Galanis-Dimas, Baca both have big plans
The 2024 election is approaching swiftly, and primaries will take place on June 4. On the local side of things, incumbent McKinley County District 3 Commissioner Robert Baca and former communications director at McKinley County’s Metropolitan Dispatch Authority Georgene Galanis-Dimas are preparing to face off.
WHY GALANIS-DIMAS WANTED TO RUN
For almost 10 years, Galanis-Dimas was the communications director at McKinley County’s Metropolitan Dispatch Authority before leaving the position to take care of her mother and 92-year-old grandmother full-time in February. But now, after almost six months away, she’s ready to tackle a new role.
As the director at Metro Dispatch, Galanis-Dimas worked closely with the commissioners and county government, including her brother-in-law, County Manager Anthony Dimas. She said they were able to keep their professional and personal lives separate during her time at Metro Dispatch, and she doesn’t see that changing if she’s elected to the county commission.
Galanis-Dimas said she saw a lot of opportunity for change during her time at Metro Dispatch.
“I saw a lot of things I could change or have better ideas for,” she said. “I spoke to people who said ‘Hey, why doesn’t the county do this?’ Our 911 center was a city and county entity, so I attended city council meetings. People were always like, ‘Why are you here?’ It’s just my love for community; what are we doing, what can we do better….”
She told the Sun that it was actually her family who convinced her to run. She said her kids were always asking her why she hadn’t run for office yet, and her husband saw her true strength come out when she was taking care of her mother and grandmother, and encouraged her to take the plunge and run for office.
But her passion for McKinley County and the City of Gallup isn’t the only thing that pushed her to run. Galanis-Dimas’ dad was the late George Galanis. He served his community in multiple ways — starting with two terms as the McKinley County Treasurer from 1980 to 1984, then moving on to the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1985 to 1988. He then served as the Mayor of Gallup from 1991 to 1994 before working as a Magistrate Judge from 2001 to 2007. He died in 2021.
Galanis-Dimas said she learned a lot about helping the community from her dad.
“He always wanted me to run for office,” she said. “He said ‘If you ever run for office, it doesn’t matter if someone just got out of jail or if they own a multi-million-dollar business, you take that call and you talk to them.’ … My dad really taught me not to take ‘no’ or ‘can’t’ for an answer. There’s always another way or a different way.”
WHAT SHE HOPES TO ACCOMPLISH
Galanis-Dimas said her top priority when entering the commissioner role is maintaining transparency. As she prepares for the role, she’s done some research, looking into public records and the history of the Commission. She explained why transparency is so important to her.
“I’m really running on transparency because I would’ve liked to look at ‘Well, what are we as a county doing? Why couldn’t we get this task done? Why did we purchase this property as a county?” she said.
As a former health care worker, she wants the hospital to remain open. Then there is dealing with the ongoing concerns regarding public safety and local water issues, specifically the success of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project.
With all this in mind, she said she plans to have an open-door policy if she wins the commissioner seat.
“I don’t want my picture [on the county’s website],” she said. “I want my phone number and personal email there. I want people to address me directly. I want to listen to people’s thoughts, ideas, experiences, and education.”
BACA WANTS TO KEEP WORKING ON HIS PROJECTS
Incumbent District 3 County Commissioner Robert Baca hopes to continue his work on the County Commission to improve facilities and resources across the county.
Before Baca was elected county commissioner during the 2020 elections, he already carried a long history of public service. He served as a lieutenant with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety’s Motor Transportation Police for 26 years before retiring in 2011. He then worked as a Magistrate Judge in McKinley County, serving one term from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an associate judge for the Pueblo of Zuni from July 2016 to September 2017.
He’s since served on multiple boards and committees, including the Local Emergency Planning Committee. He is currently the Chair of that committee.
When asked why he wanted to enter local government in the first place, he said he felt as if he needed to stand up.
“I believe that if you’re going to sit around and complain about something, you should have a solution or you should be willing to step up and help,” he said. “As a citizen I want to know where my money is going and how it’s being spent and what’s being done for us. [Being a commissioner] kind of let me in and let me see some of the things that were happening.”
As a commissioner, Baca has helped the County pass bills and legislation to fix up Red Rock Park, including improving the park’s bathrooms. He’s also helped bring funding to Rehoboth McKinley County Hospital in an effort to keep its doors open.
Baca also worked with the Gallup City Council for their restoration efforts, giving each councilor $25,000 to improve neighborhood parks in their districts.
WORK TO BE DONE
But Baca is not done yet. He said he does have some plans for future projects, including hiring the right groups to redesign and fix the entryway into Red Rock Park so it’s not so congested when people are trying to get in and out.
Then there are the other ongoing issues around Gallup. He wants to improve the roads around the city, and so he has met and discussed with Ricky Serva, Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, on how to handle that project.
Baca also highlighted the lack of affordable housing as one of those challenges. He has partnered with Gallup Land Partners to develop affordable housing options for the community. However, this is still a project in progress.
He wants people to feel as though they can reach out to him and share their concerns about what is happening around Gallup or McKinley County.
“There are things [people] can bring to me that I can be the advocate for them with the city or [I can] try to find some funding for projects that maybe they want to do,” he said.
But at the end of the day, he wants people to know that serving on the County Commission is not a one-man job.
“With County Commission, this isn’t something one person does,” he said. “It takes the commission to do it. You can have the idea, but it takes everyone saying ‘You’re right, we need to work on that project, we need to make that a priority’ or ‘No, that’s not a priority….’”
FINAL THOUGHTS
Galanis-Dimas is excited for this opportunity to lead, and she believes she can represent the county well.
“I truly believe I can represent people who are Democrat, people who are Republican, people who do vote, people who don’t vote,” she said. “Should I be elected, people are going to see things get done. I want us to be prosperous. I want [McKinley County] to be a destination.”
Baca encouraged everyone to go out and make their voices heard.
“Let’s just go out and let the citizens decide on who they want,” he said when asked how he felt about the upcoming election. “I encourage anybody and everybody, please get out and vote.”
The New Mexico primary election will take place on June 4. To register to vote or for more information, visit NMVote.org.
By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor
