​Early Voting Now Underway for Seats on Española and Mesa Vista School Boards

By Jake Arnold
 
The odd-number year "local elections" (some city councils, school boards, and conservation districts statewide) are scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, but early voting for those contests is now underway at two Rio Arriba County locations--the Rio Arriba county clerk's "warehouse" facility on Calle Don Diego in downtown Española (near the Plaza, Convento and Bond House Museum) and the county clerk's office in Tierra Amarilla. 
 
Several other early voting locations will be open for those wishing to cast ballots before the actual election beginning October 21 and October 24, depending on the location:
 
Hernandez Community Center (10/21)
 
Jicarilla Apache Tribal Building in Dulce (10/24)
 
Ohkay Owingeh Senior Center (10/24)
 
Santa Clara Pueblo Senior Citizens Building (10/21)
 
The last day for early voting at all these locations is Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
 
The Mesa Vista school district covers portions of Rio Arriba and Taos Counties.
 
The Espanola school district covers portions of Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties.
 
Information regarding early-voting locations for voters residing in those counties is available from the respective county clerks of those counties.
 
Two candidates are vying for an Española Board (members elected according to a specific geographic district) seat for the Abiquiu/Medanales/Hernandez area:
 
Incumbent Jeremy Maestas and challenger Dale T. Salazar.
 
Maestas is the Rio Arriba County manager and has previously held a variety of appointive, administrative positions in county and City of Española governments. The county commissioners appointed Maestas county manager after they dismissed former county manager Lucia Sanchez, a political ally of Rio Arriba Sheriff Billy Merrifield, earlier this year.
 
Salazar’s previous run for elective office was opposing Alex Naranjo for a seat on the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners in 2022.  In that election Salazar received a remarkable number of votes as a write-in candidate, but lost to Naranjo 1,127 (31%) to 2,507 (69%) in the general election.  Salazar was the campaign manager for Merrifield in his successful race to fill a vacancy in that office in 2022.  
 
In compliance with recent changes in state statues regulating these add-year local elections, the Mesa Vista School Baird ballot has a new format never utilized previously.
All Mesa Vista School Board seats are now “at large” districtwide and candidates do not run for a specific at-large “position” as in the past.  Three at-large seats are up for election this year and five candidates are seeking those seats.   
 
The ballot for those seats allows a voter to cast votes for three candidates (or just one or two if that should be the voter’s preference—no “ranked choice” order of preference selection is included on this ballot).  The top three candidates receiving votes are then elected.
 
Some incumbent Mesa Vista board members, whose terms are expiring, are not seeking reelection.
 
The five candidates seeking those three Mesa Vista eats are:
 
Anthony Xavier Vigil of El Rito (incumbent Mesa Vista School Board president)
 
Edwin J. Gurule of Tres Piedras (longtime Mesa Vista school bus driver)
 
John Garcia of Ojo Caliente (former board member defeated for reelection a few years back)
 
Juan J. Manzanares of La Madera
 
Daniella Irene Gallegos of El Rito
 
Both the Espanola and Mesa Vista ballots also include questions asking voters to approve or reject proposed the issuance of general obligation property tax bonds.
 
Also on the ballot are Chama Valley and Dulce school board seats as well as seats on two soil & water conservation districts covering portions of Rio Arriba County.
 
A complete list of all statewide local offices up for election this November is available at one of NM Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s official website pages.