Candidate Spotlight: Robert Armijo

There are two Commissioner seats that will be up for grabs this year. The process begins with the primary elections, where each political party will vote for and send forward a single candidate from their party to face off with the other. For some positions, there are individuals that will move forward automatically because they are the only person running to represent their party. That won’t be the case for the District One County Commissioner seat, seeing as there are two democrats running for the position this year. Christine Lowery (D), who currently holds the seat, will be running for re-election. Her opponent is Robert Armijo (D), who served as chairman for the Board of Commissioners in the past but eventually lost his bid for re-election. Armijo is running once again because there is some change he wants to see in the county, he said. Armijo has lived in Cibola County and District One for all of his life. District One includes communities such as Laguna, Paguate, Seboyeta, and more. Armijo said some of his favorite things about living in Cibola County are its rural qualities and the people. Armijo graduated from Laguna High School in 1987, has lived in Se boyeta his whole life, enjoys roping as a hobby, and has three kids. He also currently works for TLC as a foreman in the utilities department.

Now, Armijo’s looking to wear the hat of commissioner once again. He explained his decision to run again, saying, “I just think there’s a lot of stuff that needs changing. You know, I believe that the county needs people to go out and look for funds to bring back to our county, to bring jobs to our county, and I mean, yeah I’m District One, but I’m the kind of person that, to me, I live in the county. I don’t believe just in districts. I believe in helping everyone.”

Armijo said that he believes the qualities that make him suitable for the position of commissioner are that he is a people person, knowledgeable about the county, has prior experience with the board, and is a listener. “I listen to everybody. I think we as commissioners, we need to listen to everyone, not just the people in your district. I think we need to listen and we gotta think outside the box, and listen to everybody. And I’m a firm believer that we as commissioners are there for the people, and we need to let the people have a voice and hear what they want.”

Asked to reflect on things he learned during his time previously serving on the board, Armijo said he learned that “different people have different needs.” Armijo believes the county needs to come together to address as many of those needs as possible, from the youth, which Armijo said are “our future,” to the elderly. Armijo said he wants to see the youth get more involved with the county.

Armijo also considered scenarios in which there might be disagreements between commissioners, and said he believes he can problem solve well with others. “Just because I don’t agree doesn’t mean it’s not right,” said Armijo. “I’m the type of guy that, you know, if I don’t agree, just explain to me what you want, and we’ll get it figured out.” Armijo also acknowledged that the Board of Commissioners might not always be able to give everyone everything they want or do everything they want, but he believes they should always listen and try their best. Armijo listed his top priorities as being public safety, youth, community growth, and togetherness. “To me, it’s the people. Because if you’re gonna go in there and just think about yourself, it’ll never work…. Yes, I’m a democrat, but I feel that whether you’re democrat, republican, whatever you are, we all have one goal and that’s to make the county better,” said Armijo.

Armijo said his approach to staying in touch with the needs of his constituents is going to be making himself available to conversations with them. Armijo said community members could call him anytime, regardless of their district, and if they are out of his district, he will listen, and then bring what they said to the commissioner of that district to see what they can do.

When talking about the importance of the Board of Commissioners to the success of Cibola County, Armijo said he believes it all starts at the commission. When things go wrong, people bring their concerns, issues, and situations to the county and the board then figures out what they can do for them.

Armijo concluded, “Once the commissioners unite, then the community will start uniting. And once we’re all together on the same page, we can do wonders for this county.”

As outlined by https://www.koat.com/amp/article/new-mexico-primary-election-voter-guide/39906993, expanded early voting begins May 21, the last day to submit an application for an absentee ballot to be mailed is June 2, early voting ends June 4, and Election Day is June 7.