Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Three of four commissioners could be recalled.
Three out of four Tucumcari city commissioners are facing recall after City Clerk Angelica Gray confirmed that voter signatures on a petition are authentic.
Gray certified the signatures of four petitions on Sunday, warranting the recall of District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya, District 2 Commissioner Amy J. Gutierrez and District 3 Commissioner/Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield.
Tucumcari resident Keith Hayes began the petition last month, citing that his reasons as commissioners not putting the needs of residents first. Hayes has battled commissioners regarding his business property. The city has fined him for it being unkempt with heavy, rusting equipment and other unsightly items on it.
Gray said the signatures and addresses on the petition were examined and compared to the voter registration log at the Quay County Clerk’s Office.
The petition for District 4 Commissioner Robert Lumpkin did not gather the required signatures for a recall. She said 11 signatures on the petition for District 4 had been purged from the county clerk’s voter registration log.
Quay County Clerk Ellen White said if a voter’s address changes and they do not participate in any elections for the following two years, they are purged from the log.
Gray said she will present the certified petitions to the commission during Thursday’s regular meeting, and as part of the process, a notification to the 11 voters whose signatures were disqualified will be published today in the Quay County Sun.
By law, the city is required to give those voters 10 days to dispute their signatures disqualification, she said. The 11 voters have until March 29 to dispute the disqualification. She said once the notification deadline has passed, the commission will set a date for the recall election during a special city commission meeting or at the regular meeting scheduled for April 13.
“I want my constituents to vote accordingly,” Lumpkin said previously on the issue. “Whether they feel I have done a good job or I have done a bad job, I want them to voice their vote.”
Litchfield said she wishes that any constituents who feel she has done a bad job would talk to her in person.
“I am always willing to listen to the concerns, complaints and ideas of my constituents and the residents of Tucumcari,” Litchfield said.