Up to 10 on City Ballot

Santa Fe voters should know sometime in the next week which candidates are in the running for the March 1, 2016, municipal election.

City Clerk Yolanda Vigil tells SFR at presstime that she's still in the process of verifying signatures on nominating petitions submitted by eight candidates for four City Council seats and two people who want to run for municipal judge. She expects to have a verdict by Monday, Nov. 16, about who complied with city election rules that say candidates must obtain the signatures of one-half of 1 percent of the registered voters in their districts, or in the case of the judge, citywide.

With Councilor Patti Bushee stepping away from her long-held District 1 seat, nightclub partner Kathryn Kennedy, former city councilor Frank Montaño, and former Planning Commission member Renee Villarreal have submitted petitions to run. Marie Campos, whose home was drawn out of District 3, where she's been a repeat candidate, is also now seeking the District 1 seat. District 2 Councilor Peter Ives is facing no opposition, and Michael Harris is the only candidate to file a petition to take the seat that District 4 Councilor Bill Dimas is vacating. In District 3, Councilor Chris Rivera is seeking re-election, and former state deputy warden Donald Ramon Vigil wants to challenge him.

Municipal Judge Ann Yalman is not seeking re-election. Virginia Vigil, a former county commissioner, and Ignacio Gallegos, who served as an administrative law judge with the state Motor Vehicle Division, have filed petitions to get on the ballot for that job.

Voters within the city limits who are not registered have until Feb. 2 to get on the rolls with the county clerk.

Santa Fe Reporter