BernCo sets new rules for filling vacancies

It’s a process that has sparked fiery debate and led to ethics complaints against multiple elected officials.

The Bernalillo County Commission is responsible for filling vacancies in the New Mexico Legislature when a lawmaker from a local district resigns, dies or otherwise leaves office before finishing a term. While it’s not a routine event, the commission has made 13 such appointments since 2015, and recent cases have triggered in-fighting about the proper way to make those decisions.

With those battles still fresh, the commission voted earlier this month to overhaul its process.

The county’s newly approved policy requires that the county advertise when a legislative vacancy occurs, accepting applications from wouldbe replacements for at least 15 days. It must make public the names/resumes of applicants at least five business days prior to the commission’s appointment vote. (It allows an accelerated process when the seat empties immediately before or during a legislative session.)

Recent appointments have occurred after shorter application windows and without any formal pre-meeting release of applicant names.

In pitching the new policy, Commissioner Eric Olivas described feeling disheartened by how the county handled its most recent appointment to House District 16. He said the community did not even know who was up for the position, saying he was fielding questions on the eve of the vote from citizens simply trying to find out who was being considered. Olivas said the public deserves more notice than it has been getting during the county’s process.

“When we make a legislative appointment, we are making an appointment in lieu of an election,” Olivas said. “(It is) five of us selecting someone to represent, in some cases, tens of thousands of voters who have not had an opportunity to choose their representation.”

His legislation rescinded and replaced a policy Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada sponsored in late 2022. Quezada’s policy aimed to expedite the selection process, requiring the commission to make appointments within 10 business days of a seat becoming vacant.

Quezada argued against Olivas’ updated policy during a meeting earlier this month, contending that the public suffers more with a longer selection process because a legislative district should never go un-represented, even in the 10-11 months of the year when it is out of session. He also argued that repealing his 10-day deadline for appointments could allow time for “special interest groups” to start lobbying for candidates.

“I am the one who changed the policy (last year) to really take politics out of our appointment,” he said. “Our job is to appoint somebody instantly.”

Other commissioners disagreed, saying the new policy brought more transparency.

Everyone but Quezada voted for Olivas’ proposal, including Walt Benson, who first convinced Olivas the policy should include a deadline. Olivas added language requiring the commission to make appointments within 45 days of the vacancy.

PILLAR TALK: The late Ken Sanchez already has a fire station and public meeting chambers named after him.

Now a piece of Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza may also bear his name.

Albuquerque City Councilor Klarissa Peña has proposed naming a pillar next to the plaza’s auxiliary stage after the former city councilor and Bernalillo County commissioner. Peña wants to call it the “Ken Sanchez Pillar of the Community.”

Civic Plaza’s auxiliary stage hosts the Angel Tree lighting celebration, an annual event to honor local children lost to violence or abuse, according to legislation Peña recently filed. Sanchez had sponsored the first such lighting with Guardians of the Children in 2016 and subsequent versions until he died in 2020.

Civic Plaza itself is already named after former Albuquerque mayor Harry E. Kinney, while its main stage and attached buildings are named after the late Al Hurricane Sr., a wellknown Albuquerque musician.

Sanchez, meanwhile, has his name on the Bernalillo County Commission meeting chambers and a West Side Albuquerque fire station.