Local candidates getting ready to declare for election

As summer is winding down, election season is picking up speed.

Races for 10 nonpartisan boards are on the books for the Regular Local Election in November, and the filing day for candidates is only weeks away.

The local races range from municipal seats to boards of education to special districts. Most of the races are fairly straight forward, but some are a little complex.

Eligible candidates can file to run for the open seats from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Valencia County Clerk’s Office, 444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas. Candidates will be notified by Friday, Aug. 29, whether they are qualified to run and their names will be placed on the November ballot.

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If a would-be candidate misses the chance to file, they can file as a write-in candidate at the clerk’s office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 2.

That is also the last day for a candidate to withdraw from a race.

City of Belen

In Belen, the mayor’s seat, held by Robert Noblin; two council positions, held by Frank Ortega and Steven Holdman; and the municipal judge’s seat, currently held by Keith Norwood, will be on the ballot.

The Belen City Council positions are all at large, so there are no districted races in the Hub City.

Village of Los Lunas

The village of Los Lunas has three council seats up for election this year in Districts 1, 3 and 4. The District 1 seat is held by Christopher Ortiz, District 3 by Cruz Munoz and District 4 by James Runyon.

Village of Bosque Farms

In Bosque Farms, two at-large council positions will be on the ballot.

They are currently held by Michael Cheromiah and Tim Baughman.

Town of Peralta

The mayor’s seat, two council positions and the municipal judge’s seat are up for election in Peralta.

Bryan Olguin is the current mayor, and Claudio Moya and Randy Smith hold the council positions, which are at large. Tracy Aragon is the current municipal judge.

City of Rio Communities

In Rio Communities, the mayor’s position, two council seats and the municipal judge position are up for election.

Joshua Ramsell is the current mayor, and the councilors are Arthur Apodaca and Lawrence Gordon.

Victor Williams, the current municipal judge, was just appointed on July 14 and sworn into office on July 30.

Williams took the position after former municipal judge Helen Smith resigned in November 2024.

Belen Board of Education

There are three seats on the Belen Board of Education this year.

District 4, held by Jim Danner and District 5, held by Larry Garley, were slated to be on the ballot this year, but the District 1 seat, held by Joanne Silva, was not.

The District 1 position was on the 2023 ballot, but no one filed to run for the seat. A week later, Orlando Santillanes filed as a write-in candidate and ran for the seat unopposed.

However, because he did not receive 100 votes, or 10 percent of the ballots cast in the race as required by state law, a certificate of election could not be issued to Santillanes by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office and he was not elected to the seat.

Instead, the board had to go through the appointment process — ultimately selecting Silva — which puts the District 1 seat back on the ballot this year.

Los Lunas Board of Education

There are an unprecedented four seats on the ballot for the Los Lunas Board of Education — Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5.

The District 3 and 5 seats, held by Dave Vickers and Bruce Bennett, respectively, were due to appear on the ballot this year.

The District 1 and 2 seats are up due to the recent resignations of board members and appointments.

Justin Talley resigned from his District 1 seat earlier this year and Frank Otero was appointed to serve until the next election.

Monica Otero resigned from the District 2 seat in July 2024 and was replaced by Sonya C’Moya.

University of New Mexico-Valencia Advisory Board

There will be two at large positions on the University of New Mexico-Valencia Advisory board this year — Position 1, held by Eloisa Tabet, and Position 4, held by Roberta Scott.

Scott previously held the Position 4 seat, but lost her bid to hold on to her seat in 2021 to Joleen Chavez, who resigned from the board in August 2024. Scott was appointed to the position in March.

The seat was slated to be on this ballot whether an appointee held it or not.

Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District

There are three seats up on the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District board of supervisors — Seats 2, 3 and 4 — which are currently held by Eugene Pickett, Teresa Smith de Cherif and James Fischer.

Valencia County Arroyo Flood Control District

All five seats on the board of directors for the newest government agency in Valencia County will appear on the ballot in November.

The Valencia County Arroyo Flood Control District, which was approved by voters in November 2024, has a board of directors who were appointed earlier this year by a district court judge as part of its formation.

The current board members are Wayne Gallegos, David Gardner, Danny Goodson, Michael Montoya and Teresa Smith de Cherif.

The positions are all at large, meaning candidates can live anywhere in Valencia County.

While the positions are ultimately six-year terms, the initial group of candidates who take office in January will not serve six years.

At the first organizational meeting after the November election, the newly-elected board members are required by law to draw lots to determine staggered initial terms. Two members will serve two-year terms, two will serve four-years and one will serve a six-year term.

Since the drawing of lots happens after the election, candidates who file to run later this month will not be able to choose to run for a specific term length.