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Las Cruces community advocate announces for District 2 seat

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Las Cruces Bulletin

LAS CRUCES - “Tessa for Two” is the slogan of Las Cruces activist Tessa Stuve in her campaign to win the District 2 seat on Las Cruces City Council.

Stuve announced her candidacy in April for the seat that eight-year incumbent Greg Smith is relinquishing to run for mayor.

The election for mayor, council districts 1, 2 and 4, two members of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education and three members of the Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District board will be combined for the first time ever on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Smith declared his candidacy for mayor last December, and Stuve said she decided to start campaigning early to take her message to as many people as possible. It is her first bid for public office.

District 2 is mostly southern Las Cruces. It stretches from Mesilla Park to Talavera and includes New Mexico State University and both Centennial and Las Cruces high schools.

Stuve, 34, served as a registered lobbyist during the 2019 session of the New Mexico Legislature, successfully advocating for new laws that will set cost-sharing limits for physical rehabilitation, provide health coverage for contraception, expand rights for sexual assault survivors and create child advocacy centers.

Stuve continues to serve as a policy advocate for the American Heart Association. She is also a member of the Las Cruces-based Progressive Voters Alliance executive committee and the Green Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Stuve was treasurer for the successful campaign of Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Doña Ana, to win a New Mexico House of Representatives seat. Stuve owned and operated Mobile Boutique September 2016-December 2018 and is a former board member of Border Servant Corps. She attended EMERGE New Mexico, a political training program for Democratic women, in April 2018.

She describes herself as an “active soccer mom for three children.”

Stuve said being elected to city council would help fulfil a desire she’s had since middle school to serve and help lead her community.

“It’s been in my heart for a long time,” she said. “When I put my heart into something, I give it my all.”

The city is growing and changing, she said, and it’s important that city council has a voice that brings that “modern perspective,” including children, young families and young professionals.

Serving on the city council also means you “need to listen to everybody,” Stuve said.

Running for city council, she said, is “the right thing to do, and now is the right time to do it.”

Stuve is a native of Grants, grew up in Los Alamos and moved to Las Cruces to attend NMSU, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in government in 2009. She and her husband, Todd, have three children.

Stuve’s campaign manager is Connie Chapman. Her treasurer is Danielle Guerrero.

Mike Cook can be reached at mike@lascrucesbulletin.com.


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