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Two Democratic opponents are vying for the Bernalillo County assessor's seat, and with no Republican or third-party challengers in the race, whoever wins the upcoming Democratic primary will go into the November election unopposed. 

Incumbent Assessor Damian Lara, elected in 2022, faces off against challenger Linda Stover, former Bernalillo County clerk and current deputy treasurer.

The assessor is responsible for determining property values, which in turn can start or stall economic development and ultimately alter the county鈥檚 total tax revenue and budget.

Lara said his work speaks for itself, pointing to a lower mill rate for the largest bracket of residential properties and progress in economic development in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

鈥淏oth of my promises have been fulfilled,鈥� he said.

Stover, however, accused Lara of enacting 鈥渦nfair鈥� policies that hurt sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 business community rather than enlivening it. However, Lara stood behind his policies, saying reassessing derelict properties encouraged absentee owners to sell and stop using Bernalillo County as a 鈥渨rite-off.鈥�

Voters can cast their ballots in the Democratic primary from now, during early voting, until Election Day on June 2. 

The incumbent: Damian Lara

Lara, an attorney, said his best quality is his 鈥渨ork ethic.鈥�

Lara graduated from Brown University with a degree in political science and continued on to the University of New Mexico Law School. As an attorney, Lara practiced personal injury and immigrant rights law, according to the State Bar of New Mexico website.

Lara later served as Bernalillo County deputy assessor from 2013 to 2017 and deputy director of economic development at the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 from 2021 until winning the assessor鈥檚 seat.

Alongside his policies to reduce what he called 鈥渮ombie鈥� buildings in the county, Lara said he lobbied for tax exemptions for veterans at the Legislature and lowered the tax rate, called a mill rate, for residential properties within city limits.

According to campaign filings released Monday, Lara has outearned and outspent Stover in the race so far, with $40,133 in expenditures and $81,447 in total donations. His top donors include Double Eagle Real Estate, Teo-San Construction and the Local 244 Firefighters Union.

Challenger: Linda Stover

Stover boasts a yearslong career in county politics. But before all that, she was a Realtor and worked in mortgage lending for rural New Mexicans.

County government, in a way, was her retirement project.

Stover attended both the University of New Mexico and Fullerton College, a community college in California. She worked for 33 years as a mortgage lender, a background she said gave her an intimate understanding of the state鈥檚 tax and assessment laws.

After retiring, Stover ran for county clerk in 2016. She won that race and was elected to a second term. She currently serves as deputy treasurer, although her hiring, just days after leaving office, drew criticism from the County Commission.

If elected, Stover said she would focus on fairness and restoring trust between the Assessor鈥檚 Office and the business community.

As for specific policies, Stover was unsure.

鈥淚 don't know that because I'm not there,鈥� Stover said. 鈥淚'll have to get into the office and see what's there, what's actually been done.鈥�

As of Monday, Stover had raised $43,905 in funds and spent approximately $36,628 on her campaign. She made a $13,450 donation to herself and also received a $4,000 donation from Treasurer Tim Eichenberg. Other donors include Presbyterian Health Corp. and Melloy Brothers Enterprises, also known as Melloy Autogroup.

Infighting at the county

Though political opponents in the upcoming election, Lara and Stover are already on opposite sides of a power struggle between the assessor's and treasurer's offices over how to tax short-term rentals like Airbnb.

Lara has since filed a lawsuit against Eichenberg alleging he unilaterally changed the tax classification of more than 1,000 properties, causing the county to lose out on $1.8 million. Stover has staunchly defended Eichenberg, saying that the policies Lara enacted were unfair and outside his jurisdiction as a county assessor.

鈥淚 think people need to stay focused on what affects them, not this malarkey that's being spread all around,鈥� Stover said. 鈥淚 think it's a distraction.鈥�

But that spat isn鈥檛 the first time Stover has followed Eichenberg into controversy. After her term as county clerk was over, Eichenberg offered her a job as second-in-command, violating the county鈥檚 code of conduct, which forbids elected officials from working at the county for one year after leaving office.

County commissioners challenged Stover, who continued to work as deputy treasurer while a legal battle ensued. The courts ultimately sided with the County Commission, as did the county's independent Code of Conduct Review Board.

鈥淚 picked up my purse and I left and I stayed gone until January,鈥� Stover said.

Eichenberg then rehired Stover after the one-year waiting period had lapsed.

In Lara鈥檚 opinion, Stover鈥檚 disregard for the county鈥檚 code of conduct is a preview into what she鈥檇 be like as an assessor.

鈥淚 stood up for what I thought was right,鈥� Stover said of the hiring dispute. 鈥淪o I'm not ashamed of that and I'll never apologize for it.鈥�

Lara disagreed, saying she blatantly violated the county鈥檚 transparency policies and only backed down when a judge commanded her to.

鈥淚 think voters need to know that,鈥� Lara said. 鈥淎nd like she said when the Journal first interviewed her 鈥� she has to answer the voters for that.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.