Gov. Bill Richardson interviewed Monday the two candidates for the new district judgeship in
A judicial nominating committee sent the names of Democrats Fernando Macias, 54, and Bernadette Sedillo, 40, to
Both candidates plan to seek the party’s nomination to run in November if appointed. The Republican Party has chosen Rita Nuñez-Neumann, 62, to run in November.
The governor has until Aug. 25 to announce his appointment, and the Democratic Party has until Sept. 12 to make its selection for the November ballot.
This vacancy exists because of a new children’s court judge position created this year by the legislature. I’ve written before about the politics behind the selection, and you can read some prior articles by clicking here and here.
The powers-that-be are really struggling with who would make a better judge. Politico Macias is lobbying hard for the job. He has had dozens or hundreds of people call the governor’s office on his behalf.
But he’s controversial and polarizing, and the recent scandal involving the Region VII Housing Authority isn’t helping. He was a board member until his term expired in June, and much of the controversy there took place during his tenure. Read the latest on that by clicking here.
Macias is a career politician and, to make matters worse for him, he doesn’t have an active law license. He let it expire years ago as he moved from law to politics. He can, however, easily reactivate it.
Leading to Sedillo. Her supporters and opponents tell me the best thing she has going for her is that she’s not Macias. She has a wide range of experience, but didn’t impress during her interview last month with the committee. She has the support of many simply because she is a Hispanic woman.
The governor has to make a tough choice. Stay tuned.