Bassett questions Abraham's residency in Edgewood

At last week’s Town Council meeting, during public comments, a citizen challenged Councilor Sherry Abraham’s residency qualifications to continue serving as a Council member. The person in question stated that Abraham now lives in Albuquerque and no longer qualifies for service on the Edgewood board.

Abraham responded nonchalantly that she does in fact own a home in Albuquerque as well as maintaining a residence here in Edgewood. According to her, the home in Albuquerque is for purposes of looking after her elderly mother while the home in Edgewood is for purposes of maintaining her eligibility to serve as a Council member.

She then followed up with a statement that when I raised this same residency question with her back in 2019 that she had provided evidence of this unusual living arrangement to me and that I was satisfied with her explanation. Nothing could be further from the truth! Abraham does not live in Edgewood and hasn’t lived here since at least June of 2019 when she and her husband sold their property on Range Road.

Abraham failed to notify the Town of her change in residency status, we only found out when someone saw her home listed for sale on Zillow. When she was informed of our knowledge about her change in circumstances she responded with a series of ever changing explanations about living with her husband in an RV camper at Wildlife West, then moving the trailer to the Route 66 RV Park. Next came a casita at a friend’s house, but never a permanent Edgewood address.

Abraham inferred that somehow I had approved of or given consent to her new “living arrangements.” Not true, her evasive, misleading answers were so concerning that I gathered together the evidence that was available at that time. That information was turned over to the New Mexico Attorney General's office so they could investigate the matter.

Abraham’s lack of candor is in large part responsible for the mess that the Town’s governing body now finds itself in. After many months of her and Councilor Audrey Jaramillo using me as some kind of all-purpose boogeyman I was astounded to hear her try and use me as justification for her dubious living arrangements. It was beyond reprehensible, but for Abraham, par for the course.

As we heard at the meeting last week, more and more people are figuring out that Abraham no longer lives in Edgewood. It’s time for her to end the pretense that she is a legitimate Edgewood resident. Her sham arrangements for holding onto her position as a Town Councilor should be brought to an end.

John Bassett

Mayor, Town of Edgewood