Two judge candidates to undergo interviews

Two candidates for Tucumcari municipal judge will undergo interviews with the Tucumcari City Commission on Jan. 24, the commission decided in a public work session before Thursday's regular meeting.

The candidates are Larry Brown, who has been filling in as municipal judge since former judge Joe Dominguez resigned Oct. 29 after a drunken-driving arrest, and Noreen Hendrickson, a resident known for her involvement with Tucumcari's Veterans of Foreign Wars 2528 and the Quay County Health Council, among other community groups.

The new municipal judge, however, will have to run for the office in the November general election, along with four of the five city commissioners, City Clerk Angelica Gray, who administers city elections, said.

That is because the commission voted Thursday to combine municipal elections with state general elections in odd-numbered years by “opting in” to the state's election law passed in 2018 by the New Mexico Legislature.

By opting in under the 2018 law, local government elections will share the nonpartisan November ballot with school, college, hospital and water-district issues in odd-numbered years. The law also gives local governments the option to run their own elections, but they must pay election costs themselves.

Also, under the 2018 law, the municipal judge and District 4 Commissioner Chris Arias will have to face voters to keep their seats in November, despite their being appointed to terms that normally would end in 2022, Gray said.

Arias was appointed in 2018 to fill the term of the late Robert Lumpkin, who had been re-elected in the March 2018 city election.

The state election law, Gray said, requires appointees to unfinished election terms must face voters in the next available municipal election, no matter the length of the term they were appointed to fill.

In the November election, the seats of Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield, representing District 3; District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya and District 2 Commissioner Amy Gutierrez will be up for election because their terms would have ended in March 2020, Gray said.

That means only District 5 Commissioner Todd Duplantis, mayor pro tem, will not face voters in the 2019 general election. Duplantis' was re-elected to his seat in March 2018, and his term would have expired in March 2022. Under the state election law, however, he will face re-election in November 2021, Gray said.

By voting to join in general elections, the cost of balloting is reduced in Tucumcari because the city pays $1,250 to contribute to the state's election fund rather than spending $6,000 to $7,500 per election, City Clerk Angelica Gray told the commission.

The commission approved opting-in with a 4-1 vote.

District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya voted against adopting the state law, saying the city gives up too much independence by agreeing to participate in state general elections.

The added cost, he said, is worth paying to preserve the city's independence in running elections.

Gray also said voter turnouts are larger for general elections than for purely municipal contests.

Gray told the commission after a previous discussion she had learned in the last general election turnout was 268 in Moya's district versus 89 in the most recent solely municipal race.

Moya disputed the numbers, saying he did not know whether the Quay County clerk's office had counted the county's District 1, not the city's.

Moya won his current term in a race against former commissioner Rick Haymaker in 2016. Moya received 65 votes to Haymaker's 23.

Moya also said voters in a general election likely are not even to see the city races because the ballots are long, and city races likely would appear on the second page of a two-page ballot.

Gray said local city, county, school board and community college board races will appear at the top of ballots in the general election.

In other action Thursday, the commission voted to:

• Authorize Fire Chief Doug Hogan to seek $25,000 from the New Mexico Department of Health's Emergency Medical Services fund to help cover costs of repairing and maintaining ambulances, replace medical supplies, purchase training equipment, fund training programs to maintain licenses for emergency medical employees and cover travel expenses for trainees.

• Approved an annual resolution to abide by New Mexico's Open Meetings Act. The resolution includes holding regular meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, 72-hour public notice of regular and special meetings and the conditions under which special meetings may be called. The mayor or a majority of commissioners may call special meetings. Emergency meetings may be called to address issues that affect public health, safety or property or to avert financial disaster, according to terms of the resolution.

• Tucumcari Police Chief David Lathrom announced promotions for three police officers. Reyes Gonzales was promoted to detective from patrolman. Shaun Slate was promoted from corporal to sergeant. Herman Martinez was promoted from patrolman to corporal.

• In his report to the commission, City Manager Britt Lusk said New Mexico Department of Transportation officials agreed with city officials that trucks, especially those with trailers, who try to turn right from First Street onto Main Street, endanger the Knights of Columbus building.

The officials agreed right turns from First Street to Main Street should be prohibited for trucks, and signs should be placed on First Street south of Historic Route 66 to advise trucks to turn either on Route 66, south of Main Street, or Maple Street.

As a part of Highway 104, First Street is under the jurisdiction of the highway department.

Arias said the corner also poses a danger for disabled persons who seek to cross the street.

• Lusk and the commissioners commended the efforts of city and county employees and other volunteers to find cots, sleeping bags and other accommodations to shelter about 300 motorists stranded in Tucumcari due to snowstorms just before New Year's Day.

• In his comments under “Items from Commissioners,” Moya asked about responsibility for sewer line maintenance, saying several of his constituents have asked about that.

Lusk said property owners are responsible for sewer lines on their property, and the city takes over at the property line.

Moya also asked why the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corp. had stopped presenting quarterly reports to the commission. Litchfield said she would talk to the corporation's executive director Pat Vanderpool about that.

Commissioner Gutierrez called for volunteers to serve on city boards and committees. She also cautioned residents to leave cars and homes locked because of a rash of thefts from homes and vehicles.

Commissioner Arias asked about the status of city fire hydrants in the wake of a Tucumcari resident's complaint a hydrant near his home was not working as the home was destroyed by fire.

Hogan said firefighters are checking hydrants and may call in experts to pressure-test them. Hydrants then would be painted in colors indicating their pressure levels.

Duplantis asked whether quick repairs could be made on Second Street downtown while the city prepares to resurface the street.

Lusk said the city's “hot mix” street patching machine was not working, but Second Street would get attention when repairs are completed.

Duplantis also asked about the condition of alleyways. Even if property owners are responsible for some alleyway maintenance, he said, there are some spots where the city needs to be involved.