Elected Sunland Park mayor Daniel Salinas can't be sworn in because he's been barred from having contact with the clerk who administers the oath of office. The court order is the result of blackmail allegations.
The southern New Mexico town's city council will meet next week to declare the mayor's office vacant and make an appointment, according to a KRQE-TV report.
Interim mayor Isabel Santos says Gerardo Hernandez, the victim of a recent alleged extortion plot involving a video and a topless woman, is a front-runner for the vacancy.
