Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Sunland Park City Hall (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The meeting, which was called to declare mayor’s seat vacant and appoint an acting city manager, has been rescheduled for next Wednesday.
A Sunland Park City Council meeting called for appointing a new city manager and discussing the vacancy in the mayor’s office was postponed on Thursday after more residents tried to attend than could fit in the room and things got rowdy.
That’s according to the Las Cruces Sun-News, which said the meeting has been rescheduled for next Wednesday. From the article:
“That decision came after a 40-minute session in which frustrated and sometimes angry residents — including former Sunland Park Mayor Ruben Segura — shouted back and forth with city councilors, often in Spanish. A Sunland Park police officer had to intervene at a particularly heated moment and officers were called in for backup, though no one was arrested.”
There was also confusion about what was going to happen at the meeting, but, ultimately, the Sun-News reported that the agenda included a proposal to appoint Anna Apodaca, a former staffer in U.S. Sen. Tom Udall’s office, as acting city manager. The council was also expected to declare the mayor’s seat vacant but not yet appoint someone to fill the vacancy.
A number of people hoping to get that appointment showed up to the meeting, including Gerardo Hernandez, who lost the March 6 election to Daniel Salinas by fewer than 90 votes.
Salinas faces charges of extortion, bribery and fraud, and he forfeited the office because his conditions of release from jail prohibited him from having contact with city officials or going to city hall, which meant he couldn’t be sworn in.
KFOX-TV in El Paso got video of the rowdy meeting. Watch it here.