The prospect of moving future swearing-in ceremonies for
As it has done for several years,
The Las Cruces Sun-News had a problem with that. In a Dec. 29 editorial, the newspaper complained that, even in the commission chambers of the county’s new government center on
“Oh, for pity’s sake!” the editorial stated. “
The newspaper suggested that the county consider booking Aggie Memorial Stadium for the next swearing-in ceremony.
That’s on top of the approximately $800 the county spent this year on other organizational aspects of the event.
In a Jan. 2 letter published in the Sun-News, Williams explained why the ceremony was closed to the public, saying it was “to assure that the loved ones and friends invited by the elected officials would have their seating guaranteed.”
This year, there were 21 officials scheduled to be sworn in, though only 20 showed up. Each was given 10 tickets to the event in the county’s commission chambers, which seats 240. Fire codes allow something like 300 people to be in the room at once.
The county could move the event to a larger venue and spend several thousand dollars, but it seems to me there’s an easier solution. The event should, by principle, be open to the public. But the reality is that there won’t be a flock of adoring voters attending to gaze with admiration while their leaders swear to uphold the Constitution and all that.
There’s a lot of empty space in the commission chambers around the 240 chairs already in there. Couldn’t the county add some more chairs for the ceremony? Couldn’t it allow standing room? Could it give each public official nine tickets instead of 10?
It seems to me there should be a way to give each official a number of tickets and still squeeze out 50 seats in the commission chambers for anyone else who cares to attend.
If not, let’s hold it at Pan Am. Who wants to be outdoors for a swearing-in ceremony in January?