Incumbent County Assessor Eugenia "Gina" Montoya Ortega and challenger Shannon Reynolds joined Walt Rubel and Nancy Baker for a candidate forum on the Doña Ana County Assessor Democratic primary. Montoya Ortega, who is seeking a second term, described her work to correct long-standing inequities in how properties are valued across the county and her ongoing effort to complete a countywide reappraisal project - a statutory obligation she said has been complicated by staffing shortages and friction with the County Commission over funding. Reynolds, a former County Commissioner who resigned to qualify for this race, argued the assessor's office could play a broader role in addressing affordable housing and business recruitment through tax assessment policy, and proposed phased increases for commercial property reassessments similar to the 3% cap that protects residential homeowners. Montoya Ortega pushed back, arguing that commercial property assessment operates very differently from residential and that a cap on commercial values would hurt the state's tax base. (Rubén Reyes, a third candidate, will appear on a future episode.)
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