Ryan Dailey
Former Las Cruces City Council candidate Ryan Dailey has pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge in Virginia; he says he plans to fight a similar charge in Las Cruces and will run for city council again in four years.
Dailey contacted NMPolitics.net to ask that the information about his plea be published. He said he admitted to DWI in the Virginia case in exchange for the dismissal of a charge of carrying a 10-inch knife hidden in his vehicle on a Navy base. Both charges were misdemeanors.
Daily said federal Magistrate Judge Carmen Garza in Las Cruces accepted the plea, sentenced him to one year on probation, and fined him $250. He said he agreed to the plea bargain because he didn’t want to be extradited to Virginia.
Dailey still faces charges in Las Cruces of aggravated drunken driving, improper lane usage and lack of due care stemming from a September incident that resulted in his arrest. Those charges are all misdemeanors, and Dailey is fighting them.
He said he will run for city council in 2015. He currently lives in District 4, which is represented by Nathan Small.
Dailey was one of two people who filed paperwork to run against Small in this year’s election. He decided to stay in the race even after his September arrest, but the city clerk later disqualified him because he didn’t submit enough valid signatures to run.
Small easily won re-election last week.