Three sitting City Councilors will each face multiple challengers in the March 5 municipal election in Rio Rancho, setting up a potential shakeup on the Governing Body.
Incumbents Jim Owen (District 1) and Paul Wymer (District 4) will be up against two opponents in their re-election efforts, and Nicole Dahn List (District 6) has three challengers for the seat she was appointed to by Mayor Gregg Hull in August. All are seeking four-year terms on the Council.
The crowded field could result in another election in April. If none of the candidates receive more than 50% of the vote in their respective district races, the top two vote-getters will square off again in a runoff election on April 9.
District 1
In the March 5 election, Owen will face challengers Thomas N. Gentry III and Deborah S. Dapson.
Gentry has never run for office before, but he’s no stranger to politics. His dad served as village councilor and mayor in Corrales, where he grew up. A key accounting manager in pharmaceuticals, Gentry has made Rio Rancho home for 14 years.
Dapson has lived in District 1 for 15 years, according to her campaign website. She’s a business owner who says she’s concerned about growth in the area. She wants to work towards sustainable growth in the district and add more commercial property. The top three issues addressed on her website are sustainable growth, infrastructure and water conservation.
Owen, a former mayor of Rio Rancho, is seeking his third four-year term. He won a runoff election to join the City Council in 2016 and was reelected in 2020.
He is a former Intel site manager with more than 20 years of experience as a business owner, according to his bio on the city’s website. An Air Force veteran, Owen held positions in economic development, and in leadership roles with Rio Rancho Public Schools and the Chamber of Commerce.
District 4
Wymer was first elected to the City Council in District 4 in 2020. He and his wife first moved to Rio Rancho in 1984 and raised two successful children who attend Rio Rancho schools, according to his bio on the city’s website. He earned a degree in architecture from the University of New Mexico and is a licensed architect and has certification with the American Institute of Certified Planners.
He will meet opposition from Raymond Anthony Archibeque and Alexandria “Alex” Piland.
Archibeque, also known as “Archie,” has lived in Rio Rancho since 2021. He retired as a master gunnery sergeant after nearly 30 years in the U.S. Marines and calls himself a “seasoned leader.” He also has bachelor degrees in sociology and communications and a master’s degree in management and organizational development.
Piland is chair of the Democratic Party of Sandoval County. According to its website, she has 20 years experience as an organizer within the party. She describes herself as an educator, union organizer and activist. She’s a two-term president of the Sandoval County Federation of Democratic Women.
Poland ran for Sandoval County Commission in 2020, losing to Republican David Heil, 53% to 47%.
District 6
Another Democratic Party of Sandoval County official is looking to earn a seat on the Council. Aleta “Tweety” Suazo, second vice-chair of the organization, is running to unseat List in District 6.
Online reports say Suazo is originally from Acoma and Laguna Pueblos. She’s now a retired Albuquerque Public Schools administrator. She describes herself as a student activist and rights specialist with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute on her LinkedIn page. She was recognized by the New Mexico Federation of Democratic Women in 2020 and has served as chair of the state’s Native American Democratic Caucus.
Edward Lynn Paulsgrove is also on List’s list of competitors. His name may be familiar in that he was in the news a few years ago for sparking an investigation by the state Environmental Department into radioactive waste, arsenic and other chemicals contaminating the Rio West Brine Wells. A more than 20-year resident of Rio Rancho, Paulsgrove is a retired senior project manager with the regulatory division with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Chris J. Vanden-Heuvel is running for a Council seat for the second time. In 2016, he finished fourth in a four-way race in District 6.
List was appointed to the Council by Mayor Hull to fill the position when Stoddard stepped down in May of last year. According to the meeting minutes from Aug. 10, Owen and councilors Jeremy Lenentine and Karissa Culbreath supported Hull’s appointment, while councilors Bob Tyler and Wymer voted against it.
According to her bio on the city’s website, List has done social work at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho since 2014. She helps students with special needs and other things, it says, and is also a dance instructor at the school.
Bonds
Rio Rancho voters also have a choice whether to approve any of three general obligation bond questions to be paid off through property tax revenue.
One authorizes the city to issue up to $10.6 million in bonds for improving roads and utility infrastructure. Another asks whether $4.2 million in bonds should be issued for improvements to public safety facilities, vehicles, apparatus and equipment. The other calls for $1.2 million to be put toward “quality of life facilities” in the city.
How to vote:
Visit nmvote.org to register to vote. Voters who are Overseas Military or Overseas Citizens can request for an electronic absentee ballot by Saturday, March 2, by visiting FVAP.ORG. For same day registration, visit the Sandoval County Clerk’s Office at 1500 Idalia Rd. in Bernalillo.