Posted inElections & Politics, Rio Rancho, The 528 Rio Rancho

A possible first for Rio Rancho: If Wymer wins mayor’s race, how will his council seat be filled?

If City Councilor Paul Wymer wins the April 14 runoff election for mayor, Rio Rancho will face a vacancy-filling process that has never occurred in the city’s history — and the city’s charter has a detailed roadmap for how it would work. Wymer, who led Tuesday’s six-candidate primary with 45% of the vote, advanced to […]

Posted inThe Paper.

Albuquerque’s Mayor said arrests were “Not the solution” to homelessness. Yet jail bookings have skyrocketed.

By Nicole Santa Cruz and Ruth Talbot, ProPublica, photography by Ramsay de Give for ProPublica — During his reelection campaign last fall, the mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, criticized his challenger for suggesting the city should get tougher on the homeless population. Such an approach would be cruel, Tim Keller said during a televised debate […]

Posted inElections & Politics, Rio Rancho, The 528 Rio Rancho

Wymer, Piland advance to runoff in Rio Rancho mayoral race

City Councilor Paul Wymer and former Sandoval County Democratic Party chair Alexandria Piland will face each other in a runoff election April 14 after neither captured a majority in Tuesday’s six-candidate Rio Rancho mayoral election, unofficial results show. With all 114 precincts fully reporting and 13,746 total votes cast, Wymer led the field with 6,237 […]

Posted inElections & Politics, Rio Rancho

Election results: Mayoral race headed to runoff

Rio Rancho voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide who will succeed Mayor Gregg Hull in New Mexico’s third-largest city, but no candidate cleared the required majority threshold in the six-person mayoral race, forcing a runoff election between City Councilor Paul Wymer and former Democratic Party of Sandoval County chair Alexandria Piland. Under Rio […]

Posted inElections & Politics, Sandoval Signpost, Town of Bernalillo

Torres wins fifth term as Bernalillo mayor; voters approve economic development tax

Jack Torres won a fifth term as mayor of the Town of Bernalillo on Tuesday, defeating challenger James Baca in a municipal election that also asked voters to decide on a new economic development tax. With all precincts reporting at least some results as of 9 p.m., Torres defeated Baca by a vote of 605 […]

Posted inLocal Government

Albuquerque councilors propose tax hike to raise over $100 million for new projects, staff pay

By Jesse Jones — A new proposed City Council ordinance, O-26-16, known as the Community Enhancement Municipal Gross Receipts Tax and sponsored by Councilors Joaquín Baca and Brook Bassan and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration, would raise the city’s gross receipts tax (GRT), a local sales tax on goods and services, by .4875% — generating an […]

Posted inBernalillo County, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Government

Photos: On his birthday, hundreds honor a life of service for BCSO sergeant

Hundreds gathered Monday, March 2, on what would have been his birthday at the Rio Rancho Events Center to honor Sgt. Michael Barrett Schlattman, a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputy, died in the line of duty on Feb. 23 at age 52. Schlattman joined BCSO in 2012 and was promoted to sergeant in July […]

Posted inElections & Politics, Sandoval Signpost, Town of Bernalillo

‘Countdown to victory’: Bernalillo election heats up midday

Election day in the Town of Bernalillo arrived with voters needing to make decisions on keeping or changing the mayor and whether new economic development efforts should get tax dollars. Town Clerk/Administrator Ida Fierro told the Sandoval Signpost 450 voters cast early ballots in this election, up from 300 two years ago. On Tuesday, she […]