STUDENTS GRILL SANTA FE MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Students at Monte del Sol Charter School wanted to know Tuesday what the
city's four mayoral candidates thought about legalizing marijuana.

That turned out to be the most captivating topic for the students - who got
about 40 minutes of the candidates' time.

One candidate, Councilor Patti Bushee - who now represents District 1 -
told students what she thought. "I absolutely support the use of marijuana
for medical uses," she said.

After her response, one student in the audience said: "That's what I wanted
to hear."

However, the other three candidates - Incumbent Mayor Larry Delgado,
Councilor Frank Montano of District 3 and former city manager Ike Pino -
didn't have a clear response.

"I'm not an expert on this," Delgado said. His answer drew giggles from
some of the students. Delgado said he didn't know enough about the topic to
give his views.

Pino answered that he didn't see how legalizing marijuana would solve
problems associated with drugs, although he said he generally felt
treatment for drug abuse was better than incarceration.

Montano agreed with Pino on the latter point, but also said the question
was a difficult one to answer.

The question of legalizing marijuana is up to state - not city - lawmakers,
including Gov. Gary Johnson, one of the country outspoken proponents of
drug-policy reform.

Monte del Sol - located in the Casa Resolana Shopping Center - has 180
students in grades seven, eight and nine.

Students asked the candidates questions ranging from why they wished to run
for mayor to how their political views might have changed since the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks. Students didn't ask any specific questions about
education.

The forum is one of several the candidates will have before the March 5
election.

After about 30 minutes, some students began to fidget in their seats. Later
however, some lamented they didn't have enough time to get real responses.

"They weren't answering our questions," ninth-grader Timothy Sadlo said of
the candidates. "They didn't answer yes or no." "I would have liked it to
be a longer session," his friend, Jordan Ogas, said.

One student said the length of the forum was just right. "I don't really
like politics," said eighth-grader Derek Swain. "Politics are boring."

Montano said the reaction from the audience was similar to those at
previous forums. A student audience is similar to an adult audience, he said.

"The children are just like the adults," he said.

"Some of them are extremely interested, and some of them are distracted."