A total of 59 candidates filed Tuesday, Aug. 24, for nearly 40 municipal offices, school board and soil and water conservation district boards and other elected positions in Las Cruces, along with a water works authority, a sanitation district and two watershed district boards in southern Doña Ana County.
“Every single person is to be admired for their willingness to step up,” County Clerk Amanda Lopez Askin told the Bulletin. “They want to be part of decision making in the community.”
The county clerk’s office will administer the election for all participating entities, Lopez Askin said, as they all opted into the Local Government Act passed by the New Mexico Legislature in 2019.
All races are nonpartisan, and all are for four-year terms, accepted as noted in the list below.
Only the races for Las Cruces City Council will have ranked-choice voting, Lopez Askin said. It will be applicable only in the District 5 race, because that is the only race in Las Cruces with more than two candidates.
Lopez Askin invited officials from each of the municipalities participating in the election (Las Cruces, Mesilla, Anthony, New Mexico, Sunland Park and Hatch) to be at the clerk’s office on filing day to answer questions from candidates in their communities.
Elections have “a lot of moving pieces,” Lopez Askin said. “We want to support candidates as much as we can.”
The order of candidates’ names for each race will be determined by an alphabet randomization conducted Jan. 15, 2021, by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office.
Candidates
Candidates who filed for offices in Doña Ana County on the Nov. 2 combined local election ballot (The deadline for write-in candidates to file for office is Aug. 31.):
Las Cruces City Council:
Town of Mesilla
Village of Hatch
City of Anthony
City of Sunland Park
Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education
Gadsden Independent School District Board of Education (Doña Ana and Otero counties)
Hatch Valley Public Schools Board of Education
Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
Caballo Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors (Sierra, Doña Ana and Luna counties)
Lower Rio Grande Public Water Works Authority Board of Directors
The authority “consists of 11 water systems … providing service to 15 colonias communities … south of Las Cruces from Brazito to north end of Anthony, Butterfield Park and Organ on the East Mesa, and Valle Del Rio and High Valley,” according to https://lrgauthority.org/about-us/.
Anthony Water and Sanitation District Board of Directors
The district was organized Jan. 30. 1978 to “promote the health, safety, prosperity, security and general welfare of the inhabitants of said district<’ according to https://www.awsd.us/.
La Union Watershed District Board of Directors
“A watershed is a land area from which precipitation runs off or infiltrates to a stream, river, lake,
or underground aquifer,” according to www.nmda.nmsu.edu.
The La Union Watershed District was established in January 2018 to prevent further flood damage after a dam located above the townsite ruptured in September 2013, according to https://sites.google.com/launionwatersheddistrict.org/launionwatersheddistrict/home. The district “is operated by five volunteer board members who own property within the water district,” which includes all the town-site area and some surrounding area, totaling 876.52 acres. The district operates under the guidance of the Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District.
McClead Watershed District Board of Supervisors
The district is part of the Caballo Soil and Water Conservation District.
Important dates
Tuesday, Aug. 24: Candidate filing day
Tuesday, Aug. 31: Write-in candidate filing day
Tuesday, Oct. 5: Voter registration (by mail and online) closes
Tuesday, Oct. 5: First day that absentee ballots can be mailed to voters who have submitted an absentee application; first day voters can cast ballots in person at the county clerk’s office
Saturday, Oct. 16: Additional early voting locations open throughout the county
Thursday, Oct. 28: Last day to request an absentee ballot
Saturday, Oct. 30: Last day of early voting
Tuesday, Nov. 2: Election Day at 40 voting locations across the county
Early voting at the county government building
Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd., Las Cruces (open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 5-29 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30; closed Monday, Oct. 11)
Alternate early voting locations (open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 16-30)
Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St., Las Cruces
Corbett Center Student Union, 1600 International Mall, NMSU, Las Cruces
Sonoma Elementary School, 4201 Northrise Drive, Las Cruces
Mesilla City Hall, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla, Mesilla
Anthony City Hall Municipal Complex, 820 Highway 478, Anthony, New Mexico
DACC-Sunland Park, 3365 McNutt Road, Sunland Park
Delores C. Wright Educational Center, 400 E. Lisa Drive, Chaparral
Hatch High School, 170 E. Herrera Road, Hatch
Election Day voting locations
Las Cruces:
Camino Real Middle School, 2961 N. Roadrunner Pkwy.
Corbett Center, NMSU
Desert Hills Elementary School, 280 N. Roadrunner Pkwy.
Doña Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd.
East Picacho Elementary School, 4450 N. Valley Drive
Fairacres Elementary School, 4501 W. Picacho Ave.
Frank O'Brien Papen Center (Mesilla Park Recreation Center), 304 W. Bell Ave., Mesilla Park
Good Samaritan Social Center, 3011 Buena Vida Circle
Jornada Elementary School, 3400 Elks Drive
Las Alturas Fire Station, 4145 Cholla Drive
Las Cruces High School, 1750 El Paseo Road
Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St.
Lynn Middle School, 950 S. Walnut St.
Mayfield High school, 1955 N. Valley Drive
New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road
Organ Mountain High School, 5700 Mesa Grande Drive
Sierra Middle School, 1700 Spruce St.
Sonoma Elementary School, 4201 Northrise Drive
Sunrise Elementary School, 5300 Holman Road
Tombaugh Elementary School, 226 Carver Road
University Hills Elementary school, 2005 S. Locust St.
Vista Middle School, 4465 Elks Drive
Mesilla:
Mesilla Elementary School, 2363 Calle Del Sur
Organ:
Organ Community Center, 5800 2nd St.
Southern Doña Ana County:
Anthony City Hall Municipal Complex, 820 Highway 478, Anthony, New Mexico
Gadsden Middle School, 1301 W. Washington St., Anthony, New Mexico
Berino Elementary School, 92 Shrode Road, Berino
Chaparral Middle School, 290 Lisa Drive, Chaparral
Del Cerro Community Center, 180 La Fe Ave., Vado
Desert View Elementary School, 1105 Valle Vista St., Sunland Park
La Mesa Volunteer Fire Department, 15765 Highway 28, La Mesa
La Union Elementary School, 875 Mercantile Ave., La Union
Mesquite Elementary School, 205 NM Hwy. 228, Mesquite
North Valley Elementary School, 300 Cascade Ave., San Miguel
Santa Teresa Middle School, 4800 McNutt Road, Santa Teresa
Northern Doña Ana County:
Doña Ana Community Center, 5745 Ledesma Drive, Doña Ana
Garfield Elementary School, 8820 Highway 187, Garfield
Hatch High School, 170 E Herrera Road, Hatch
Radium Springs Community Center, 12060 L.B. Lindbeck Road, Radium Springs
Rincon Fire Station, 255 Harlan St., Rincon
For more information
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