Serna, young Dem who survived tight DA primary, now faces GOP challenge

June 10--The winner of the tight three-way race for district attorney lacked the experience of his competitors, but he had something they couldn't match -- a name that resonated in Northern New Mexico politics.

Marco Serna, son of a well-known Democratic Party operative who once was the state insurance commissioner, built an unlikely coalition of supporters that included members of the state's political establishment, progressives in Santa Fe and voters from his family's home turf in Rio Arriba County, where vestiges of old-school machine politics still linger.

Serna relied on the regional appeal of his family name to help him raise money and obtain endorsements from a network of political contacts. Serna also campaigned on a sharply defined message, positioning himself as the modern candidate by pledging a treatment-oriented approach to drug offenders and a new policy on prosecutors' handling of police shootings.

His message brought interest to a down-ballot race at a time of heightened national attention on criminal justice to make the system smarter in how it uses limited resources.

Serna said he drew on support from volunteers who had personal experience with addiction. "They realized, as I had, that incarceration doesn't work," he said. "They wanted, as they referred to it, a breath of fresh air."

He had plenty of obstacles to overcome. At 33, Serna was the youngest candidate in the race and he had the least experience as a lawyer. None of the larger newspapers in the district endorsed him. Even so, his surname had a familiar appeal in the district's urban and rural pockets.

As the son of Eric Serna, he was a political newcomer but not new to politics. The elder Serna was an aide to U.S. Sen. Joseph Montoya in the mid-1970s and went on to head the state Department of Labor before becoming a member of the old state Corporation Commission in the early 1980s. He also served as insurance superintendent until 2006, stepping down amid allegations he dismissed fines against companies that donated to nonprofits with which he was involved.

A.J. Salazar, an attorney in Española, said it was unfair for the media to consistently link Marco Serna with his father.

"He shouldn't deny who his family is. I don't think you can ever get away from who you are, especially in Northern New Mexico," Salazar said. "But Marco distinguished himself as Marco."

The persistent mentions of Marco Serna's father seemed like a dig, Salazar said.

Salazar, a former prosecutor who ran in the 2008 Democratic Party primary for district attorney, said a focus on Rio Arriba County counted for more than family ties in Serna's district attorney campaign.

"Did supporters of his father come out for him? Probably," Salazar said. "But he was very smart in mobilizing the base up there."

On his website, Serna lists endorsements from a who's who of Northern New Mexico politicians, including city council members, a former governor and a former attorney general.

Serna raked in donations, many from out of state. He raised and spent far more money than his competitors, accruing $54,695.68 and spending $53,296, according to a campaign finance report he filed June 2.

His opponents in the race for district attorney, Maria Sanchez-Gagne and Jennifer Padgett, raised $37,452.07 and $31,321.92, respectively.

Serna also carried progressive neighborhoods in Santa Fe. In the west-central part of the city, he won overwhelmingly in precincts where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders also saw high levels of support in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Overall, Serna won 35.5 percent of the 38,249 votes cast. Sanchez-Gagne received 32.6 percent, and Padgett, the incumbent by appointment, had 31.9 percent, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office.

The candidates split the district's three counties. Sanchez-Gagne carried Santa Fe County, Padgett won Los Alamos County and Democrats in Rio Arriba County voted overwhelmingly for Marco Serna. He won 54.3 percent of the vote in Rio Arriba, with 4,219 votes, losing only one precinct. Padgett was a distant second with 24 percent, or 1,862 votes.

Turning out Democrats in Rio Arriba helped in a race where the candidates otherwise split the vote.

Sanchez-Gagne campaigned as the most experienced candidate, touting 20 years as a prosecutor. Padgett presented herself as a competent administrator already busy improving the effectiveness of an office she was only appointed to lead late last year by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

Serna, though raised in Santa Fe, spent time growing up in Española. He graduated from the University of Arizona and received his law degree from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. Serna went on to work for the General Services Department and as a prosecutor in the 13th Judicial District, covering Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties. His boss there, District Attorney Lemuel Martinez , said Serna's political ambitions were clear.

"I believe he came to my office not only to learn about prosecution but had it in the back of his mind he would someday run," Martinez said.

Serna worked for several years heading the office's domestic violence unit before he went on to serve as an assistant attorney general and launch his own campaign.

Serna says family and friends were a big part of his bid but maintains he is his own candidate.

"I think I've distinguished myself as my own person, but I will always be my parents' son," he said after winning the primary.

Serna now faces Republican Yvonne Chicoine in the general election. The odds may seem stacked against her in a district where two-thirds of the voters are registered Democrats, but she says her campaign is not to be dismissed.

"There hasn't been a dialogue," she said of the dearth of Republicans on the ballot for district attorney in past elections.

Chicoine says her campaign is based on "restoring respect for the rule of law."

Serna, meanwhile, says he's not overconfident, even though the primary may have seemed like a tougher race than the upcoming general election.

"I hate when people say I've got this in the bag," he said.

Contact Andrew Oxford at [email protected] or 505-986-3093. Follow him on Twitter @andrewboxford.

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