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Early voting starts Oct. 5

A look at key races, important dates in upcoming local election

Posted

Early voting in the Nov. 2 local election begins Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd. Alternate early voting locations will open across the county Oct. 16.

With two disqualifications, one withdrawal and two write-ins since filing day on Aug. 24, there are a total of 60 candidates vying for 37 public offices in Doña Ana County in the Nov. 2 local election.

The races include municipal offices in Las Cruces (three city council seats), Mesilla (two town council seats and municipal judge), Anthony (mayor, two city council seats and municipal judge), Sunland Park (three city council seats and municipal judge) and Hatch (mayor and two village council seats); Las Cruces Public Schools (three seats), Gadsden Independent School District (three seats) and Hatch Valley Public Schools (two seats) boards of education; Doña Ana (two seats) and Caballo (two seats) soil and water conservation district boards of supervisors; the Anthony Water and Sanitation Board; the La Union Watershed Board; and the Lower Rio Grande Public Water Works Authority.

With the addition of write-in candidate Gregory Shervanick in District 3, there will be ranked choice voting races on the ballot in Las Cruces City Council districts 3 and 5. Shervanick joins Bev Courtney and Becki Graham on the ballot in District 3. In District 5, the candidates are David Telford, Robert Paquette, Ronnie Sisneros and Becky Corran. There are only two candidates in the District 6 race, incumbent Yvonne Flores and challenger William Beerman, so there will not be ranked choice voting for that seat.

Las Cruces is the only municipality in the county that adopted ranked choice voting. The winners of multi-candidate races in the other municipalities will be the candidates in each race who receive the most votes, whether a majority or a plurality, in a single round of voting.

The City of Las Cruces has an informational video about ranked choice voting at www.las-cruces.org/2499/Ranked-Choice-Voting.

Early voting at the county government building

Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd., Las Cruces (open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 5-29 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30; closed Monday, Oct. 11)

Alternate early voting locations (open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 16-30)

Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St., Las Cruces

Corbett Center Student Union, 1600 International Mall, NMSU, Las Cruces

Sonoma Elementary School, 4201 Northrise Drive, Las Cruces

Mesilla City Hall, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla, Mesilla

Anthony City Hall Municipal Complex, 820 Highway 478, Anthony, New Mexico

DACC-Sunland Park, 3365 McNutt Road, Sunland Park

Delores C. Wright Educational Center, 400 E. Lisa Drive, Chaparral

Hatch High School, 170 E. Herrera Road, Hatch

Other important dates

Thursday, Oct. 28: Last day to request an absentee ballot

Saturday, Oct. 30: Last day of early voting

Tuesday, Nov. 2: Election Day at 40 voting locations open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. across the county

Candidates

Candidates who filed on either filing day, Aug. 24, or write-in filing day, Aug. 31, for offices in Doña Ana County on the Nov. 2 combined local election ballot:

Las Cruces City Council:

  • District 3: Bev Courtney, Becki A. Graham, Gregory J. Shervanick (write-in); incumbent Gabriel Vasquez is not running for re-election
  • District 5: Ronnie M. Sisneros, Becky Ann Corran, Normand Robert Paquette, David A. Telford; incumbent Gill Sorg is not running for re-election
  • District 6: Yvonne M. Flores (incumbent), William John Beerman

Town of Mesilla

  • Trustee at-large (two positions): Adrianna Cecilia Merrick, Carlos Arzabal (incumbent), Biviana M. Cadena
  • Municipal judge: Donald E. Toomey

Village of Hatch

  • Mayor: Roberto E. Torres, Andy Nuñez (incumbent), G. Dennis Torres, James Lynn Whitlock (currently a Hatch trustee)
  • Trustee at-large (two positions): Robert D. Martinez, Casey C. Crist, Linda S. Alvarez

City of Anthony

  • Mayor: Fernando Gomez Herrera (currently a city trustee), Ernesto Alonso Salazar, Diana Murillo Trujillo (incumbent, and also a Doña Ana County commissioner)
  • Trustee at-large (two positions): Gabriel Isaiah Holguin, Daniel Barreras, Jose G. Garcia, Daniel Ortiz
  • Municipal judge: Rafael H. Ramos (incumbent), Sarah G. Holguin

City of Sunland Park

  • District 1 city councilor: Kenneth B. Giove, Mili Sandoval; incumbent Jessica Avila did not file for re-election
  • District 2 city councilor: Daisy G. Lira (incumbent)
  • District 3 city councilor: Bertha A. Salmon (incumbent), Jesus Soto
  • Municipal judge: Lizette Salinas (incumbent)

Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education

  • District 1: Ray Jaramillo (incumbent), Abelardo Balcazar
  • District 2: Henry A. Young, Pamela M. Cort (appointed by the school board in July after the resignation of Terrie Dallman)
  • District 3: Eloy Francisco Macha, Robert C. Wofford; incumbent Maria Flores is not running for re-election

Gadsden Independent School District Board of Education (Doña Ana and Otero counties)

  • District 1: Amanda Payan, Armando Cano (incumbent)
  • District 2: Arlean M. Murillo; incumbent Jennifer Viramontes did not file for re-election
  • District 5 (to fill unexpired two-year term): Laura Salazar Flores (incumbent)

Hatch Valley Public Schools Board of Education

  • Member at-large (two positions): Elva Jean Garay (incumbent), Christopher A. Montez (incumbent)

Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors

  • Supervisor at-large (two positions): Joshua J. Switzer, Joseph R. Skaggs, current Las Cruces City Councilor Gill M. Sorg, Jose F. Makk

Caballo Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors (Sierra, Doña Ana and Luna counties)

  • Supervisor at-large (two positions): Keith S. Franzoy, Linda S. Alvarez

Lower Rio Grande Public Water Works Authority Board of Directors

  • District 3 director: Jose R. Evaro, incumbent
  • District 4 director: Esperanza Espy Holguin, incumbent
  • District 5 director: A write-in candidate was disqualified
  • District 7 director: Furman A. Smith, incumbent

The authority “consists of 11 water systems … providing service to 15 colonias communities … south of Las Cruces from Brazito to north end of Anthony, Butterfield Park and Organ on the East Mesa, and Valle Del Rio and High Valley,” according to lrgauthority.org/about-us/.

Anthony Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors

  • Position 1 director at-large (six-year term): Armida Rodriguez; another candidate was disqualified

The district was organized Jan. 30. 1978 to “promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said district,” according to www.awsd.us.

La Union Watershed District Board of Directors

  • Director at-large: Jose Anaya, Jr.

“A watershed is a land area from which precipitation runs off or infiltrates to a stream, river, lake,

or underground aquifer,” according to www.nmda.nmsu.edu.

The La Union Watershed District was established in January 2018 to prevent further flood damage after a dam located above the townsite ruptured in September 2013, according to sites.google.com/launionwatersheddistrict.org/launionwatersheddistrict/home. The district “is operated by five volunteer board members who own property within the water district,” which includes all the town-site area and some surrounding area, totaling 876.52 acres. The district operates under the guidance of the Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District.

McClead Watershed District Board of Supervisors

No candidates filed for two at-large seats.

The district is part of the Caballo Soil and Water Conservation District.

For more information

Early voting Nov. 2

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