Mayoral hopefuls cite money for outcome

Peter Zsombor
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Bob Rosebrough stepped out of character for a moment at the end of his mayoral victory speech before a crowd of excited supporters at Earl's Restaurant Tuesday night.

Breaking his usual calm, measured demeanor, Gallup's new mayor, after thanking his supporters and asking for their continued help, broke into a full-blooded yell: "Tomorrow in Gallup is a new day!"

"I am very surprised and I am humbled," Rosebrough told the Gallup Independent moments earlier, speaking of his landslide victory, having won more votes than his five opponents combined.

"What that means," he said, "it's clearly a mandate for change ... to take a new progressive path in Gallup."

"I need your help more than ever," Rosebrough told the Earl's crowd, "and the reason we're gonna make a huge difference is because you're gonna get involved.

"I need you. I can't do this by myself; I won't do this by myself ... We're in this together."

Of those supporters, some 250 in particular came through with the $28,000 Rosebrough says he spent on his campaign, a sum unmatched by any of his opponents.

Mayoral candidate Charlie Chavez, who finished fourth, says he spent just over $10,000 on his own campaign, the second-highest figure reported by the candidates.

"Spending was clearly a factor in the race," admitted Rosebrough.

"The ability to raise money is part of being successful in politics."

Candidate Joseph Darak, who says he went $8,000 in the hole to fund his campaign, believes the publicity Rosebrough could afford gave him the image of being the front-runner before the fact, encouraging voters to cast their ballots for the candidate they thought most likely to win.

"Money had a real lot to do with it," Darak said. "It seems like the candidate who spends the most money always wins."

"Money always has a lot to do with it," said local business owner and Rosebrough supporter Ellis Tanner, sitting next to Darak in the packed city council chamber, where the results were being tallied.

Darak also attributes his defeat to a number of recent family problems that prevented him from following through on several campaign plans.

But like the rest of Rosebrough's opponents, Darak did credit the victor for combining his financial advantage with a well-oiled political machine.

"He ran the race like a business man," said candidate William Armijo, who finished second with just under 20 percent of the vote.

"By spending a lot of money, he reached a lot of people," William Armijo said. "He walked the streets, he got out early."

"I thought I could have done better," Armijo said, looking curiously at the final results spread across the front of the city council chamber. But in retrospect, Armijo says he wouldn't have done anything differently.

Chavez rejected the idea that money played a factor in the outcome, and puts Rosebrough's victory squarely down to superior organization.

"He had a well planned campaign and its shows."

Chavez cites his many years as a city councilman as both a pillar of his campaign and one reason for his loss.

Although he used that experience to sell his credentials, Chavez believes it may have hurt him in the eyes of voters predisposed to a critical opinion of the establishment.

"People don't have a lot of nice things to say about people in office, and I have 15 years of that," he said.

While candidate Ralph Rains said he had no idea why he finished last, candidate and former Mayor Frank Colaianni declined to speak with the Independent altogether Tuesday night after finishing third, upset by an article the paper published the day before about illegal alcohol sales at his liquor establishments.

Rosebrough, meanwhile, said his first order of business after taking office March 11 will be the hiring of a permanent city manager. After talking with the new city council, he also plans on introducing a number of initiatives for the first 100 days of his administration.

|Top | Current Daily News

Contact the Gallup Independent

Please send the Gallup Independent feedback on this website and the paper in general.

E-mail: gallpind@cia-g.com

By mail: The Independent PO Box 1210 Gallup, NM 87305 500 N. 9th Gallup, NM 87301