Heath Haussamen / NMPolitics.net
Sunland Park City Hall (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE, 1:35 p.m.:
Sunland Park’s City Council has cancelled tonight’s meeting at which it was scheduled to appoint a new mayor. Check back later for more information.
ORIGINAL POST:
The City Council plans to go ahead tonight with a public meeting at which it will interview Javier Perea and Gerardo Hernandez and then appoint one to the job. But the mayor pro-tem is continuing to express concerns about compliance with the Open Meetings Act and has been seeking additional applications for the job.
Sunland Park might get a new mayor tonight. Then again, it might not.
The City Council plans to go ahead tonight with a public meeting at which it will interview Javier Perea and Gerardo Hernandez and then appoint one to the job. But the mayor pro-tem – currently the highest-ranking official in the city – is continuing to express concerns about compliance with the Open Meetings Act and has been seeking additional applications for the job.
The Las Cruces Sun-News has the newest:
“The two men who stepped forward for the vacant mayor’s office during a contentious outdoor meeting on May 4 are the only candidates who will be considered Monday at a public hearing.
“Meanwhile, like she did on May 4, Sunland Park Mayor Pro-Tem Isabel Santos is questioning the legality of tonight’s special city council meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the courtyard outside city hall at 1000 McNutt Road.
“Santos said Friday that she had not seen or approved the meeting’s agenda.”
Here’s what should happen tonight, from the newspaper:
“City Councilor Carmen Rodriguez said the five city councilors legally scheduled tonight’s meeting to appoint a mayor. The council will decide between Javier Perea, a 24-year-old former diamond salesman, and Gerardo Hernandez, the former mayoral candidate who lays claim to the title.”
Of course, the last meeting was quite chaotic. This meeting, like that one, will be held outdoors to accommodate the expected massive crowd.
The Sun-News reported this last week in a separate article about what Santos is doing:
“Sunland Park’s top city official said Monday she’ll accept résumés through the end of (last) week for the vacant mayor’s post, following a tumultuous meeting last week in which councilors postponed selecting a mayor.
“…Sunland Park Mayor Pro Tem Isabel Santos, the city’s top official, said she wants more time in advance of a May 14 meeting to review the résumés of anyone wanting to become the city’s mayor.”