In the four municipalities across Valencia County, a total of 24 people declared candidacy for the position of mayor, councilor and municipal judge.

Those candidates have until Tuesday, Jan. 12, to withdraw from the race. That is the same day anyone wishing to run as a write-in candidate must file. If an individual runs as a write-in candidate, their name will not appear on the printed ballot, and anyone voting for them must literally write in the candidate's name to cast a vote.

Write-in candidates can declare their candidacy at the clerks' offices in their respective municipalities between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and can withdraw from the race on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Municipal elections will be held on Tuesday, March 2.

In Belen, there are four candidates running for mayor, a position which is currently held by Ronnie Torres, who is not seeking re-election.

Current city councilors Wayne Gallegos and Rudy Jaramillo have put their names in the hat for the mayor's race, along with Tibo Chavez Jr. and Arturo Sais.

Gallegos, a former City of Belen fire chief, was elected to the council in 2007, and is involved with the Valencia County Older Americans Program, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and the Belen Library Advisory Board.

Jaramillo, a local business owner, has served on the council for the past 10 years, and is a current board member of the Valencia County Chamber of Commerce and the city's lodger's tax board.

Chavez, a Belen native, is a local general practice attorney and was a University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus Advisory Board member in the '90s. He also served as president of the Belen Chamber of Commerce.

Sais, a retired social worker, is a former director of the New Mexico State Fire Academy and volunteers with the Friends of Rancho de Ninos. He is currently the municipal clerk for the Town of Peralta.

Two at-large positions are up for grabs in the Belen city council race with four candidates running in this year's election. Candidates are incumbants David Lopez and Terese "Tinky" Ulivarri, and newcomers Mary Aragon and Jerah Cordova.

Lopez, who is employed at Sandia National Laboratories, is involved in the Valencia County Head Start Program and is on the Belen Catholic Church Fiestas Committee.

Ulivarri, who retired from the New Mexico State Parks, is vice chair of the Rio Metro Regional Transit District and chair of the Water Board for the New Mexico Mid-Region Council of Governments.

Aragon is the wife of former Belen mayor Richard Aragon, who held the position from 1991 to 1998. She has been an employee with the Mid-Rio Grande Conservancy District for about 18 years. She is also a former member of the Belen Board of Education.

Cordova, a Belen resident and local journalist, is a member of Belen's MainStreet program and is the president of Our Tomorrow for a Better Belen, a local community advocacy group.

Steve P. Castillo, who filed the necessary paperwork Tuesday to run as a candidate for council, withdrew his name Thursday, Jan. 7, from the race.

"As far as I'm concerned, I was never in the race," Castillo said.

There are three candidates running for the position of municipal judge, including incumbent Kathy Savilla, Eleutero Roy Gonzales and Gilbert

Savilla, who is running for her third-term as municipal judge, is on the New Mexico Municipal Judicial Association and is on the New Mexico Municipal Judge's Advisory Board.

Garcia, who owns Gilbert Garcia and Son Security Center in Belen, served on the city council for 16 years from 1976 to 1999 and was a police officer from 1965 to 1970. He also taught ninth grade government in the Belen Schools for five years.

Eleutero Roy Gonzales. who was a Belen police officer for 21 years, is a Valencia County deputy sheriff and a school resource officer at Los Lunas Schools, stationed at Valencia High School. This is his first attempt at running for an elected office.

Three candidates will run for the position of mayor in the first official election since Louis Huning's retirement last April. Those running include Incumbent Mayor Robert Vialpando, Gene Sais and Frank Otero.

Vialpando, who has been a councilman for a total of 15 years and mayor since being appointed to the position after Huning's retirement last April, is officially running for the seat. Vialpando has owned and operated Vialpando Signs for more than 25 years.

Sais, of Main Street Muscle and Fitness Center, is also running for mayor. He ran for a council seat in the 1970s, the last time he's sought elected office.

Otero, who has been a member of the Los Lunas Board of Education for nearly three years, is also running for the seat. Otero retired from the New Mexico Department of Health after 27 years of service.

Dist. 2 Councilman Charles Griego is running for his eighth term in office. He has never run for any other position. Griego is the manager of Heritage Title Company in Los Lunas. He is running unopposed for the seat.

Richard Lovato is also running unopposed for the Dist. 4 council seat. Lovato, who is a retired civil engineer, was appointed to the council last year when Vialpando was appointed mayor. He was a Los Lunas School Board member for six years in the 1980s.

Two candidates registered to run for municipal judge in Los Lunas, including incumbent Jeff P. Aragon, who is seeking his third term in office. Prior to being elected judge, Aragon served on the village council for 12 years from 1986 to 1998.

Stephanie W. Williams, who is also running for municipal judge, has never run for political office. She owns a window distributing company in the village, and is a Real Estate investor. She is also a former substitute teacher for Los Lunas Schools.

In the county's northern-most village, four candidates will be competing for the two council seats in the upcoming municipal election. The two candidates who get the most votes will serve for the next four years.

The candidates seeking the council seats include incumbent William D. Kennedy, Kevin M. Boyd, Barbara J. Martinez-Keiser and Russell Walkup.

Boyd declared his candidacy, but did not return phone calls requesting information on his current occupation.

Martinez-Keiser is running for one of the two seats. She retired from the City of Albuquerque as the employee relations director, appointed by former mayor Martin Chavez.

Kennedy, who sells heavy duty truck and bus parts, is making a bid for his second term on the council. Prior to his first term, Kennedy served for two years on the village's planning and zoning commission.

Councilman Virgil Proctor, who currently sits on the council, did not file for candidacy on Tuesday.

Walkup, a database administrator for University Hospital, has been a member of the village's planning and zoning commission since 2007. Walkup ran unsuccessfully for council four years ago.

Two city council positions are up for election in the Town of Peralta, and the two incumbents are vying for the spots.

Michael Leon Otero is seeking a second term to the council. He owns and operates Joe's Pharmacy in Peralta.

Joseph K. Romero is also running for a second term in office. He works at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque.

Edward Connelly Archuleta, the former and first mayor of Peralta, did submit paperwork declaring his candidacy for council on Tuesday, but because he faxed it to the village clerk, rather than bringing it in person, his declaration is invalid.

Mary Andersen, the town's election clerk, said Archuleta came late in the day and was unable to get the necessary paperwork. She said that the county clerk's office offered to fax the paperwork, and did, but later said the paperwork had to be handed in by Archuleta.

Andersen said candidates aren't always informed that they need to provide the proper paperwork, and if they come in 10 minutes before deadline, they may be out of luck. She said Archuleta can file as a write-in candidate on Tuesday, Jan. 12.

During a phone interview Friday morning, Archuleta said he was unaware he needed an affidavit from the county clerk's office until late in the day.

"It was around 3 p.m. when I headed over there, but there was an unexpected meeting at work that delayed me," Archuleta said. "They agreed to accept a fax, but it didn't come through before the 5 o'clock deadline."

Archuleta said he hand delivered the affidavit after the 5 p.m. deadline, but was told it would be accepted.

"But the clerk called me the next day and said they couldn't accept it. They shouldn't have given me the affidavit late to begin with," he said.

Right now, Archuleta said he is undecided as to whether or not he will file as a write-in candidate on Tuesday.

"That is something we will be considering over the weekend," he said.

Archuleta served as the first mayor of the Town of Peralta after incorporation, but lost his re-election bid two years ago to Bryan Olguin, the current mayor.