Judge is asked to order county to publish notice

Petition requests that part of Española be annexed into Rio Arriba County

SANTA FE — An Española man — with backing from Rio Arriba County — is asking a district judge to force Santa Fe County to publish a notice of a petition asking that the part of Española that lies within the boundaries of Santa Fe County be annexed into Rio Arriba County.

Doing so would pave the way for an election to be held to decide the matter.

George Martinez, who heads a group called Citizens for Accessible and Representative Government, in May turned in a petition to Santa Fe County that was signed by 717 people — roughly 53 percent of the more than 1,300 registered voters living in the affected area — agreeing that “it will be more convenient and economical for Rio Arriba County to render governmental services” than currently is the case.

Martinez included a document that showed that residents of the affected part of Española are generally within 5 miles and a 10-minute drive to the Rio Arriba

County Annex in Española compared to a more than 20-mile, 30-minute drive to Santa Fe.

While the Rio Arriba County seat is Tierra Amarilla, about 67 miles and more than an hour’s drive from Española, the county annex building houses the assessor, treasurer and health and human services offices.

But days before the deadline for Martinez to turn in the petition, Martinez was notified by Santa Fe County Attorney Greg Shaffer that the petition was legally defective because, citing state statute addressing annexation, it is not explained how “the location and condition of roads, or the existence or nonexistence of transportation facilities” created a hardship on the affected residents.

According to the lawsuit, Santa Fe County then “created a new filing procedure” for Martinez to properly file the petition. The County Commission also voted to deny the petition and to take no further action. Also, county officials have said that if such an election were held for the secession, all 90,000 county voters could cast ballots on the question, not just those in the affected area.

Meanwhile, Rio Arriba County commissioners passed a resolution supporting the “equitable distribution of tax revenue” from the area in question. The resolution states that Rio Arriba already provides people in the area with emergency management, health care, and solid waste services, among others.

Rio Arriba County officials also claim that annexing the approximately onequarter of the city of Española that lies within Santa Fe County would add approximately $1 million to the county coffers through property and gross receipt taxes.

Rio Arriba County officials told the Journal in June that while the county wasn’t pushing the annexation effort, they were supporting it. That appears to have changed since Rio Arriba County commissioners joined Martinez as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 23.

Rio Arriba County Attorney Adán Trujillo did not immediately return a phone message from the Journal on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Santa Fe County said its officials do not offer official comment on pending litigation.