Member with felony seeks reelection
State statue says he is ineligible to hold public office; candidate also says he has kidney failure
TAOS — Questa school board member Ellis Garcia, who faces three challengers in his bid for reelection Nov. 5, admitted during a recent candidate forum he has a 1992 felony conviction in Taos County for conspiracy to commit arson.
Garcia denied he’d broken any law since then. Court records show he was charged in 1995 with two counts each of rape and molestation of a minor. That case was dismissed in 1997 without prejudice — meaning the charges could be refiled — after prosecutors failed to notify Garcia of a target date for a grand jury hearing.
He was indicted again in 1998 on three counts of first-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13. According to court records, however, the charges were dismissed with prejudice in 2000 for violation of Garcia’s right to a speedy trial.
“No, I’m not withdrawing. I could die next week or tomorrow,” Garcia said in a phone interview last week with The Taos News about his campaign to retain his board seat in a race against Vivian Apodaca, Rebecca Griego and Cori Jenkins. “My kidneys are done. I’m going to live what life I have left to the fullest.”
Garcia was diagnosed with renal failure in June. He’s undergone dialysis three times a week since then and is on a waiting list for a kidney transplant.
But according to New Mexico statutes, Garcia, appointed to the board in 2017, is not eligible to serve.
The law states “a person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be permitted to hold an office of public trust for the state, a county, a municipality or a district, unless the person has presented the governor with a certificate verifying the completion of the sentence and been granted a pardon or certificate by the governor restoring the person’s full rights of citizenship.”
Ellis did not provide a letter of pardon or certificate from the governor regarding his felony conviction and eligibility to serve.
Residents of the school district are asking whether this nullifies actions approved by the board during Garcia’s tenure, such as a Sept. 17 decision to permanently close the tiny but high-performing Río Costilla Southwest Academy of Learning. The motion was approved 3-2 by a majority that included Garcia.
Secretary of State’s Office spokeswoman Alex Curtas said in email, “There are certain circumstances where a convicted felon may hold a public office in New Mexico if he/she meets the conditions of a qualified elector. The Office of the Secretary of State cannot say whether or not Mr. Garcia is ineligible to serve without knowing all of the facts surrounding his alleged conviction and the sentence which may have been imposed.
“All candidates who file for office are required to affirm to the filing officer, which in this case is the county clerk, that they ‘will be eligible and legally qualified to hold this office at the beginning of its term,’ ” Curtas added.
According to Curtas, the affidavit is made under oath, and any false statements made on it would be a felony.
A copy of Garcia’s candidate registration document from the Taos County Clerk’s Office shows he was only required to affirm his residence in the Questa district. The form doesn’t ask whether he had ever been convicted of a felony.
During a school board meeting last week, when other board members wrangled with the question of whether Garcia was serving illegally, the board also voted to publicly distribute a private investigator’s report that had been submitted to the state Attorney General’s Office, the Public Education
Department and the state Auditor’s Office, which detailed allegations by Garcia that he was offered bribes to vote against closing the Río Costilla Southwest Learning Academy open.
According to the report, Garcia accused fellow board member Tammy Jaramillo; her husband, Taos County Manager Brent Jaramillo; and former board President Bernie Torres of attempting to bribe him by offering financial assistance with his medical bills, as well as possible political favors.
In an interview last week, Brent and Tammy Jaramillo denied offering Garcia any kind of assistance in exchange for his vote. Both said they had given him two getwell cards, one containing $50 and the other containing $35. Tammy Jaramillo said she had offered to help Garcia organize fundraisers, including a bake sale and raffle, and helped him set up a GoFundMe site where online viewers could submit contributions.
Torres also denied trying to bribe Garcia. Though, he said he had tried to contact the board member to offer assistance with his medical care.
As a member of the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative’s board, Torres said, he has a discretionary account from which he can draw funds to help community members.
“I called Ellis. We talked about his medical issues,” Torres said. “I said I wanted to help him. I never said anything about giving him money in exchange for his vote. I tried to get in touch to see when I could drop off a contribution, but he didn’t respond to my texts, so we never connected and I didn’t actually give him the money.”
Torres acknowledged he had tried on several occasions to convince Garcia, as the potential swing vote on the board, to support keeping Río Costilla open. “A lot of us did,” Torres said. “But I never offered him anything in return. I’m not the kind of guy who operates like that.”
The Garcia controversy is just the latest for the tiny Questa school district, which is seeking its fifth superintendent in less than a year. The board voted last week to press ahead with plans to hire a new superintendent before the Nov. 5 election.
Cathy Gallegos, interim superintendent and Questa High School principal, reported that “more than 10” candidates had submitted applications for the position.
A version of this story first appeared in The Taos News, a sister publication of the Santa Fe New Mexican.