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But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll take office. Though all votes haven’t yet been counted, if Horacio Favela prevails, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Judicial Standards Commission asks the state Supreme Court to act.
With early, absentee and mail-in totals reported, Favela has 291 votes to Maria Laura Estrada’s 154 votes, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. Final results from two polling places, City Hall and Riverside Elementary, weren’t available. The clerk’s office said this morning that no one who knows the results is in the office yet.
It’s fair to assume most of the votes that have been reported for Favela were cast before he was charged on Friday with a fourth-degree felony that could land him in prison for 18 months, so it’s possible Estrada will come out on top after the rest of the votes are reported. Favela allegedly used a residential address in
Favela was supported in the race by Municipal Judge Martin Resendiz, who appears on his way to winning the mayor’s race.
If Favela prevails, the Supreme Court should act. Favela, unless his court case is resolved by his acquittal, won’t be able to serve with the appearance of trustworthiness and honesty that is necessary to ensure the integrity of the judiciary. It will take some time for the criminal case to be resolved and, if he wins the race, he at least should be prevented from taking the bench until the case is resolved.
Winners are set to be sworn in later this week.
You can get other partial results from
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Favela is accused of voting in both counties in 2002.