successful record to run on. I mean, I have national awards" in election administration.
People intending to run for state and county offices — including Santa Fe County treasurer and County Commission Districts 2, 4, and 5 — must file declarations of candidacy March 12.
