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Posted Thursday, May 17, 2012

COUNTY OK'S BUDGET

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Sandoval County commissioners formally

adopted their budget Thursday night with

little changing from recent years.

The projected general fund budget of

$17,078, 591 includes an additional three

percent contribution to the state

retirement fund. That increased the

operating budget 4.83 percent over last

year.

The county also is projecting a $196,913

raise in the road fund, a 3.12 percent

increase.

Revenues are projected at $26,084,844,

which is $872,178 more than this year’s

budget that expires June 30. But the

projected 2012-13 revenues is $424,902

less than the actual 2010-11 budget, the

last year final figures are available.

The county’s total budget, including road

funds, bond issues and debt service, is

$97,538,273,

The board also quietly dispatched a

controversial issue by approving several

changes proposed by detention center

director Al Casamento to bring the

facility in compliance with federal

standards.

Among the changes included in a written

summary given by Casamento to the

commission includes a statement added

that “before less than lethal weapons are

used, (the) medical (department) will be

notified to verify that there are no

medical conditions that would make the

use of such weapons dangerous to the

inmate.”

The policy update notes that “the

Sandoval County Detention Center does not

use medical restraints, such as four

point restraints, strait jackets or the

restraint chair.” It also addresses

medical and psychiatric services, has a

statement regarding infections disease

and calls for periodical safety, facility

maintenance and sanitary inspections.

The policy changes came after federal

marshals removed about 190 prisoners from

the Sandoval County facility in March,

expressing concern over three inmate

suicides. Federal funding provides about

half of the department’s $8.6 million

yearly budget.

In other business, the commission:

•Recognized county first responders with 

proclamation marking May 21-26 as

“Emergency Medical Services Week.” Fire

chief John Tibbits also recognized

various firefighters with annual wards.

The county has about 240 volunteers who

contribute more than $1 million of in-

kind services based on a state formula

that calculates the value of of volunteer

services.

•Approved two requests from the

development division accepting donations

of public right of way in Cuba and a

1.393 acre parcel in Rio Rancho Estates.

•Approved a revised new  ordinance

regarding procedures and  guidelines for

the Juvenile Justice Board.
•Approved a consent agenda of seven

items. Two were increases due to state

funding in the sheriff’s department

($10,407) and DWI grants budget ($3,000)

due to increased state funding. The DWI

budget took an $86,000 loss, however,

when funding from the state was cut.

The consent agenda also included cash

transfers to cover expenses incurred by

the development and EMS divisions,

approval of a surplus computer list for

recycling or donation; and the extension

of a Juvenile Justice Board contract for

six months in the amount of $155,600 and

minutes from its previous meeting.

 

 

Posted Thursday, May 3, 2012
COUNTY BUDGET DRAWS
NO PUBLIC COMMENT

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Any potential protest over the Sandoval County budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 seems unlikely after nobody spoke during an agenda item reserved for public comment at Thursday's commission meeting.

The budget calls for a 13.72 percent decrease from $62,441,038 to $53,873,237.

It will be up for approval at the next  commission meeting May 17 in time to be submitted for state approval June 1.

The only discussion came among the commissioners themselves over how elected officials would be paid. The calendar will have 27 two-week pay periods, one more than in most years. Elected officials will have to decide if they want to get paid for the normal rate for 26 checks, skipping the last pay period, or have their pay pro-rated over a 27-week period at a lower bi-weekly check.

Kevin Rogles, president and CEO of the new Sandoval County Regional Medical Center, gave a brief report, saying the project was “on schedule and under budget.” Plans call for a medical office building and diagnostic imaging portion of the hospital to open in 47 days on June 18, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on July 7. The rest of the hospital would be open to patient care on Monday, July 9.

The commission also took care of two personnel matters. One was a resolution allowing the county to participate in the state’s deferred compensation plan. The other renewed an agreement with Basic Western USA to provide and administer a dependent care and medical reimbursement program.

In other business, the commission:

*Adopted a proclamation proclaiming May as “Older Americans Month” in conjunction with national celebrations.

*Approved the appointments of Thomas Hansen and Eddie W.Torres to the Sandoval County Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board.

*Approved a $45,000 professional services agreement with First American Financial Advisors Inc. to prepare a five-year financial plan for the fiscal years 2013-2017.

Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2012SCOTT ELECTED
DEPUTY MAYOR
New conservative coalition
votes in one of its own

 

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

The new majority conservative coalition on the Rio Rancho flexed its muscle Wednesday, selecting new councilor Mark Scott as the city’s deputy mayor.

Scott, who was sworn in only two days ago, was elected by a 5-1 vote.

District 3 councilor Tamara Gutierrez, one of two council members not a part of the coalition, voted against Scott, saying the position needed someone with experience and the time available to fill in when Mayor Tom Swisstack is not available. She nominated District 2 councilor Patty Thomas, a retired telephone worker and the senior member of the council, for the position. But the nomination died for lack of a second.

District 1 councilor Chuck Wilkins, who was elected outright in the March 7 municipal election, nominated Scott, citing his enthusiasm and small business experience.

The nomination was seconded by Tim Crumm, the lone conservative on the council until the recent elections. Newly elected District 6 councilor Lonnie Clayton joined Wilkins, Crumm, Thomas and Scott himself in favor of the motion.

MEETING IN PROGRESS
WILL BE U PDATED

Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2012

CONSERVATIVES
TALE CONTROL

Tea Party-backed candidates
oust incumbents in runoff


By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Conservative candidates Mark Scott and Lonnie Clayton won Rio Rancho city council seats Tuesday night, defeating incumbent candidates and completing the change of political philosophy in just one election cycle.

Scott, seeking office for the first time, defeated one-term councilor Steve Shaw 609-468 in District 4. Clayton, who was appointed to fill a council vacancy in 2002 and defeated twice in attempts to regain office, defeated District 6 councilor Kathy Colley 577-521.

Coupled with Chuck Wilkins’ outright victory over three-term councilor Mike Williams on March 7 and District 5 councilor Tim Crumm, conservatives will now have a 4-2 majority.

The results are seen by many as a blow to Mayor Tom Swisstack. Though city elections are technically non-partisan, Swisstack represented the city for several years in the state Legislature as a Democrat.

The mayor was cautious in his comments after the polls closed.

“I want to congratulate the individuals that won. I look forward to working with them for the benefit of the city and all its employees.” he said.

“That’s an interesting question, whether I’m concerned. I’m going to give everybody the opportunity to prove that they’re concerned about the city of Rio Rancho. Until people in general have a different approach to benefit the city, I’m giving people the benefit of the doubt. That’s how I operate.

“But if we discover that there are other agendas, I’ll respond accordingly.

Interestingly, both Shaw and Colley won the early and absentee vote. Shaw had 137 votes compared to 123 for Shaw, while Colley had a 209-178 margin.

But Scott won at the polls Tuesday by a 486-331 margin, while Clayton had a 399-312 edge.

Though the total number of voters was less than in the general election, the decrease was not as significant as it has been in past runoffs. A total of 1209 votes were cast in the District 4 races compared to 1077 on Tuesday; there were 1262 voters in the District 6 general election compared to 1098 in the runoff.

“I am heartened by the people that turned out and that we got the extra votes to win, but I’m disheartened that it’s not the percentage that should be happening in America,” Clayton said. “We should be voting 40, 50 or 60 percent and we’re only getting four, five or six percent. That is sad, because our country is on the edge right now.

“We need all citizens to step forward just like the citizens did here for Mark and me.”

Scott, who had been campaigning since 5 a.m., seemed stunned when informed of the vote totals.

“Really? You’re kidding,” he said. “Wow. That’s incredible. Tat’s huge.”

Scott defeated Shaw by 120 votes in a three-person general election contest and won by 141 in the runoff. Colley actually had a 69 vote edge in the general election in a four-person field but lost the runoff by 56 votes, a 120-vote swing.

Not surprisingly, the two winners had similar comments in victory.

“The only thing I can say at this point in time is the citizens of this city got Mark and Chuck and myself elected,” Clayton said. “The citizens rose up and they said, ‘We want a change. We want this city to be better than it is. We want this city to be great; we don’t want it to be big. That’s the citizens that showed up, that worked their hardest for us to get us elected.

Added Scott: “I look forward to working with the mayor and the rest of the council to make our city better and to make our city great.

“I’m thrilled. I’ve very grateful to everybody. I’m grateful to all the people I met along the way. This city has some amazing, brilliant people.

“I hope they’ll join me and the rest of the council and the mayor and the city staff in making a better city. I hope they come forward. I met a lot of them today. They have just great ideas. They need to come and help us. We can’t do it alone. “

The Tea Party influence is one that both candidates believe actually reaches beyond Rio Rancho.

“I helped organize the Rio Rancho Tea Party,” Clayton said. “As far as I am concerned, the Tea Party is a national feeling of citizens knowing full well that their country is going down the wrong road. It’s citizens just like you and me trying to make this country better and make it what it’s supposed to be rather than letting it go down the socialistic road.”

Added Scott: “It’s not just the Tea Party. There’s a bigger picture here. When have you seen the Tea Party and two unions and church members all join together for the betterment of their city>? Never.

“That’s the big, big picture. Unions, Tea Party, conservatives, liberals, Libertarians, Democrats, all the churches … everyone came together. The people of Rio Rancho are serious about making this not the biggest city in New Mexico, but the best city in New Mexico. And that’s the direction I want to go.”

The victory was especially sweet for Clayton, who defeated two rivals who had defeated him in previous elections, Colley and Marilyn Salzman. 

“I’ve been active on the political scene ever since I left the council in ’03,” he said. “But when I saw the two candidates who were up there I said, ‘I don’t think either one of them is qualified to do the job, and they’ve showed that. They both served four years and they showed nothing but contempt for their citizens. I wasn’t even going to run. And they I said, ‘I’ve got to run. ‘

“So many people beat me on the back and said, ‘Lonnie, you’ve got to run. We need somebody like you back on the council. I finally said, ‘I’ll go back in there because I know what’s right, and what is happening now is not right.”

 

Posted Tuesday, April 3, 2010
POLICE AND FIRE BACK CHALLENGERS

Associations endorse Scott, Clayton,
but city manager bans their signs  
 
By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

The organization that represents Rio Rancho police and communications officials has voted unanimously to endorse the challengers in the April 17 runoff election for two city council seats.

But just how the endorsement can be publicized may become a free speech issue for the city and candidates, and just how important the endorsement actually is seems to depend on what candidates one favors.

The Rio Rancho Police and Communications Association Local 7911 unanimously endorsed conservative candidates Mark Scott (District 4) and Lonnie Clayton (District 6) in the runoff. The endorsement is especially noteworthy in District 4, where Scott’s opponent, Steve Shaw, is a retired Rio Rancho police officer, where he rose to the ranks of deputy chief at one point.

The Association is technically not a union in that it cannot strike over contract issues. However, it acts like a union does in many other ways, including collective bargaining.

When the Association attempted to purchase required stickers from the city for signs to publicize their support, City Manager James Jimenez forbid it, saying it would violate the city’s sign ordinance.

In response to a telephone and e-mail inquiry about the issue, city spokesman Peter Wells replied with one sentence: “The number of permits would have been over what is allowable under city ordinance.”

He also included in his e-mail Section 156.23 of the city code regarding temporary signs, which reads in part, “A permit is required for subdivision directional, kiosk, political, and special event signs …Temporary political signs may be placed in the right-of-way as follows: (a) The maximum number of signs allowed in the right-of-way is 50 per candidate or per political issue. (b) Political signs may not exceed eight square feet in size. (c) Signs may be erected 60 days prior to the election for which they are intended and must be removed within 48 hours after the election.”

But given recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding independent committees, it is not clear if the city’s law governing political signage is constitutional. Wells did not address the issue, and neither Jimenez or city attorney Jim Babin returned phone calls seeking comment.

Scott said his campaign is reviewing the issue.

“My staff and I are reviewing that,” he said. “Freedom of speech is a very important corner stone of our government, so it does instill concern.”

Sgt. Tim Robey, president of the police association, said, “We obey the law. He (Scott) has his 50 signs, so they are going to reimburse my money and there is nothing we can do about it.

“The way you have to fill out the form (of application for a permit) you have to state what candidate it is for and he has his 50. The ordinance states only 50 per candidate, so that is what we have to go by. “

Kathy Colley, who is running against Clayton in the District 6 runoff, said she had not heard about the issue and declined to comment.

But she did downplay the endorsement itself, noting only perhaps slightly more than 20 members of the Association voted on it. Robey did not give a specific number of voters, saying only it was more than the 10 percent quorum requirement for a meeting. Robey also noted it is difficult to get police officers together in one location since they all work different shifts.

Associating membership figures have been questioned, too. Robey said the Association has about 150 members; Colley suggested membership was closer to 130.

Their unamous was like only 20 members out of 127,” she said. “I didn’t ask for the endorsement so I am not surprised that I didn’t get it.”

The Association has endorsed Colley opponent Marilyn Salzman in the past.

Whatever the number, it is not certain how many members live in either District 4 or District 6 and thus are eligible to vote.

Still, the endorsement is a symbol that police officers have with the current council. Their existing labor agreement with the city expired in 2010 and the Association joined with the Rio Rancho Fire Fighters Association, Rio and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3277 in a letter to the city council in February asking for pay raises and criticizing the council for “a dismissive attitude in addressing these obligations time and time again.”

Shaw did not return a message on his city-issued cell phone seeking comment.

Said Robey: “It’s always difficult when one of our own, past or present, and we’re dealing with a subject such as this. But that’s the way the vote came in.

“(But) We weren’t taken care of.”

Scott and Clayton were happy with the endorsement.

“I’m pleased they’ve got confidence in my ability to work for the city and work with them to make things better for them and the city,” Clayton said.

Added Scott: “I’m very honored and gratful to be endorsed by them. These are the men and women who protect our neighborhoods and our city, the same men and women who make Rio Rancho one of the safest cities in New Mexico.”

Helping police and fire fighters has been a focal point of Scott’s campaign.

“Back to basics is what it is about,” he said. “It’s about public safety, roads, water, common sense, and bringing small, medium and large businesses to Rio Rancho and making them feel welcome.”

Collley defended her record.

“I’m going to continue to work just as hard as I always have for the first responders and the citizens of District 6 and of Rio Rancho,” she said. “I’ve explained to them numerous times of the past four years that I was not party to that contract. That pre-dates me. I’ve done all I can to try to make it good. They’re the ones who chose to wait when fire asked for their four percent. Police chose to wait until we could make them whole and I said, ‘Fine, we’ll do everything we can.

“I don’t know if they’ve asked Mr. Clayton or Mr. Scott where they’re going to get the money for these supposed raises they’re handing out. I’d like to hear what those gentlemen have to say. They’ve never responded to any other requests for that information.”

City fire fighters agreed to accept a four percent raise for the current fiscal year to make up for raises promised but never delivered, but say it still does not complete what it should be getting. The firefighters have also endorsed Clayton and Scott.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3277, which represents unionized city employees who are not in public safety, is meeting tonight and is expected to follow its brethren from the police and fire associations with an endorsement of Clayton and Scott as well.

Robey said it was up to individual members to decide how they support any candidate.

“Our law enforcement duties come first and we want to keep Rio Rancho the safest city in New Mexico. That will always come first,” he said. “I did send out an e-mail and told people personally that for the next few weeks we’re going to need their help. It’s up to each individual to take the time to come in and help.”





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Posted March 29, 2012
CHARGING ON
City will pursue cases in ‘Ballot Box Brawl’

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

The City of Rio Rancho will pursue cases against three individuals stemming from a physical altercation at the polls on Election Day.

The misdemeanor chargers were first filed in city court but are being moved to Sandoval County Magistrate Court to avoid a conflict of interest.

The charges against former city councilor Mike Williams and James Moran, the former Sandoval County Democratic Party chairman, have been filed but not assigned to a judge yet, according to a clerk in the misdemeanor court office. A disorderly conduct charge against Rio Rancho Tea Party chairperson Dawnn Robinson has not yet been re-filed, according to the same clerk, but “If the Robinson case has not already been re-filed in Magistrate Court, it will be shortly,” according to city spokesman Peter Wells.

In response to a telephone inquiry regarding the cases, Wells responded with the following statement by e-mail:

“There is a conflict of interest for City Attorney James Babin and his office as Williams was the City Attorney’s client for the last 12 years while he served on the Governing Body as both a city councilor and mayor.

“For Williams’ municipal disorderly conduct case, there is a state statue equivalent. Because of this, the case can be and will be re-filed in magistrate court. By doing this the conflict of interest issue is eliminated. The Robinson and Moran cases will be re-filed in magistrate court as well because of the state statue equivalent availability, and to keep all the cases together since they all stem from the same incident.

“For Williams’ sign code violation case, there is no state statue equivalent, so it will have to be heard in municipal court. The City Attorney would have preferred to re-file this case in magistrate court as well, but could not because of the lack of state statue equivalent and because it is a separate incident from the other case.

“Because this case will be heard in municipal court, the City Attorney’s office is hiring a special prosecutor to handle this case for the city. The City Attorney and his office will have no control over this case heard in municipal court.”

Williams was defeated in his bid for a fourth term in the March 7 election by Chuck Wilkins, who was supported by the Tea Party.

Williams faces two charges. He is accused of violating the city’s sign ordinance (which he helped write), the case that will stay in Municipal Court.

Williams is also charged with disorderly conduct for throwing a campaign sign during an altercation between Moran and David Robinson, husband of the Tea Party chairperson.

Moran faces three charges – battery, disorderly conduct and destruction of property for his physical altercation with David Robinson, husband of the Tea Party chair. David Robinson was not charged in the incident.

Dawnn Robinson was not involved in the actual altercation. But after it ended, she is accused of disorderly conduct by approaching Williams and his wife Kealy

Published March 28,2012
NOT SO ENCHANTING

Homeowners protest planned apartments

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Enchanted Hills residents concerned about the construction of a three-story apartment complex in their neighborhood turned out in force at Wednesday’s city council meeting to voice their objections.

Speaker after speaker offered the same complaints often heard by homeowners objecting to new construction in their area – not being given appropriate notice and worries about traffic, crime, property values and having their view obstructed. But the Rio Rancho Governing Body was not swayed, voting 5-1 on a first reading to go ahead with the project.

Final consideration will be at the next council meeting in two weeks.

Normally such debates center on a zoning change to allow for increased housing density. In this case the property has been zoned R-6 since the Lomas Encantadas Master Plan was approved in 2004, but the developers were seeking amendments to the plan to allow for less parking and increased density than was included in the master plan.

The original plan limited the density to a maximum of 24 dwelling units per acre on the six-acre plot. The developers asked the number be increased to 32, the maximum allowed under the R-6 zoning.

The developers also asked that the city relax its standard on required parking spaces. The city requires 1.5 spaces per unit; the developer asked it be reduced to one space for the studio apartments it plans as part of the facility.

In return, the city is requiring the developer incorporate recreational/open space into the plan. Karen Marcotte of Consensus Planning, who represented the developer, said preliminary plans included a club house, pool and two patio areas to meet the city’s requirement.

Marcotte said demographic studies show more apartments are being rented by only one person as birth rates and marriage rates have declined nationally. She noted that neighboring Albuquerque now has a 1-to-1 standard for all apartments.

Still, new councilor Chuck Wilkins offered an amendment to strike the special ratio for the studio apartments. But Marcotte said the project would not be financially viable without the relaxed parking ratio and if additional spaces would be required it would not be possible for the developer to meet the city’s recreational requirement.

Wilkins was the only one who voted for the amendment and against the overall project.

Marcotte was surrounded by yangry residents outside the Council Chambers immediately after the vote and asked for a police escort to her car. No incidents were reported.

MORE TO COME


Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2012
FILING DAY
Candidates declare for office statewide

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Filing day for New Mexico candidates brought a few surprises for those who represent at least a part of Sandoval County.

While several legislative races have no competition, those that do promise some interesting matchups.

One of the most intriguing is state Senate District 9, where incumbent John Sapien faces a primary challenge from Benjamin Rodefer, who was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2008 when he edged out incumbent Republican Eric Youngberg. Rodefer himself was ousted in 2010 by David Doyle, who has his own Republican primary challenger in Charles Mellon.

Sapien, the son of former Sandoval County Commissioner Bill Sapien, was elected in 2008 when he upset incumbent Steve Komadina.

Doyle’s decision to try for the Senate left a scramble to fill the seat. Three Democrats – Dixie Trebbe, Marci Blaze and Marilyn Hill – are competing in the June 1 primary for the right to face Republican Paul Pacheco.

Two other Sandoval County Senate races have primary competition. Incumbent Sen. Linda Lovejoy has three opponents – former county commissioner Joshua Madalena, Benny Shendo and Anthony Begay, in District 22. No Republican filed in the district.

In the new version of Senate District 40, which includes much of northern Rio Rancho, school board member Craig Brandt is opposed by Morgan Braden. The winner will meet Democrat Lisa Allison in November.

All of the county races except one will be contested in the fall. No Republican is running in county commission District 5, but current commission chairman Darryl Madalena faces two primary opponents, Joe Cayadilto and Elmer Morales. Some see the move as backlash for Madalena siding with commission Republicans on some issues, including the termination of former county manager Juan Vigil.

Commission District 2, where incumbent Don Leonard cannot seek reelection due to term limits, matches retired educator Nora Scherzinger against Republican Mike Freese in November. Incumbent Republican Glenn Walters (District 4) will face challenger Raymond Montano.

The county clerk’s office, occupied for the better part of 40 years by the retiring Sally Padilla, drew four candidates. Longtime clerk’s office employee Eileen Garbangi faces Alicia Sclafini for the Democrats, while former legislative candidate and Jemez school superintendent Paula Papponi is running for the Republican nomination against Francine Sanchez.

The county treasurer’s race also drew four candidates. Former commissioner and Rio Rancho city councilor Dave Bency will take on former James Pechie, a former treasurer for the county GOP organization. Sally Valdez and Laura Montoya will compete for the Democratic nod.

Former probate judge Charles Aguilar faces a primary challenger Frank Marquez on the Democratic ticket. The survivor will face Larry McClain.

Democrat Lemuel Martinez will seek his third term as 13th Judicial District Attorney against Republican Ken Fladager.

The big news on the melt-county level was the decision of Albuquerque city councilor Dan Lewis to drop out of the race for the Republican nomination in the First Congressional District. Lewis earned enough votes at Saturday’s pre-primary convention to earn a spot on the ballot but bowed out in favor of Janice Arnold-Jones.

An apparent typographical error on the county’s official Election Call, posted on its web site, led to some confusion. The call noted elections for Public Education Commission district 4 and 5, when the Secretary of State’s office listed candidates for districts 5 and 10.

Five Democrats are seeking to represent District 3 on the Public Regulation Commission – four from Santa Fe and Ronald L. Rees of Rio Rancho.Here is a list of candidates who will be on the ballot in Sandoval County in the June 1 primary election. (I) = incumbent. Candidates are listed in the order of finish at the state pre-primary conventions (federal candidates); as they appear on the Secretary of State's web site or in ballot positon order as determined by drawing in Sandoval County after the 5 p.m. filing deadline.


U.S. House of Representatives

Here is a list of candidates who will be on the ballot in Sandoval County in the June 1 primary election. (I) = incumbent. Candidates are listed in the order of finish at the state pre-primary conventions (federal candidates); as they appear on the Secretary of State's web site or in ballot positon order as determined by drawing in Sandoval County after the 5 p.m. filing deadline. U.S. House of Representatives

District 1
Democrats: Eric Griego, Martin Chavez, Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Republicans: Janice Arnold Jones, Gary Smith

District 3
Democrats: Ben Ray Lujan (I), Harry Montoya.
Republicans: Rick Newton, Jefferson Byrd

U.S. Senate
Democrats: Martin Heinrich, Hector Balderas
Republicans: Heather Wilson, Greg Sowards

Court of Appeals
Democrats: Monica Zamora, Victor Lopez
Republicans: Miles Henesee

Public Education Commission
District 5
Democrats: James F. Conyers

District 10
Democrats: Jeff Carr, Mark Richard Kuechel

Public Regulation Commission
District 1
Democrats: Karen Montoya, Cynthia Black Hall, Al Park
Republicans: Christopher Ocksrider
District 3
Democrats: Virgina Vigil, Martin A. Suazo (I), Brad Gallegos, Daniel "Danny" Maki, Ronald L. Rees

13th Judicial District Attorney
Democrats: Lemuel Martinez (I)
Republicans: Keneth E. Fladager

New Mexico State Senate

District 9
Democrats: Benjamin Rodefer, John M. Sapien (I)
Republicans: Charles D. Mellon, David Doyle

District 10
Republicans: John Ryan (I)

District 19
Republicans: Sue Wilson Beffort (I)

District 22
Democrats: Josh Madalena, Benny Shendo Jr., Linda Lovejoy (I), Anthony N. Begay

District 40
Democrats: Lisa Allison
Republicans: Craig Brandt, Morgan Braden

New Mexico House of Representatives

District 22
Republicans: James E. Smith (I)

District 23
Democrats: Dixie L. Tribbe, Marci Blaze, Marilyn Hill
Republicans: Paul Pacheco

District 29
Republicans: Tom Anderson (I)
Note: District 29 is entirely in Bernalillo County but does include a small section of Rio Rancho, therefore it iis listed here.

District 41
Democrats: Debbie Rodella (I)

District 43
Democrats: Stephanie Garcia Richard
Republicans: James W. Hall (I)

District 44
Republicans: Jane Powdrell-Culbert

District 57
Democrats: Donna Tilman
Republicans: Jason Harper

District 60
Republicans: Tim Lewis (I)

District 65
Democrats: James R. Madalena (I)

Sandoval County offices
Probate Judge
Democrats: Charles Aguilar, Frank Marquez
Republicans: Larry McClain

County Clerk
Democrats: Eileen Garbagni, Alicia Sclafini
Republicans: Paula Papponi, Francien Sanchez

County Treasurer
Democrats:Sally Valdez, Lauren Montoya
Republicans: James Pechie, Dave Bency

County Commission
District 2
Democrats: Nora Scherzinger
Republicans: Mike Freese

District 4
Democrats: Raymond Montano
Republicans: Glenn Walters (I)

District 5
Democrats: Darryl Madalena (I), Joe Cayadilto, Elmer Morales

Posted March 18, 2010

GOP TABS 2 FOR YOU

Sandoval County Republicans to have choices in tn races for First, Third Congresional distircts

By ERIC MADDY
The SCORE.info

ALBUQUERQUE – State Republicans nominated two candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives in the districts that include part of Sandoval County at their pre-primary convention Saturday.

In Congressional District 3, Fredrick Newton got 158 votes (or 65 percent) compared to Jefferson Byrd 85 votes or 35 percent). District 3 covers most of Sandoval County.

In District 1, Janice Arnold ones earned 175 votes (62 percent) compared to Dan Lewis (94 votes or 33 percent). Gary Smith got only 10 votes (four percent).

The southeast corner of the county is in District 1, with the dividing line N.M. 528. That puts the River’s Edge neighborhoods, Corrales and most of Bernalillo in the First Congressional District.

In specific, precincts 1-5, 28-29, 38, 52, 55-57, 64, 74 and 76 are in District 1, while the rest are in District 3. To view a map of the U.S. Congressional Districts, go to http://www.sos.state.nm.us/RedistrictingMaps/CD_187963_2_Packet.pdf. Maps for all the other races are available at http://www.sos.state.nm.us/SenateMaps.html.

Candidates will officially file for office on Tuesday. Candidates covering more than one county have to file with the Secretary of State in Santa Fe, while candidates whose area of representation is all within Sandoval County must file with the Bureau of Elections.

Applications for absentee voting will be available starting Tuesday, May 8 at the Sandoval County Bureau of Elections, 1500 Idalia Rd., Building D, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Early voting starts Saturday, May 19 at multiple sites from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Additional information is available at 505-867-7577 or at http://www.sandovalcounty.com/images/bureauelection/early.html

By not achieving a 20 percent convention vote, Smith must collect 1,579 valid signatures from registered Republicans to get on the ballot. The number is four percent of the total number of votes cast for the party’s last candidate for governor – in this case, the successful campaign by Gov. Susanna Martinez in 2010.

Heather Wilson was the only U.S. Senate candidate to earn a convention nomination, getting 654 votes or 83 percent. Gregory Sowards got only 134 votes (17 percent) and needs 4,891 signatures to qualify.

Rep. Steve Pierce in District 2 and J. Miles Hanisee were unopposed and received the party’s blessing by acclamation on a voice vote.

A delegation of 60 represented Sandoval County, 30 voting delegates and 30 alternates. It also marked the first time the party had five voting delegates from each county commission district; in the past, spots were either not filled or represented by at-large delegates selected at the county’s pre-primary convention.

Democrats had their convention last weekend. The results:

US Senate:
Martin Heinrich – 54.77%
Hector Balderas – 45.23%
CD-1:
Eric Griego – 40.72%
Marty Chavez – 33.33%
Michelle Lujan Grisham – 25.94%
CD-2:
Evelyn Madrid Erhard – 87.9%
Frank McKinnon – 12.1%
CD-3:
Ben Ray Lujan – 91.91%
Harry Montoya – 8.09%
Court of Appeals:
Monica Zamora – 62.65%
Victor Lopez – 37.35%


Posted March 17, 2012
A BRIDGE OVER
TROUBLED WATERS

SSCAFCA gets state funds for Corrales Road project

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Thanks to a little help from the state Legislature, Corrales residents will be less likely to be flooded in the future.

The Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority is getting $383,000 to expand the water under the Corrales Road Bridge under Corrales Road as in the Harvey Jones Flood Control Channel, lobbyist Larry Horan said Friday.

Speaking at SSCAFCA’s board of directors meeting, Horan said it was the first time the agency had received money from the state since catastrophic storms struck the area in 2007.

“That year was pretty easy, because when you have pictures of houses flooding and you have roads washed away your views are fresh to the Legislature,” Horan said. “We didn’t have that going into this session, so we changed our approach and our packaging.

“Handicapping it going in, I don’t think any of us thought we had a good chance of getting something. It was an exercise in trying to get our projects on the radar so we could get some funding down the road.

“We tried to tailor our capital requests to the criteria the Legislature and the governor’s office had been saying and would be receptive to. Our process was good, and you see the results.”

Currently, water from the Montoyas and Lomitas Negras arroyos that originates in Rio Rancho flows downhill into two box culverts in the Harvey Jones Channel under a bridge along Corrales Road en route to the Rio Grande. But the capacity of the culverts has proven not to be large enough, and the culverts often overflow during storms.

Part of the proposed solution is to insert drainage pipe under the bridge that that would the storm water instead of the culverts.

SSCAFCA executive engineer Charles Thomas said the agency would use money from several funds, including previous bond issues, to come up with the $2 million needed for the project. One area includes money set aside for land acquisition; with lower property values SSCAFCA has been able to acquire land for other future projects at a lower rate than budgeted.

Horan said he was surprised to receive any funding from the Legislature. Once more than $1 billion yearly, capital outlay funds have shrunk to $130 million for the entire state.

Even after both the House and Senate agreed on the money, there was still one more hurdle.

“Being the beautiful three-part political process, we still had to overcome the governor’s veto or lack of support,” Horan said. “A lot of projects were line-item vetoed from the capital outlay bill. A lot of projects in Sandoval County were vetoed.”

Horan believed SSCAFCA got its funding because it began its lobbying process very early and built up support among several legislatures. But he noted the agency should start even earlier for next year since at least 17 legislators have announced they will not seek reelection.

“Now we know what we’re going to do with Harvey Jones, so now it is time to start thinking about what we are going to do for the next legislative session. “Horan said. “I don’t like to think about it too much, since I just finished the last session and I am trying to recover my sleep. The earlier we focus our efforts, the better we will be. Every year, it seems to me, this is becoming more of a long-term process.

“The dynamics of the Legislature are going to change. We are going to have to deal with different personalities and educate some of the people.”

Board member Jim Fahey noted one other reason the legislation was appealed wasit will create “100 good-paying jobs.”

MORE TO COME

Posted March 16 2012
ON THE TABLE

County commissioners agree to consider
Jemez Pueblo request for 2nd precinct

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Sandoval County commissioners pledged Thursday to take action on a request for an additional voting precinct at Jemez Pueblo no later than January.

After more than 90 minutes of discussion, the commission unanimously voted to direct county attorney Patrick Trujillo to work with the county clerk’s office on a letter to the Secretary of State outlining the history of the request and for an interpretation of state law on creating new precincts.

Tribal leaders have been attempting to get a second precinct since 2007, but the county has declined to proceed because of different interpretations of state law. The question is whether an 800 vote threshold before a precinct can be split applies to ballots at the polling place on Election Day or includes early voting.

Joshua Madalena, the current governor of Jemez Pueblo, led a parade of witnesses who testified. Madalena, himself a former county commissioner from 2004-2008, is the uncle of current commission Darryl Madalena.

State Rep. J.R. Madalena, the chairman’s father, and several other representatives of the Native American community also addressed the issue before an overflow crowd.

Speakers after speaker told the commission they felt frustrated that their efforts had been rebuffed for several years. They even cited a 2009 letter from then Secretary of State Mary Herrera promising the state would provide a voting machine, the most costly element of a polling place.

Native American voting has long been an issue in Sandoval County. The county was under a federal consent decree for many years after the Department of Justice ruled the county’s practices were discriminatory.

county hired voting coordinators to go to the pueblos to deliver absentee ballots, sometimes in person.

The county has 19 different tribal affiliations.

According to figures released by county manager Phil Rios, Jemez appears not to have met the 800-vote Election Day threshold in recent years.

The numbers for Precinct 15, which Rios said had been reported to the Justice Department:

*In 2004, 819 total votes including 543 on Election Day.

*In 2006, 577 total votes, including 366 on Election Day.

*In 2008, 912 total votes, including 584 on Election Day.

*In 2010, 592 total votes, including 413 on Election Day.

These totals do not include absentee ballots.

Gov. Madalena said Jemez voters should not be prevented from having a second polling place based on the 800 vote threshold. He noted many people on the pueblo vote early or by absentee and said the 800 number was a form of discrimination intended to disenfranchise Native American voters.

Gov. Madalena accused the county, in specific long-time clerk Sally Padilla, of “manipulating boundaries” to prevent Jemez from getting a second precinct and blamed her and the Bureau of Elections for “dropping the ball” on the issue.

In response, Padilla angrily waived a book of state election law above her head at times and said all she did was what the law allowed.

“I am not against Jemez or anybody else having a precinct. I am all for it,” Padilla said. “
Too many voters in one precinct creates problems for this office.

“We follow the election code by the book. We don’t bend it, we don’t add to it,” she said. “We come to you in every; odd number year, and we have been doing it for a number of years, with the names places and number of all precincts. And at that point, you approve it. Gov. Madalena did it himself (when he was on the commission).”

State law does make it a duty of county commissions to approve precinct. The law indicates the process should be done before the first Tuesday in November in odd-numbered years, basically one year in advance of a general election day.

But the statute has been left open to various interpretations as to when any action could and should take effect. Trujillo cautioned that acting now, in an evennn-numbered year but still in advance of the odd-numbered November 2013, would likely be challenged in court.

“My issue is if we did this in an even number year, that would mean the statute is almost rendered meaningless,” he said. “It could take effect in 2015 or 2019 or whatever.

“I would caution against such an interpretation. I don’t think that argument would win the day (in court.)”

The Jemez request was further complicated by a state-wide freeze on election changes issued July 1, 2009, in advance of redistricting. As commissioner Glenn Walters noted, some of Herrera’s letters of support for the pueblo came after the freeze was in place.

Tribal representatives noted several cases where other counties had split polling places on pueblos. But Eddie Gutierrez, director of the bureau of elections, noted polls split in Sandoval County – primarily in Rio Rancho – were due to huge population increases, leaving some precincts with more than 2,000 voters.

That comparison outraged tribal leaders, who say the problems of transportation and access on pueblo land should trump the larger numbers in more metropolitan areas.

In other business, by unamious vote the commission:

•Approved a resolution designating April as “National Senior Volunteer Month.”

•Approved a resolution designation April as “Alcohol Awareness Month.”

•Approved three budget changes that reflect an increase in carryover funds from last year of $13,741; a $5,000 from State Farm Insurance from a DWI prevention fundraising event; and $51,500 for senior centers from the New Mexico Aging and Long Term Services division.
•Approved a professional services agreement with the University of New Mexico for $#3,516 for oral health services.•Approved a payment of $243,013.74 to Albuquerque Asphalt for Torreon Road rehabilitation.

•Approved development department requests allowing the county to act as the fiscal agent for a grant to study water issues in Algodones and grant the vacation of an easement to allow for a land reconfiguration and sale in Placitas.

•Approved a resolution to allow the county to apply for $50,000 from the state for an economic development plan, primarily in the rural areas.
The commission also met in executive session briefly to discuss a legal matter but no action was taken when the meeting reconvened.


_{Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2012}

Clarification

In a previous story, The-SCORE.info reported the Sandoval County Republican Party sent out literature indicating conservative choices in the Rio Rancho City Council race. Though the report did not specify the candidates by name, by context it could have been interpreted the Republican Party identified candidates in all three races. In fact, it did not list a candidate of choice in the District 4 race between incumbent Steve Shaw and Mark Scott. The original reference has been changed to clarify the report. The-SCORE.info apologizes for the confusion and regrets the error.

Posted March 14, 2010

HOW MUCH
IS TOO MUCH?

Councilor, city manager debate salary
for new human resouces director

By ERIC MADDY
The SCORE.info

Rio Rancho city councilors approved two new department heads Wednesday night, but a sharp exchange over one of them may have been a first glance of what is to come.

Both Cecilia Evjen (human resources director) and Mike Meeks (fire chief) were unanimously approved by the Governing Body, which was having its first meeting in almost 12 years without Mike Williams holding a vote. Williams was defeated in the election March 7, making the more conservative Chuck Wilkins the District 1 representative.

Perhaps bolstered by someone who shares his political outlook, councilor Tim Crumm questioned the salary being paid to Evjen, which Crumm said would exceed $90,000 annually.

Though the council does not set salaries, it does approve the city’s yearly budget. The only employee it can hire and fire is the city manager, who makes budget recommendations that includes salary levels.

There was no debate over the Evjen’s credentials. City manager James Jimenez noted she has more than 26 years of experience, and even Crumm said his questions were not about her abilities.

“I don’t have reservations about the candidate. I do have a reservation, and it is tied to about where I think we need to be as a city,” Crumm said. “We need to be in a mode of austerity.”

Crumm said he had reviewed a salary study provided by Jimenez and noted a salary range for the position between $59,000 and exceeding $100,000 for other municipalities.

Crumm noted that Albuquerque pays its human resources $99,000, “give or take a few thousands,” and wondered why there should be a narrow salary difference between that 750,000 person municipality and Rio Rancho, which has a population of slightly more than 87,000.

“This proposal takes us well into the mid-90s,” Crumm said. “I would say before we consider an absolute on a salary range we look at our revenues, and place our revenues against other like cities to determine our scale of pay.

“Our city has historically paid higher for its executive positions when we’re not bringing in the revenues,” Crumm said. “I think many people would be attracted in the mid to lower 70’s.”

Jimenez, who earns one of the top salaries for his position in the state, disagreed with Crumm and defended the salary structure.

“If you look at the salaries provided to (former city managers) Jim Palenick and Jim Payne, (they) are consistent,” Jimenez said. “My salary was a little bit higher, but I brought some qualifications and experience that neither one of them had. But this is not about me; this about your questions about the salary structure for executives.”

While Jimenez agreed “there are some differences obviously between Rio Rancho and Albuquerque,” he defending the pay scale. Because Albuquerque is significantly larger, Jimenez said some things handled by the Rio Rancho’s human resources department are actually handled by individual departments in Albuquerque. He also said Albuquerque had more than 30 people in its human resources department, including a deputy and other supervisors, compared to six in Rio Rancho.

“The director (in Rio Rancho) is required personally to do things that the director in Albuquerque never has to do,” Jimenez said. Specifically, Jimenez said Rio Rancho’s director has to negotiate with health care providers and unions, and work with the city manager on the budget.

“There are three key individuals that work for me that provide most of the advice for day to day operations of the city,” Jimenez said, identifying the city attorney, budget director and human resources director. Other department heads, he said, are more “focused on running their own departments” while “the other three, their focus is on assisting me in running the city. So I don’t think it’s wise to scrimp on the salaries for executive level talent when we know we are understaffed in those areas.”

Noting the city has to compete with both the public and private sector for employees, Jimenez said, “I can guarantee you that at $70,000 we’re not going to attract the kind of talent that someone like Cecilia Evjen brings to us. That’s not competitive in any way, shape or form for senior level people with her kind of experience.

“I think the salary proposal is fair, and I know for a fact she is going to earn every bit of it.”

Crumm pressed the issue, noting that “at one point in this country there were 20 million people out of work. I know there are people who have PhD’s or masters level of work who have tons of experience who would jump at the chance to work for $70,000 for a job like that. I’m glad you’ve got a good candidate, but I think in this city we need to get real on where we spend our money.”

Mayor and presiding officer Tom Swisstack interrupted the exchange, saying, “This is not a debate. We’re here to decide a policy position on whether or not to approve the position. Mr. Jimenez under the (city) charter has the right to make the recommendation on the salary. I don’t think we need to debate the salary issue of any employee. We’re not here to set the salary of employees.”

Crumm replied, “As an elected official in this capacity I can engage the city manager in what I think is an important discussion. You as the mayor can stop me if you’d like to, and I of course will respect your decision.”

At that point councilor Kathy Colley called the question. Her motion to end debate passed 4-2, with Crumm and Wilkins voting against stopping the discussion.

To see the full debate, go to http://riorancho.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=746&meta_id=65130 and click on the video link.

The issue is likely to come up again during budget hearings, which Jimenez said would begin April 30.

Evjen did not comment on the debate, simply telling the council, “I just want to thank you for your consideration. Don’t worry. I’ll do a great job.”

Evjen fills a position left vacant since January, when Rebecca Sandford resigned to take a position with a non-profit group. Meeks was promoted from deputy fire chief to replace James Tobin.

Meeks was not at the meeting. Jimenez said he was in Pennsylvania due attending to a family illness.

As part of the city manager’s report, the council heard a report on activities at the Santa Ana Star Center from Matt Geisel, who said the eight-day run of Cirque de Soleil in February and March had the second-highest gross ticket sales in the arena’s history.

Geisel said the event brought in more than $921,000, or $138,000 more than projected. He said the event attracted 16,808 people, or 4,848 more than projected.

He also noted the Star Center drew more than 6,000 fans for Sunday’s indoor football league game between the New Mexico Stars and Allen (Texas) Wranglers, in part due to Allen having former NFL star Terrell Owens on the team. He also said a crowd of more than 6,000 was expected Wednesday night for a performance by comedian Jeff Dunham.

In other business, the Governing Body:

•Gave final approval to a new ordinance governing bicycle traffic. Wilkins attempted to remove one provision that could have fined cyclists involved in an accident $50 and required an investigation if faulty brakes were suspected, but even he voted against his own amendment after city attorney Jim Babin said striking the provision would mean the city would not require brakes on all cycles.

•Set April 17 for the runoff election for council seats in District 4 and District 6. Other important dates associated with the runoff: absentee ballot applications are available on Friday; voters can register until Tuesday at 5 p.m.; and early voting begins at City Hall on March 28. Absentee and early voting ends at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 13.

•Approved a resolution to prohibit truck traffic through a largely residential section of 19th Avenue between Golf Course Road and Grande Boulevard.

•Approved a contract for a booster pump water station to serve the city center area.

•Approved a resolution regarding a watershed-based storm water discharge permitting system for the Middle Rio Grande Watershed, a cooperative effort involving 19 governmental agencies.

•Approved it schedule of meetings and standards for reasonable notice, as required by state law.

•Agreed to postpone its vote for a new deputy mayor until after the runoff election. District 4 councilor Steve Shaw, who is in the runoff, is currently the deputy mayor

Speakers in the public forum addressed a wide variety of issues, including s call for executive review of correspondence sent to the public to avoid threatening letters, an impassioned plea to deal with a squatter causing safety concerns in Northern Meadows; an appeal for the council to enact strong legislation regarding voter identification after voters expressed a better than 5-to-1 support and to voters to participate in the runoff election; and invitations to participate in activities planned by the arts commission and in “Earth Hour” on March 31.

Another speaker, Larry Ross, expressed disappointment that the mayor and all but one councilor failed to attend Wilkins’ swearing in ceremony on Monday. That prompted the new councilor to take the unusual step of speaking at the end of the public forum.

“I did not take offense,” he said, urging his supporters to rally behind the council because “we having lots of things to do in this city.” Swisstack, as previously reported by The-SCORE.info, said he had called Wilkins in advance of the ceremony saying he would not attend. Colley responded at the end of the meeting during under the councilor’s comments portion of the agenda, saying she was meeting with constituents and “doing my job.”

Also, during his report, Jimenez encouraged the council to think of ways to attract “robust citizen input” during the strategic plan update process that will begin later this year. He also announced that a piece of land near Idalia and Abrazzo that has been “an eyesore” had cleared all legal obstacles and would go up forforeclosure auction on Thursday, and that the city would resume its brown bag luncheons with members of the development department next month. He also informed the council he was in contact with the state regarding media reportse over the reauthorization of $94,000 for a park project.

Posted Wednesday, March 14
MAYOR VOWS
TO FIGHT ON

Swisstack says he'll stay even if
conservatives take control of council

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack said Tuesday he won’t resign even if the forthcoming runoff election creates a conservative majority with an opposite governing philosophy.

“I pride myself in never leaving a position in a time of crisis or challenge” Swisstack said. “I don’t see that attitude ever occurring with me. I was elected to a job, to fulfill my responsibilities, and I will continue to do that no matter what the challenges are.

“I really do listen to the majority voice of people. I try to understand those who may differ and see if there is any way of accomplishing those needs that they are expressing. But nor will I ever back down from a challenge.”

Speaking on a wide range of issues, Swisstack l said he did not snub new city councilor Chuck Wilkins by failing to attend his swearing in ceremony Monday night. Swisstack said he had a previously scheduled meeting with constituents and had spoken to Wilkins twice since his election last week.

“We’re good,” Swisstack said.

Some pundits have suggested that Wilkins was able to defeat Swisstack ally Mike Williams because redistricting changed the constituency the three-time incumbent had. But Swisstack said he has no regrets in voting to support new district boundaries that shifted significant neighborhoods, especially in District 1 and District 6, where another Swisstack rival, Lonnie Clayton, is in the runoff.

“My vote in regards to redistricting had to do with what I perceived as a balance of equal representation for the city,” Swisstack said. “If I have learned anything being an elected official or working in the justice system, the only think I can guarantee is myself. I can’t guarantee anything. The day that I believe I can guarantee things, that’s the day that I need to move on.

“I don’t take anything for granted. People have to work hard if they want to accomplish their goals, and that goes for all elected officials as well. But it shouldn’t be at the cost of other people. I feel comfortable on my vote.”

The plan the mayor backed, which ultimately became law, removed the Enchanted Hills area from District 6. It also eliminated Swisstack critic Cheryl Everett from this year’s campaign, eliminating one possible opponent for Kathy Colley, who has supported the mayor on many issues.

Asked specifically about the charge his vote was for that reason, the mayor said, “I don’t think I could ever guarantee anybody could get elected. That’s just not realistic.”

The new districts are also seen by many to favor incumbent Steve Shaw in District 4, another strong Swisstack vote on the council.

Colley gained more votes than Clayton in the election, but not enough to reach the 50 percent threshold in the four-person race. Challenger Mark Scott, who had the backing of the Rio Rancho Tea Party along with Wilkins and Clayton, outpolled Shaw in District 4, but not by enough in the three-person field.

Asked if he was concerned by a possible change in city governing philosophy that a conservative majority might bring, Swisstack said, “I often think about philosophical changes. The only philosophical change I would be worried about would be if we were not here to serve the people. If individual agendas were to take precedent over the public’s interests, then I would have some concerns.

”Right now, I don’t see that happening. How we get to the point of providing what the public needs and making sure that the city is secure for the future, not just during a four-year term – those challenges remain to be seen.”

Perhaps more than ever the city’s non-partisan election was very partisan. The Sandoval County Republican Party sent out a mailer endorsing “true conservative candidates” Wilkins, Scott and Clayton, while former Sandoval County Democratic Party chairman Jim Moran is facing three charges for his role in an Election Day fight with David Robinson, husband of Tea Party chair Dawnn Robinson.

Still, Swisstack does not believe making city elections officially partisan would decrease the rhetoric or increase the turnout, which once again was less than 10 percent.

“When people are truly, truly dissatisfied, the masses will turn out,” Swisstack said. “Where I think our challenge lies is that we’ve expressed an interest, whether it is too far to the left or too far to the right, and we forget about the bulk of the people who are in the center, the silent majority. And when they get dissatisfied there is a tendency on their part to turn out and express that dissatisfaction – or satisfaction.

“What we’re seeing right now is that despite the economy, the bulk of the people in Rio Rancho have been pretty pleased with the progress that we’ve made, and that it has been steady and consistent over the past three years. When I am out in the public, I receive more accolades about taking the steady course and continuing to move forward. They see the progress that is being made.

“Would I like to see more people turn out than nine or 10 percent? Yes, I would. But I would also like to be a millionaire. I don’t see me winning the lottery in the foreseeable future because you have to buy tickets in order to win.

“As long as I keep interacting with the public, and as long as we keep making progress for our public’s future, I’m going to continue fighting.

“The sad thing is that partisan elections become so gridlocked that we lose sight of what we are supposed to do. I’ve been very fortunate to serve this community for a number of years and very fortunate to serve people for even longer. The sad thing I see is that we’ve forgotten who we are supposed to work for, and hat forgetfulness has caused partisan politics to play a larger role than it should.”

Being a non-partisan election, Swisstack is limited in what he can or will do publicly to support the candidates he favors.

“What I always look for is trying to give voters the information,” he said. “I truly believe that if you give the people the information, and they understand the information, they’re going to do what’s right.

“After we get past all the political rhetoric, the public will decide where it wants to continue to go. And if it’s a different direction, that’s okay. But the issues are still going to have to be addressed, and there will have to be things cut if we move in a different direction. It will be interesting to think if the public thinks those kinds of activities and programs that we have managed to maintain on lesser budgets were to be compromised.”

Swisstack said he did not think the election was a referendum on his performance as mayor and defended his accomplishments since becoming mayor three years ago.

“The good thing about living in America, and the good thing about living in Rio Rancho, is that people can elect who they feel best represents their interests,” he said. “People are looking for some new ways of trying to improve the economy, the way government operates and the way the country is being run.

“I wish Chuck Wilkins a lot of success. When people sit in that seat, they discover the multitude of challenges that face them. If you’re going to treat people fair across the board, you have to pay attention to all the challenges you are presented with and try to balance them out as equally as possible.

“The election is nothing more than people saying ‘We wanted a change’ and hopefully that change is going to figure out a better way of dealing with some of the challenges in our community.

“I think we have done a good job over the last three years. I would challenge anybody to tell me where you could get between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs that were added, open up new hospitals, new higher educational institutions.

“When we deal with the tax issue it is always interesting. If you really look at taxes, the city has not raised a lot of its taxes. If you talk about cutting the budget, when I became mayor after Kevin Jackson our budget was approximately $68 million. Because we were thrifty and cutting back while not compromising services, our budget is now only $50 million.

“The people in positions of leadership have done a good job as a team, and we’ll see how the new team handles the challenges.”

Swisstack said he was pleased voters agreed to designate the mayor’s position to full-time status, and not just because it will likely mean a pay raise for him.

“The council will eventually decide what the salary will be by 2014. That’s when it will affect me,” he said. “But this is what I am real happy with – the public believes this now is a full time position. I’m happy that I think I had something to contribute to that understanding that this is a full time position.

“What it does is make the city become more of a regional player. It starts to elevate the status of our community. What it does is says our community is taking this position seriously and we want the mayor to continue to work as diligently as possible with surrounding communities and the state, and we think he needs to spend 100 percent of his time doing that. It will provide an opportunity for Rio Rancho for even more of a voice in a lot of regional meetings.”

With all that is on the horizon, Swisstack is not ready to announce if he will seek reelection himself.

“It is a little too early to ask,” he said. “. I’m going to leave that up to the public. I will wait to see what two years brings.

“I don’t assume anything. I will work for running for mayor again if that is the direction I decide to go. I have to feel like I can continue to contribute, that I didn’t lose sight of the fact that I am able to still contribute to what the public really wants.”

Posted Tuesday, March 13
WILKINS SWORN IN

Police release statements
on Election Night brawl;
runoff endorsements unlikely

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Chuck Wilkins was officially sworn in as Rio Rancho’s newest city councilor Monday evening, only hours after police made public for the first time the witness statements against his defeated opponent in an Election Night altercation.

Also, the two third-place finishers in the other two council races that could signal a major shift at City Hall declined to endorse either of their opponents who advanced to a runoff, though one did not rule out the possibility.

Wilkins, a local insurance agent and former member of the utilities commission, was sworn in as District 1 city councilor on a family Bible by city clerk Roman Montoya before about 50 people.

Wilkins has actually sat in the chair he will occupy as a council member for the first time Wednesday night many times before as a member of the Utilities Commission, which ironically was eliminated from the City Charter in the election. His swearing in Monday caps a goal he first considered about five years ago, he said in his first media interview in his new position.

Wilkins did not speify any one particular piece of legislation he plans to introduce first but said one area he would be pushig immediately is to allow the city to offer small business incentives similar to those available for larger companies.

Among the dignitaries present were state Rep. Tim Lewis, Sandoval County commissioner Glenn Walters, Rio Rancho Regional Economic Development president Noreen Scott and several city officials, including city manager James Jimenez, police chief Robert Boone, city attorney James Babin and department heads Jay Hart (parks, recreation and community services), John Castillo (development services), Deborah Brogdon (senior services) and Scott Sensanbaugher, (public works).

Tim Crumm, incumbent councilor in District 5, was the only member of the Governing Body present. Crumm, who has often been on the opposite side of issues with his fellow councilors during his first term, supported Wilkins’ election bid.

Noticeable by his absence was Mayor Tom Swisstack, who could lose much of his support within the council if both Mark Scott (District 4) and Lonnie Clayton (District 6) win a runoff election on April 17. Both Scott and Clayton, who were also present, ran with the support of the Rio Rancho Tea Party, as did Wilkins.

Neither Clayton nor incumbent Kathy Colley will receive backing from third-place finisher Marilyn Salzman in the runoff. The former city councilor said Saturday she will not endorse either candidate.

Salzman did say she had been approached by a known Clayton supporter seeking an endorsement but flatly turned him down.

Salzman was elected city councilor in 2004, defeating then incumbent Clayton and Todd Hathorne before the 50 percent threshold for election became law. She was defeated by Colley in the city’s first runoff in 2008.

Salzman gathered 257 votes in the final results that were certified on Friday, compared to 493 for Colley and 423 for Clayton. Political newcomer Helene Joy Apper got 90 votes.

On Friday, Roberta Radosevich, who finished third behind Scott and incumbent Steve Shaw, said she was still considering if she would endorse either of her opponents. She got 275 votes compared to 527 by Scott and 407 for Shaw.

The city clerk is recommending the runoff election be April 17. That recommendation will be considered by the Governing Body at Wednesday’s meeting.

Under the proposal, the runoff would mimic the general election in many respects, using the same Election Day polling locations and times. New voters will be allowed to register with the county clerk until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20; absentee ballots would be available this Friday, March 16; and early voting would begin at City Hall on March 28. All early and absentee voting ends at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 13.

Earlier Monday, police and witness statements on the fight at the Sol Rio polling place were made available through the police department’s records division for the first time. Two people – former District 1 city councilor and Mayor Mike Williams and former Sandoval County Democratic Party chairman Jim Moran, were charged in the incident while a third, Rio Rancho Tea Party chair Dawnn Robinson, was charged with disorderly conduct at the scene after the fight happened.

Moran faces three charges – battery, disorderly conduct and destruction of property for his physical altercation with David Robinson, husband of the Tea Party chair. Williams, who was cited earlier on Election Day for an illegal sign that was the root cause of the brawl, was also cited for disorderly conduct.

David Robinson was not charged in the incident, and the conclusion of the report by arresting officer Nick Armey states that, “All evidence from eye witness accounts and video documentary suggest David Robinson acted solely in self-defense.”

Even though the report was issued on Thursday and leaked to some media outlets the next day, Williams said he has still not seen the official complaint. Police Detective Sgt. James Harris, who cleared the statements from his desk to records, said depending on what court the case was assigned to it was possible that the misdemeanor complaints could have been mailed and not yet reached those charged.

Williams, who said he was made aware of media reports of the disorderly conduct charge on Friday, has retained local attorney Bill Tryon to handle all his legal matters. Though he said all future statements on the matter would be handled by Tryon, he did say he would defend himself in court on all legal matters pertaining to the sign issue and fight.

The documents also state the arraignment date for Williams and Moran “to be set."

Posted Thursday, March 9, 2012
BALLOT BOX BRAWL

Police still investigating fight
between Tea Party, Dem officials

By ERIC MADDY
The SCORE.info

Police continued on Wednesday to investigate the Election Day altercation between the husband of the president of the Rio Rancho Tea Party and a former chairman of the Sandoval County Democratic Party.

David Robinson, husband of Tea Party President Dawnn Robinson, said Wednesday night he had given police a verbal statement after providing information for a written report on Tuesday’s incident with Jim Moran, the Democratic Party official.

City police spokesman Sgt. Nicholas Onken confirmed Wednesday an investigation is continuing and that no arrests had been made.

Two video clips surfaced on YouTube, but neither clearly indicates who made the initial physical contact. The first, taken by an associate of Robinson’s (
http://youtu.be/Xh5pcyD-HQQ), shows the preliminary exchange of language leading up to the incident. The second (
http://youtu.be/AxEMI2m4zD8), shot by a bystander not known to be associated by either side, shows the aftermath.

The whole incident centers on the Tea Party’s efforts to document what it believed was an illegal mobile sign for Mike Williams, the three-time city councilor and former mayor, located at Sol Rio Church. The sign has been displayed and parked at various locations throughout the city as the campaign continued a tactic Williams has used successfully in past elections.

Williams lost his bid for reelection to Tea Party candidate Chuck Wilkins.

The city’s sign ordinance was re-written for the third time in the past 10 years just last August by the city council of which Williams is a member. As late as February 10, 2012, the council made additional changes to the ordinance. (Click on this link, http://www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/index.aspx?nid=1339, to track the entire sign ordinance amendment process).

The city’s code enforcement department cited Williams for an illegal sign earlier Tuesday morning, setting the stage for the physical altercation that took place around 6 p.m. in the parking lot outside of Sol Rio.

Shortly after a local television station aired a report about the controversy, (http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/local/central/sign-wars-in-rio-rancho-election), Robinson said he was surrounded by “four or five” members of the Williams campaign who objected to him standing near the huge mobile campaign sign with his own hand-held printed sign pointing out Williams’ illegal sign. Robinson said he was at the polling location most of the day and was preparing to leave but saw a significant line of voters and moved in front of the Williams sign with his own banner. He said he was alone with an associate momentarily before being surrounded by Williams supporters including the candidate, his wife Keeley and Moran.

Just how the incident escalated from there is unclear. As one might expect each side has a different version.

Robinson was wearing a mask resembling Guy Fawkes. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes)
Fawkes is the name that “belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.”

Robinson said he wore the mask as his protest against “tyranny of all forms.”

After Robinson said he was surrounded by Williams supporters “who violated my personal space in an obvious attempt to get me to leave,” he said Moran made several false moves toward him in what he thought was an attempt to provoke a confrontation. “It reminded me for all the world like what boys do in high school, when they feign a step in order to try to start a fight,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Moran then poked him several times in the genitals with his own Williams campaign sign. “How many times do you have to get hit in the nuts before you feel like you are justified to defend yourself?” Robinson said. “For a lot of guys, it would be once. I was a little more patient than that, but I wasn’t going to stand there and take it all day.

“On a scale of one to 10, we’re talking about a three for pain. It was not substantial, but it was not zero.”

Robinson, who said he had some training in police tactics during four years in the Coast Guard, then attempted to stop Moran by grabbing him around the head. “I felt like I used the smallest amount of force required to stop his aggression, and I felt like I used the most force that I should have,” Robinson said. “If I had used any more force than that I do not think it would have been reasonable; I don’t think I could hold my head high. I am comfortable holding my head high.

“I feel like I did the right thing. I feel like I defended myself and I’m okay with it.

”You respond with the minimum amount of force necessary to gain control of the situation. It was not my intention it never occurred to me to hurt Mr. Moran. I don’t know him from Adam. He was obviously emotional. He was obviously upset. It was never my intention to hurt him, and I don’t think I did hurt him. But it was my attention to stop his negative aggression, and that is what I feel like I did.”

In an attempt to stop the prodding, the 140-pound Robinson, who is significantly taller than Moran, grabbed him around the head.

Moran has a different recollection of the incident.

“The young man came there, woofing. He wanted to create a disturbance of some sort, and he succeeded. What can I tell you,” Moran said. “He was hanging around all day. A strange bird.

“He (Robinson) was hassling Mike and his wife. We were down on the street level and this guy was going up to the trailer. He had like a theatrical mask on, a bizarre kind of look. I asked him who he was and what was with the mask. And I asked him to move on.

“He was just itching for trouble, and it finally escalated. And he grabbed me around the head and was taking me down, so what could I tell you? When he is covering your mouth with his arm, it’s there. It’s not like ‘Hey, by the way, do you want to let go?’ “

At that point both sides agree Moran, 65, bit the 37-year-old Robinson on the left arm. In addition to the wound, Robinson said he was “stiff and sore,” bit said “holding the sign and moving my arms above my head all day” might be partly the reason for his general condition.

“I can tell you when I was holding Moran in the headlock there were hands hitting me, trying to get me to release him before I felt like the situation was at a point where I was comfortable in doing so,” Robinson said. “So there were other people who hit me at different times, but I couldn’t say who they were and I also couldn’t say in the heat of the moment the difference between somebody trying to pat me to get me to let go and somebody trying to punch me to get me to let go or to punch me just to punch me.

“Exactly what I was trying to do was get my arm out from between his teeth.”

Moran reported no injuries.

The video shows a white Camaro entering the picture, reportedly driven by Williams’ friend Jason Ashby. Robinson gives Ashby credit for breaking up the fight.

“I don’t know Ashby, but that guy, when he pulled up -- he said everybody (should) calm down. He was the first person from the Williams campaign who tried to de-escalate or calm the situation. Everybody else at that point had either been complicit in some way or an actual aggressor, the two most substantial I would say is Mrs. Williams and Moran.

“When the gentleman stepped out of the Camaro, he seemed to have a genuine desire to end the conflict. And I respect him for that because nobody else apparently did.

“At that point everybody was saying get out of here, get out of here, go, go,” Robinson said. “I said I will leave just let me get my glasses and my sign. So I’m looking for my glasses and Moran hurries and whips around real quick, grabs them and smashes them in his hand, closes his fist hard. They’re spring metal, so they return to shape. So that made him angry and he twisted them, crushed them and finally got them to break, and then he threw them off somewhere. And so I walked away.

“I’m sure the Williams camp has a different story, but that is the way I recall it. There were a number of witnesses in the parking lot who observed it and who did not have an interest in the situation. They saw it as the Willliams’ campaign was the aggressors and I was sort of just stuck where I was.”

Police responded to the scene. A short time later, Dawnn Robinson was cited for disorderly conduct.

“When the police were there – there were probably three or four police vehicles there – they had been moving me between vehicles and they were trying to find a way to get the video off my iPhone,” David Robinson said. “My wife had not been able to find me. She was looking for me and she walked too close to the Williams’. After the altercation they had more or less camped out near their sig. She walked too close to where they were and there was a verbal exchange. And because she was standing next to them, they cited her. In other words, because she was the one approaching them, so they cited her.”

While both sides agree the incident was unfortunate, they disagree on the root cause of the political animosity that has led to bitter partisan attacks on all level of government.

“This year has been, and this campaign in particular for city council has been our first substantial involvement (in politics),” Robinson said. “That’s what I tell people – four years in the coast guard and I never had any fights with any fishermen, and one year in politics and this happens. It’s a dangerous game.

“Do you know who Albert Fall was? I think Mike Williams should be proud to go down in the record books with him.

“This type of politics is not new. Mike Williams didn’t invent it, but he follows a disgraceful history. And I hope he’s proud of that. There’s no question about his integrity because he doesn’t have any. I don’t know what more you can say. He and Albert Fall are brothers in arms.”

Fall, according to Wikipedia, “was a United States Senator from New Mexico and the Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, (who was) infamous for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal.”

Moran blames the current political climate on the Tea Party.

“Those people are crazy. That’s all. The Tea Party people are just crazy,” said Moran, a longtime union supporter who came to New Mexico from New Jersey. “They’re a bizarre group. They’re totally bizarre.

“I’ve been in in it for more than 45 years, and I have never seen anything like it. These people are so full of hate. It’s hard to comprehend.

“In the East, it was different, and it was a number of years ago. There were very good Republicans that we always helped and endorsed who did a good job for us. When I came here I could see that Republicans didn’t even want to talk to a guy like me. Out here it left you with only one party to deal with because the Republicans just hated you because you belonged to a union, and made a decent living, had pensions and health care and all the other good things that come around. You can see it now on the national level, that nothing could get done.

“The Tea Party is this extreme far right folks. It’s like ‘I’ve got mine, the hell with you.’ That’s where they are coming from. And they don’t want to pay their fair share. They don’t want to pay nothing, and they expect everything in return for nothing.

“The world doesn’t work that way. You have to pay your dues as you go along, pay your taxes or whatever.

“I just don’t know anymore. Maybe it’s time to wrap it up. My thoughts today, with all of this, is that it’s time to hang it up.”


Posted Wednesday, March 8, 2012
CANDIDATES DENY CHARGES

By ERIC MADDY
The-SCORE.info

Two winners in Tuesday’s municipal election in Rio Rancho denied allegations by a defeated rival over campaign issues.

Three-time city councilor Mike Williams said late Tuesday he was planning a legal challenge of his District 1 loss to Chuck Wilkins. Williams claimed that Wilkins did not use his full legal name on the ballot, a violation of state law.

On Wednesday, Wilkins said his name as printed on the ballot matched his voter registration, which makes it legal. For the record, he said the given name on his birth certificate is Holcey Charles Wilkins.

Williams, who was cited Tuesday by Rio Rancho police for violating the city sign ordinance, also claimed that Mark Scott, who received the most votes in District 4, told him “f*** y**” as he was removing the sign from the polling location at Sol Ro Church.

Scott vehemently denied Williams’ allegation.

“I don’t know who pulled up next to him, or whatever, but it wasn’t me,” Scott said. “That’s not possible, because I was with you last night. Not only was I with you at City Hall, but if you look at the timing of everything I was with you at the (Mesa Baptist) church (for a victory celebration), too. How could I possibly do that? It’s not humanly possible for me to be there.

“I never even saw him pull his truck (with the sign) out. I left Sol Rio, went to McDonalds, and went out and ate in my car. I had a witness with me. I actually had a witness in my car all night last night. I either had my wife with me or I had a guy named Ryan with me.

“When I left Sol Rio to go to City Hall, Ryan was with me. He was with me at City Hall. You were with me at City Hall, and then you were with me at the church.”

Scott was at City Hall shortly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. and waited until results were posted close to 9 p.m. He then was at the church and was interviewed there.

Scott did not want to comment on the possible motivations for Williams’ allegations.

“When people are desperate to win an election, they’ll do anything,” he said. “I’ll tell you right now, I’m not desperate. I’m a business owner. I’m more desperate about running my business than making all kinds of silliness.

“It’s not about me. It’s about us, about our city. These people who are trying to make it about themselves – I’m sorry. I thank Mike Williams for his service. But in everything there needs to be change, and I wish that he would accept the change gracefully.”

Meanwhile, by midmorning there were still no confirmed reports of charges being filed against either David Robinson, husband o Ro Rancho Tea Party president Dawnn Robinson, or longtime Democratic Party official Jim Moran over alleged mutual assaults at the Sol Rio polls. Robinson’s wife said that Moran bit her husband, while Williams claimed Mr. Robinson attacked Moran and “tried to kill him.”

Posted Wednesday, March 7, 2012
TEA TIME IN
RIO RANCHO

Connservative candidates dominate election

By ERIC MADDY
The SCORE.info

In perhaps the biggest Tea Party event since colonists dumped the stuff in Boston Harbor to spark the Revolutionary War, conservative candidates backed by the populist movement ousted one Rio Rancho city councilor and forced two others into runoff contest’s in Tuesday’s municipal elections.

In a bizarre night full of charges and countercharges, local insurance agent Chuck Wilkins defeated Mike Williams 676-264, at least temporarily ending a 30-plus year public service career for the retired Bernalillo County deputy and former zoning commissioner, three-term councilor and mayor.
Local businessman Mark Scott defeated District 4 incumbent Steve Shaw 527-407, but did not reach the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff in a three-person race. In District 6, former councilor Lonnie Clayton trailed incumbent Kathy Colley 492-423 in a four-person field.

By law, the runoff elections will have to be conducted within 30 days. The results could have a significant impact on the future of Rio Rancho government, Runoff victories by Scott and Clayton, coupled with votes from Wilkins and District 5 representative Tim Crumm would give conservatives a solid 4-2 edge on the council and perhaps make it more difficult for liberal Mayor Tom Swisstack to carry on his agenda.

“I think they (voters) were tired of the direction the city has been going, and they want a change,” Wilkins said. “They want their neighborhoods taken care of, our public safety taken care of, and our water and infrastructure taken care of. That’s what most of us ran on, and that’s what I’m planning on pushing.”

In an attempt to reach the conservative majority, Wilkins said he would be “very active” in his support of his Tea Party mates in the time leading up to the runoff.

Though technically a non-partisan event, the Rio Rancho Tea Party was visible in its support of the three candidates, and the Sandoval County Republican Party sent out literature recognizing two of the conservative candidates, Wilkins and Clayton. Both Colley and Shaw have listed their party affiliation as Republican in the past, though have often supported Swisstack’s agenda since being elected four years ago.

Police are likely to be asked to investigate an alleged incident near Sol Rio Church, one of four voting “convenience centers” used on Election Day. Both sides confirm an altercation between long-time Democratic Party official Jim Moran and David Robinson, the husband of Tea Party President Dawnn Robinson.

Williams said Robinson started the altercation “and was trying to kill Jim Moran,” while Mrs. Robinson was taking her husband to the hospital to document reported bite marks inflicted by Moran. Complaints and cross-complaints could be filed as early as today.

Williams was cited by police earlier in the day for violating the city sign ordinance he helped re-write last year by continuing his long-standing practice of parking a large mobile sign near the Sol Rio polling place.

Contacted late Tuesday evening, Williams said he was also considering a court case against Wilkins seeking to have the results invalidated, claiming since Wilkins did not use his full legal name on the ballot that he was in violation of election law. Though he would not concede that publicity over the sign issue hurt his campaign, Williams did admit, “The Tea Party beat me.”

Williams also claimed that while he was moving hi sign, Scott directed a strong profanity at him. Neither Scott nor Wilkins could be reached with a response to Williams’ allegations.

The Tea Party did fail in one respect, as all nine proposed changes to the City Charter were approved, including one making the mayor’s position a full-salaried job. The amendment most favored was for voter identification at the polls, which was approved 3,840 to 866.

Complete results are available on the city’s web site, http://www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/index.aspx?NID=1772

Perhaps the deciding factor in the coming runoff elections will be endorsements from the third place finishers. There was no immediate word if either Roberta Radosevich, who pulled in 275 votes in District 4, or former councilor Marilyn Salzman, who got 257 votes in District 6, would endorse either of their opponents.

A fourth candidate in District 6, Helene Joy Apper, got 90 votes.

An endorsement in District 4 could be especially important for Scott, as Radosevich is a retired sergeant from the city’s police department and Shaw is also retired from the department, serving as acting chief at one point.

“I think the people of Rio Rancho have spoken, and they want to get back to basis,” Scott said. “They want to support our roads, our fire department, our police department, and take care of business, not spend time and money on things we’re just not ready for.”

As for his runoff plans to attempt to woo Radosevich’s supporters, Scott said, “I’m going to find out if her voters are interested in the basics, and I bet you they are. The people who supported Roberta are interested in the fire department and the police department also, and they want to have a strong city.”

City officials reported 4,989 of 51,724 eligible voters cast ballots, or 9.65 percent. Earlier in the day, Sandoval County officials reported there were 51,580 eligible voters. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

Of those, 740 took advantage of early voting at City Hall, which ended Friday.

Comparing Tuesday’s results to past elections in an attempt to determine voting trends would be apples and oranges. The city went away from precinct voting to voting convenience centers in 2010, meaning voters could cast their ballots in any one of four locations in the city.

Also, new city council district boundaries were changed with redistricting last fall. Williams, for example, lost a large part of his voting district with the shift, and District 6 no longer includes the large Enchanted Hills subdivision in the north end of the city.

Posted Thursday, March 1, 2012
County meeting
lasts eight minutes


Depending on your attention span, it may take you longer to read about Thursday’s meeting of the Sandoval County Commission than it took for the meeting itself.

In slightly more than eight minutes the commission concluded business, approving two budget resolutions and the annual county road inventory.

A potentially lengthy debate over proposed amendments to the comprehensive zoning ordinance was avoided when the issue was pulled from the agenda. County manager Phil Rios said staff wanted some additional time to review the proposal before presenting it to the commission.

“It is nothing we have to do right away,” he said. “We want got get it right the first time.”

The road inventory was actually reduced 1.54 percent, or 23.68 miles, over last year. The bulk of the reduction came when an 18.5 mile stretch of Peliza Road, also known as Forest Road 266, was closed as part of a land swap between the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The road is located near Ponderosa.

Only two other stretches of more than one mile were closed. Little Joe’s Road, a 2.38 mile section near San Luis, was actually found to be part of McKinely County after a GPS survey. And a 1.3 mile stretch known as Andy Sandoval Road and Emily Sandoval Road was closed by the Navajo Nation.

A complete list of roads eliminated from the county inventory is available at http://www.sandovalcounty.com/uploadfiles/SCC20120301AT7.pdf.

In total, the county is still responsible for 1,516.15 miles of road.

The meeting would have been even shorter had not a Placitas resident made a brief plea to have a road re-paved in his area.

The two budget amendments reflected changes due to increased revenue. The sheriff’s department received $21,662 from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security to pay for overtime during the Las Conchas fire, and the community services department received a $41 reimbursement for office supplies.

Long-time observers of county meetings believe Thursday’s gathering to be the shortest on record. The next meeting is scheduled in two weeks, on March 15, at 6 p.m.