James Wernicke. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
BY JAMES WERNICKE
Libertarian Candidate for
Los Alamos County Assessor
James Wernicke is seeking election to the Office of Los Alamos County Assessor, saying the position should be understood first as an administrative and technical office rather than a policymaking one.
“The assessor does not set tax rates, write housing policy, or decide how the County spends money,” Wernicke said. “The job is to administer the assessment process competently, fairly, transparently, and in accordance with state law. For that reason, I think practical competence matters more in this office than political ideology.”
Wernicke said his interest in the assessor’s office grew out of his own research into Los Alamos housing, land use, and property valuation. While looking into local property data, he became frustrated with the limitations of the County’s public parcel viewer for the kinds of questions he was trying to answer. Rather than stop there, he built his own parcel viewer, OpenParcel, which is publicly accessible at https://openparcel.replit.app.
“At first, I was just trying to answer my own questions,” Wernicke said. “I wanted to understand how land and improvement values were being treated, and what the data could tell us about housing and land use. Once I started working with the data, I found areas where the public data was difficult to interpret or misleading.”
Wernicke said his work is an example of why public data should be easier for residents to access, understand, and use.
“Most people only interact with the assessor when they get a Notice of Value, when they buy a home, or when something looks wrong,” he said. “But the data maintained by the assessor is important not only for individual taxpayers, but also for people trying to understand broader housing trends in Los Alamos, and to help policymakers at the county and state levels make better decisions.”
Wernicke’s professional background includes scientific and public policy data analysis. He said that experience has shaped how he approaches the assessor’s race.
“In scientific and policy work, you have to be careful about data quality, assumptions, methods, and uncertainty,” Wernicke said. “Those habits matter in assessment work too. Property owners deserve an office that is accurate, consistent, responsive, and willing to explain its work in plain language.”
In addition to OpenParcel, Wernicke writes about property assessment and housing-related issues in Los Alamos on his Substack at https://nmdirtbag.substack.com. He said the goal is to make technical topics more understandable to residents who may not have time to dig through parcel records, assessment notices, maps, statutes, and public documents themselves.
Wernicke said his campaign is also informed by his involvement in the Los Alamos community. He has been active in local civic discussions, community organizations, and volunteer efforts, and has previously run for local office as a third-party candidate. He said those experiences reinforced his belief that local government works best when more people are willing to participate, ask questions, and challenge assumptions.
Although Wernicke said party affiliation should be less important in the assessor’s race than in legislative or executive offices, he also believes New Mexico benefits when voters have choices outside the two major parties.
“Third-party and independent candidates often have to spend a lot of time just proving that they should be allowed to participate,” Wernicke said. “I am running because administrative offices still need accountability, technical competence, and public trust. Voters should not have to choose only between two major-party labels in every race, especially for a position where the actual work is not ideological.”
Wernicke said that, if elected, his priorities would include maintaining accurate assessments, improving public access to assessment data, helping residents understand exemptions and other property tax relief they may be entitled to, and ensuring the office is responsive to taxpayers who have questions or concerns.
“The assessor’s office should be boring in the best possible way,” Wernicke said. “It should be competent, transparent, fair, and useful. That is what I would try to bring to the office.”