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Veterans advocate seeks council seat

The Santa Fe New Mexican - 8/8/2017

Aug. 08--Greg Scargall, an advocate for veterans, announced Monday he will seek the City Council seat being vacated by three-term incumbent Ron Trujillo, who is running for mayor.

Scargall, 38, says he will run as a proponent for groups that he believes are underserved, drawing on his experience as veterans' resource coordinator at Santa Fe Community College and as vice chairman of the city Veterans' Advisory Board.

Scargall said his candidacy will address low- and middle-income housing availability as well as mental health programs for addicts and those who need counseling. He said he has found those services lacking since returning to Santa Fe eight years ago after running a small promotional company in Southern California.

"People are feeling left behind," he said. "This is not against the mayor or the governing body, but there's a hurt inside me. I don't know if this community would even notice whether I stayed or I left. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way."

He joins businesswoman JoAnne Vigil Coppler in the District 4 field, making it the first contested council race in the south-central district since 2012.

Scargall launched his campaign on Facebook, telling residents of District 4 in a lengthy declaration of his priorities that he would, if elected, seek to "rebuild public trust and address everyday issues affecting our families."

In an interview, referencing this year's divisive proposed tax on sugary beverages, he said he would like to "hit a reset here in town and focus on working together again."

Veterans and their families need a representative on the City Council, Scargall said. He cited his experience in this arena, working with veterans who wish to start or restart their education at the community college for the past four years and on the city veterans' board for the past two.

But, he said, he has grown frustrated with his capacity to help reintegrate veterans into civilian society from the advisory level and believes he can be a greater advocate for their needs with a seat on the council.

In 2015 and 2016, Military Times ranked Santa Fe Community College as the top career and technical college choice for veterans in the country. Scargall was named student veteran adviser of the year in 2015 by the Student Veterans of America, a higher-education advocacy group.

Scargall said he also wanted to emphasize the needs of other underserved groups, namely addicts, the homeless and low- to middle-income families. In addition to transitional housing and better counseling services for addicts, Scargall said, he would "work on changing zoning to ensure affordable housing gets developed."

A Santa Fe native and Navy veteran, Scargall said he has struggled with alcoholism. He had a drunken-driving conviction in 1998, and said he has been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, though that charge was dropped.

Scargall said his road to recovery -- he has been sober five years, he said -- has spurred him to advocate for other veterans who return from deployment and fall into addiction, and for others who need a hand up.

"I am not flawless," he said of his arrests. "But I will always be authentic and accountable."

He said he is not affiliated with Santa Fe Power, a new "back-to-basics" group seeking to field a slate of candidates focused on municipal services for the city elections next spring.

But Scargall will emphasize hometown concerns, he said. "I'm so sick of national issues, honestly. I'm bringing military, entrepreneurial and educational leadership to local issues, and I'm all about showing you what I'm doing."

Scargall served five years as a Navy hospital corpsman assigned to a Marine infantry company that deployed across the Middle East in the 1990s. He received an associate's degree in business administration from the community college, a bachelor's in business administration from New Mexico Highlands University and a master's in business administration from Highlands.

Vigil Coppler, the first announced District 4 candidate, owns a real estate company and serves as vice chairwoman of the State Employees Credit Union Board. She has been human resource director for the city of Santa Fe, Los Alamos County and the New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue. She has also served as court clerk for the First Judicial District, chairwoman of the New Mexico State Personnel Board and treasurer of the Santa Fe County Democratic Party.

Trujillo never faced a challenger in his two re-election bids after winning his seat on the council in 2006, edging incumbent Carol Robertson Lopez by two votes.

Trujillo has said he does not plan to make an endorsement in the council race.

Contact Tripp Stelnicki at 505-428-7626 or tstelnicki@sfnewmexican.com.

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