Will Rio Rancho voters show up? Turnout is down from 2022 ahead of March 3 Election Day
—Sandoval Signpost
Rio Rancho voters are among New Mexicans who will visit the polls for municipal elections Tuesday.
The Sandoval Signpost reports Rio Rancho voters will choose from among six candidates vying to succeed outgoing Mayor Gregg Hull. Alexandria Piland, Zachary Darden, Michael Meek, Paul Wymer, Aleitress Owens-Smith and Corrine Rios are all seeking the mayor’s office. Hull is not seeking reelection and is instead running for the Republican nomination for governor.
In Rio Rancho City Council races, Jeremy Lenentine is running unopposed in District 2, and Bob Tyler is unopposed in District 3. The District 5 race is a contested matchup between incumbent Karissa Culbreath and Calvin Ward. Robert Cook is the sole candidate for municipal judge.
Voters will also decide on three general obligation bond questions totaling $18 million for roads, public safety and quality of life facilities. If approved, Rio Rancho officials say no property tax rate increase would occur because previously issued bonds have been retired.
The Sandoval Signpost reports as of this past weekend, early voting numbers are down from Rio Rancho’s last mayoral contest in 2022.
Española heads into Tuesday election projecting $4M general fund deficit amid mayor's legal battles
—John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
In the lead-up to the Municipal Officer Election here on Tuesday, the state of the city's financial health might be top of mind for voters as they prepare to cast their ballots for mayor, municipal judge and three contested city council seats.
Española's Board of Finance, which is comprised of its eight-person council and chaired by incumbent Mayor John Ramon Vigil, met Monday to review its budget, which projects a roughly $4 million deficit in the city's general fund for fiscal year 2026.
If current spending holds, Española is on track to log its second-consecutive year of overspending after running an approximately $1.7 million deficit in fiscal year 2025, which ended Sept. 30.
As of December, the city had already spent just over $2 million beyond the limits of its general fund, according to Patrick Varela, who stressed at Monday's meeting the urgency that Española's elected leaders bring spending to within budgetary constraints.
A significant line item in Española's budget is for legal fees, estimated in the current fiscal year at around $500,000, much of which has gone toward defending the city's mayor, who is running for reelection to a second term.
Vigil faces two challengers: five-term City Councilor Dennis Tim Salazar, Vigil's cousin, and Joann Salazar, the chair of both the Rio Arriba County Democratic Party and the city's Community Development Commission.
Both mayoral challengers have taken aim at Vigil's tumultuous first term during their campaigns, presenting themselves each as an opportunity for voters to restore stability, in their view, to this northern New Mexico city of around 10,000 residents.
Since assuming office in 2022, Vigil has faced a series of legal complaints ranging from allegations of discrimination to sexual harassment, as well as significant turnover in key positions.
Three former city employees have lodged complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination against Vigil during his tenure. A department director, who claimed the mayor sexually assaulted her at a Santa Fe bar in 2024, is also threatening legal action after a New Mexico State Police investigation into her allegations last year ended without criminal charges.
The Española City Council voted out former Rio Arriba County health and human services director Lauren Reichelt as city manager last month after a short-term tenure, marking the fifth person to come and go from the position under Vigil's administration in four years.
In Reichelt's place, Vigil appointed an apparent ally, Police Chief Mizel Garcia, who remains in the role heading into Tuesday's election in an interim capacity.
The turnover under Vigil's administration has come at a cost to the city.
Former City Manager Eric Lujan, for example, exited the role only after reaching a settlement with the town to extend his salary and benefits, keeping him on the payroll in a newly created position for around six months.
Lujan's predecessor, Jordan Yutzy, filed a lawsuit against the city and Vigil, accusing the mayor of misconduct and overruling Yutzy where it came to hiring decisions commonly reserved for city manager roles.
Despite the pattern of allegations against him, Vigil has consistently denied wrongdoing. Instead, he said he is looking toward the future after laying what he believes to be a strong groundwork for progress in Española.
"I respect the legal process and due process," he said in a statement. "I will not litigate these matters in the press, but I remain confident in the facts that have always proven to clear my name and I remain with a strong commitment to this community.
"If reelected, reassurance will not come from words — it will come from performance."
Vigil declined a phone interview, and instead asked he be able to respond to questions submitted in writing.
A lifelong resident who grew up on Española's historic west side, Vigil has deep family roots in the Española Valley. He previously served as a city councilor from 2018 to 2022 and is a former member of the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees. He's also a small business owner and licensed real estate broker.
His reelection campaign promises public safety reform, transparency, "youth investment and intervention programs," economic growth and infrastructure improvement.
Dennis Tim Salazar, a cousin by marriage running against Vigil, said the city is in a state of disarray and urgently needs a leadership change. He gave a searing assessment of Vigil's performance as mayor, arguing that Vigil has severed community partnerships that will take some time to rebuild.
"To be straight up," Salazar said, "I think he's the worst mayor the city's ever seen."
Salazar served as an Española city councilor for five consecutive terms, from 2004 to 2024. He has garnered support from former Española Mayor Javier Sánchez and current District 4 Councilor Sam LeDoux.
"I think the current mayor has had an element of chaos to his entire administration," Ledoux told the Journal. "We went through five city managers and seven city finance directors during his time, and we haven't been able to do anything on the City Council.
"Often, we've gotten to only about four to five ordinances a year heard by the council because of various delays," he added, "and a lot of those delays have to do with the fact that our city attorney is tied up with legal cases in relation to the mayor."
Joann Salazar, a write-in candidate and 30-year veteran of government work, says she would bring her long history of service in various public roles and nonprofit leadership to lead the city if elected.
She submitted her candidacy on the very last day she was eligible, she said, after hearing from many Española residents who have become dissatisfied with the city's current administration.
Salazar, who also grew up on the city's west side, said her position on Española's Community Development Commission gives her a valuable vantage from which to reshape the city's economy and get its financial house in order.
She said the commission has been batting around the idea of forming a relationship with nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory to rent office space to the federal employer, helping to resolve some of the commuter congestion in the nearby town.
Española remains one of handful of municipalities in New Mexico to not take part in the statewide local election, which was established in 2018 and is held in November of odd-numbered years.
All three mayoral candidates said they were interested in aligning with the state's local election system, citing administrative difficulties and added costs associated with remaining independent.
Española residents will also have a new option for municipal judge this election cycle: Peggy Sue Martinez, a current city councilor representing District 2, is running against Judge Joseph Madrid.
District 1 City Councilor Aaron Salazar faces one challenger this year, Jacob Torres; Michelle Martinez and Steven Salazar are seeking a seat in District 2; Floyd Archuleta and Manuel Martinez are vying to represent District 3; and District 4 Councilor Justin Salazar-Torrez faces no challengers this year.
Race for Bernalillo’s future: Tax hike and leadership change on election day agenda
—Kevin Hendricks, Sandoval Signpost
Voters in the Town of Bernalillo head to the polls Tuesday to choose the city’s mayor and also decide whether to approve a new gross receipts tax for economic development.
Mayor Jack Torres, who first took office in 2010, is seeking a fifth term against challenger James Baca. Two at-large council seats are also on the ballot, though incumbents Vincent Montoya and Gerred (JER-red) Prairie are running unopposed.
The Sandoval Signpost reports the proposed local gross receipts tax would impose a rate of 25 cents per $100 of taxable gross receipts. Qualifying uses under state law include arts and cultural districts, cultural facilities and retail businesses. Torres told the Sandoval Signpost said the town does not yet have specific plans for the potential revenue.
NM Gov says overnight stays for children in state custody over
—Source New Mexico
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office announced on Friday the official end to overnight stays for children in custody of the state Children, Youth and Families Department.
According to a news release, Feb. 12 marked the last day any child in CYFD custody stayed overnight in an agency office. The governor issued an executive order on Jan. 19, following years of concerns and incidents, which set a deadline of March 1 to end the practice.
“Every child in New Mexico deserves a safe place to sleep, a caring adult nearby, and a real shot at a better future,” the governor said in a statement on Friday. “We owed it to these kids to make it happen, and now overnight office stays for children in CYFD’s care are a thing of the past. I’m proud of CYFD’s staff and every partner who stepped up to turn my executive order into reality.”
According to the news release, as many as 30 children stayed overnight during winter holidays. Subsequently, CYFD said it held meetings with other state agencies, family members, guardians, Presbyterian Health Services and youth themselves to find additional placements and services. Since then, the news release says, “most of the children staying in offices were placed in family-based settings or were appropriately reunified with their families, with additional wraparound services.”
CYFD Acting Secretary Valerie Sandoval also issued a statement thanking CYFD staff, whom she called “champions” for providing “care and comfort to children staying in our offices,” along with “the many partners who have stepped up to help place children in safe and appropriate settings.”
Legislation that would have required ongoing reporting by the state’s Children, Youth & Families Department regarding foster children housed in the agency’s offices failed to make it out of committee during the most recent legislative session.
City of Santa Fe begins work on removing historic pedestrian bridge
—Santa Fe New Mexican
In Santa Fe, the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge is on track to being replaced, though city officials have yet to set a date.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports crews are currently taking down the remnants of the old bridge, which has been closed since 2022 due to structural concerns.
The bridge at the intersection of East Alameda and Shelby streets was built in 1968. The stone structure was a replacement for a timber bridge constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
The New Mexican reports that stones from the old bridge will be used in the facade of the new one. That detail was mandated by the city Historic Districts Review Board, which has jurisdiction over the project due to its location.
A portion of the River Trail on the south side of the Santa Fe River will be closed during construction, and the north sidewalk might also be intermittently closed while the work is ongoing.
Federal memo urges increased plutonium pit production at LANL - Justin Horwath, Albuquerque Journal
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for defense programs argued in a memo last month that Los Alamos National Laboratory should increase its annual production of plutonium pits.
“Strategic deterrence is as critical to U.S. national security today as it has been at any point in history,” David E. Beck wrote in the Feb. 11 memo, sent to more than two dozen officials, including LANL Director Thom Mason. “Our adversaries are advancing their capabilities in key nuclear domains, eroding traditional sources of the United States’ strategic advantage.”
The memo was released by the Los Alamos Study Group, a LANL watchdog.
“The memo outlines the Trump administration’s plans to accelerate design and production of nuclear weapons,” said Greg Mello, executive director, in an interview with the Journal on Friday. “NNSA has been told to go fast and get ready.”
The federal Department of Energy describes plutonium pits as a key part of nuclear warheads, which are spherical shells of plutonium about the size of bowling balls.
NNSA on its webpage says that, for various factors, including plutonium aging, these pits need to be replaced from time to time. But for three decades, the U.S. has not been able to produce them in quantities required for the nuclear weapons stockpile.
The agency is statutorily required to produce no fewer than 80 pits annually by 2030. The agency wants to recapitalize facilities at LANL and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to increase pit production.
Mello said increased production of the plutonium pits raises environmental and safety issues as it would lead to “more transportation of plutonium waste products.”
“Los Alamos National Lab and NNSA are loosening the safety rules,” Mello said.
A LANL spokesperson declined to respond to Mello’s comments and directed questions about the memo to the NNSA. The administration did not respond to an email seeking comment.
LANL produced the first plutonium pits as part of the Manhattan Project in 1945, its website notes. But it limited pit production for research purposes after World War II, and the Rocky Flats plant near Denver took up plutonium pit production during much of the Cold War.
The Colorado facility closed in 1989 after the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency raided it over environmental contamination. From 2007 to 2011, LANL ran a short production campaign to support the W88 warhead.
LANL’s PF-4 facility “currently contains the sole U.S. pit production capability and will reach its 50-year life before 2030,” NNSA says.
Beck’s memo calls for the completion of “near-term” modifications to the LANL pit facility to enable the production of 100 pits and achieve a sustained production rate of at least 60 pits per year. As that work occurs at LANL, Beck in the memo called for the Savannah River Site to “facilitate expanded pit production at LANL until the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility achieves full operations.”
“Pits are to be qualified by being produced using qualified processes, equipment, and staff rather than each pit being independently evaluated and qualified,” the memo adds.
Following his nomination, Beck told Congress that he has over 40 years of experience in the nuclear weapons complex, seven of which were spent at LANL as the associate director for weapons and engineering and as a principal deputy for its weapons programs.
His memo advocated for accelerated development of long-range, nuclear-armed cruise missiles, sea-launched cruise missiles, the B61-13 thermonuclear gravity bomb and for the completion of “required initial flight tests of the W93 and W87-1 warheads, achieving test objectives and readiness to proceed to subsequent development phases.”
Those warheads are used by the U.S. Navy’s ballistic submarine force.
“Our overarching imperative is to forge a nuclear security enterprise with the agility and resilience to prevail in an era of renewed great power competition,” the memo said. “Only such an enterprise will be able to field a more diverse, flexible, and effective deterrent on a timeline that influences our adversaries’ calculus surrounding the use of force against the United States and its allies.”
NM regulatory staff asks for more info on PNM $400 million stock sale - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission legal staffers on Thursday filed a brief seeking more information about a $400 million stock sale between PNM’s parent company and an affiliate of the private equity firm seeking to acquire it.
Prosperity Works, an Albuquerque nonprofit with a focus on anti-poverty initiatives, first filed a motion with the PRC earlier this month challenging the 2025 stock sale. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez last week filed a brief in support of the motion and alleged that TXNM could have violated state law when it signed over $400 million worth of stocks to an affiliate of the private equity firm Blackstone at roughly the same time as the acquisition announcement. Torrez’s brief alleged that the transaction required oversight under the state Public Utilities Act, which charges the PRC with overseeing stock sales.
TXNM and Blackstone announced plans for an $11.5 billion acquisition in May of 2025. PRC staffers in the filing said TXNM and private equity firm Blackstone have yet to provide strong evidence that the stock sale was unrelated to the acquisition. However, both sides have denied any wrongdoing.
In their Thursday filing, Public Regulation Commission staff said TXNM and Blackstone should submit evidence that the stock sale was “a standalone financial transaction…unrelated and not for the purposes of the pending acquisition merger.” PRC attorneys also wrote that the parties should submit proof that the stock sale did not result in a controlling share of the company.
State law “requires prior express commission authorization for acquisitions of utility stock made in connection with a merger,” Santa Fe clean energy advocacy organization New Energy Economy Executive Director Mariel Nanasi said in a statement. “That approval was never sought before Blackstone’s $400 million stock transaction closed. You cannot close first and ask permission later.”
The issue is now in the hands of PRC commissioners or the case’s hearing examiner. A PRC spokesperson noted that there is no deadline for when either of those parties must act on the staff filing.
In an emailed statement to Source NM, a Blackstone spokesperson wrote that the firm “has regularly acquired public shares of listed utilities without an expectation of control.”
Likewise, TXNM Vice President of Investor and Community Relations Lisa Goodman told Source NM in an email that the company disagrees with the PRC staff’s interpretation of state law, but said they “welcome the opportunity to provide additional evidence demonstrating that last year’s non-controlling stock issuance, completed in June 2025 and currently funding TXNM Energy’s capital requirements, was in compliance with the law.”
Mayoral candidates crying foul on Española election rules - Santa Fe New Mexican
In Espanola, two candidates competing for the office of mayor against incumbent John Ramon Vigil are questioning the city’s handling of the municipal election.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the candidates have questioned the city clerk’s handling of next Tuesday, Mar. 3 municipal election. They also see some policies as putting them at a disadvantage.
The New Mexican also reports all of the candidates agree on one point: In the future, Espanola should consider opting into the statewide local election program. That would move the municipal elections to November in odd-numbered years, which is the practice in most other New Mexico cities.
Vigil faces challenges from former City Councilor Dennis Tim Salazar as well as write-in candidate Joann Salazar. Both have questioned why voters are not allowed to use cellphones while voting as well as the lack of voter lists provided to candidates during early voting. Lists have been provided in past years.
Joann Salazar said as a write-in candidate, her voters need to be able to spell her name correctly on the ballot. She believes her voters are being “disenfranchised” by the prohibition of phones.
Also, Española straddles both Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, which observe different policies regarding cellphone use at the polls.
Espanola is following the Rio Arriba phone prohibition.
Judge tosses 2nd lawsuit over Duke Rodriguez’s eligibility to run for New Mexico governor - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
Duke Rodriguez, the former New Mexico cabinet secretary and cannabis CEO seeking the Republican nomination for governor, earned another victory in court Friday morning. A Santa Fe judge dismissed a lawsuit that alleged Rodriguez does not meet the state’s residency requirements.
Former Public Regulation Commissioner and fellow Republican candidate for governor James Ellison filed the lawsuit and accused Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver of failing to verify Rodriguez’s residency. It also accused Rodriguez of predominantly voting in Arizona rather than New Mexico.
A spokesperson for the New Mexico Secretary of State on Tuesday told Source NM that Rodriguez registered to vote in New Mexico in 2010, but noted that his registration was canceled in 2021 as part of a “statutory voter list maintenance process in compliance with the federal National Voter Registration Act.” Rodriguez registered to vote in New Mexico again on Jan. 14 of 2025.
Friday’s decision marked the second time this week a judge has struck down a challenge to the legitimacy of Rodriguez’s campaign. An Aztec judge on Tuesday dismissed a complaint from former Republican Party of Bernalillo County Chair John Rockwell and Navajo Dam resident James Maes that accused him of not meeting the residency requirements spelled out under the state Constitution. Rodriguez’s attorney countered that those requirements are to hold office — not to appear on the ballot.
“Two courts have now dismissed these residency claims…New Mexicans deserve a real campaign — not courtroom theater,” Rodriguez told Source NM Friday.
The state’s constitutional residency requirement for candidates mandates that they “have been continuously registered to vote here for five years” and “have maintained a residence here,” the Secretary of State’s office previously told Source NM.
Rodriguez in litigation has previously referred to himself as a “resident of Scottsdale, Arizona.” And for years when New Mexico court officials attempted to serve him with parking tickets, the envelopes were often sent back to court and marked “return to sender.
Rodriguez announced his Republican campaign for governor in December. He faces Ellison, as well as first-term state Sen. Steve Lanier (R-Aztec), Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull and former New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission Chair Doug Turner. The primary election is June 2.
PNM creates new power shutoff alert system for residents in wildfire-prone areas - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
As wildfire season ramps up in New Mexico, the state’s biggest electrical utility has rolled out a new system to alert residents before the utility shuts off power during periods of dangerous fire weather.
Last February, the Public Service Company of New Mexico announced it was considering “public safety power shutoffs” for the first time in areas of the state prone to wildfires. On days with particularly high winds or dry conditions, PNM said it would pre-emptively turn off electricity to prevent a live power line from igniting a wildfire.
Despite multiple warnings, PNM officials only initiated one such shutoff last year: On April 17, the utility briefly cut power to about 2,300 residents in the Las Vegas area.
This year, utility officials determined that they needed to improve how they communicate with the public about the possibility of pre-emptive power shutoffs in their area, PNM spokesperson Eric Chavez told Source NM.
The utility will now place six fire-prone areas in the state under different tiers of alert levels. Residents will be in a shutoff “advisory” two days before severe weather is forecasted and then a “watch” one day before the weather is expected to occur.
The utility asks residents in areas under those categories to prepare for extended outages.
The highest risk level — a “warning” — will turn red on a map the utility announced Wednesday. That will mean that the utility officials will quickly make a decision about shutting off power.
The six areas the utility has designated as high-fire-risk areas subject to shutoffs are in and around Ruidoso, Santa Fe, Silver City, Clayton, Las Vegas and the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque.
Chavez said PNM modeled the new system after National Weather Service weather alerts and is designed to provide residents ample and timely notification.
“We had a lot of opportunity to communicate with customers about public safety power shutoffs last year, and we learned a lot,” he said. “We learned when was too early and when was too late.”
Pre-emptive shutoffs are increasingly necessary, he said, amid increasingly dry and windy conditions to prevent catastrophic wildfires. Recent outlooks from the National Interagency Fire Center say most of Central and Eastern New Mexico will experience above-normal fire risks through March.
Also, the lack of snow this winter across the West raises the risk of early-season wildfire, according to scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most of the West experienced record temperatures between November and January, and snow cover across the region is far below historic medians.
Christus Health, Southwest Care Center warn patients of possible data security incidents - Santa Fe New Mexican
Christus Health and Southwest Care Center are alerting New Mexico patients to separate data “security incidents,” both of which may have exposed personal information to unauthorized access.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the privacy alerts from Christus Health stem from a January 2025 incident at laboratory information software vendor Oracle Health. During the incident, an unauthorized user may have accessed Christus Health patients’ names, Social Security numbers, and laboratory records.
The hospital said the incident did not compromise Christus Health information technology systems or clinical operations.
Southwest Care Center, which operates clinics in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, experienced a separate “cybersecurity incident” in June 2025. A notice sent to patients said an unauthorized party may have acquired patients’ personal information. The notice also said the center “has no reason to believe that any individual’s information has been misused as a result of this event.”
A group of patients affected by the incident has filed a class-action lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, alleging Southwest Care Center failed to properly safeguard its computer systems and patient data.