by Bryan Gibel
Daily Lobo
The GPSA president stopped campaigning for the District 6 City Council seat after less than two weeks in the race.
Joseph Garcia said he decided to leave the race May 12 and will withdraw his candidacy sometime this week.
Garcia said he doesn't have enough money or influence to win.
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"I don't come from a wealthy background. I'm not heavily politically connected in this state," he said. "I don't have the political and economic resources to mount a significant challenge."
Garcia announced April 30 he would run for the City Council seat held by Martin Heinrich,
who will run in 2008 for Rep. Heather Wilson's seat in
Congress.
He entered the race to promote interaction between the city and UNM and to improve housing and transportation in District 6, he said.
District 6 goes from Girard to Eubank boulevards and from Gibson to Lomas boulevards.
Four people have announced they will run for the district's seat.
Candidates can get $1 of public campaign financing for every registered voter in their district if they collect $5 donations from 1 percent of the district's voters by May 31, according the City Clerk's Web site.
For District 6, candidates who collect more than 270 pledges are eligible for public financing.
Student Max Fitzpatrick volunteered for Garcia's campaign.
Fitzpatrick said Garcia could have qualified for public campaign financing.
"We could have raised the money that was necessary, but it was going to be harder than I had anticipated," he said. "The fact that he had to collect the qualifying contributions in May coincided with finals and summer vacation."
Garcia said he had about five volunteers who helped him raise $100 by going door-to-door.
He will give back the money to the city when he withdraws his candidacy, he said.
Fitzpatrick said more people would have volunteered as the election neared.
"By the election season, in September and October, there would have been a lot of energy and a lot of activism on behalf of the students," he said. "That's when it really counts, and that's when students are all in town and don't have a lot of homework."
Student Lissa Knudsen, who helped campaign, said she was surprised when Garcia said he wouldn't run.
"I was really disappointed when he withdrew," she said. "I was on my way driving out to go canvass, literally. I had my daughter in the back seat, and I was on the road when he called me and said, 'It's not going
to happen.'"
Knudsen said Garcia could have given UNM students better representation in city government.
"He would bring a University connection," she said. "He has the ability to stand up in a very professional and ethical way toward things that matter."
Garcia said he will focus on activities at UNM instead of getting involved in city politics.
"This University, with a new president coming on board, has some major opportunities to do new things," he said. "I will push for more diversity at the graduate level, more funding for graduates from diverse backgrounds and a holistic approach to housing and community support services that we provide for students on campus."
