Judge OKs recall petition process against Rio Arriba commissioner

Phaedra Haywood, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read
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May 6—A District Court judge has granted a Rio Arriba County man's request to circulate a petition seeking the recall of County Commissioner Alex Naranjo.

District Judge Marie Ward — a Bernalillo County judge assigned by the state Supreme Court to hear the case after most local judges recused themselves — issued the order in response to a petition filed by Antonio DeVargas, a La Madera man who testified at a hearing in March he'd worked to get DeVargas elected but was disappointed with his performance in office.

"Probable cause supports the allegation that Commissioner Naranjo violated the new Mexico Open Meetings Act by making a decision outside of an open public meeting to place a statue of Juan de Oñate in a public location," Ward wrote in her May 2 order.

DeVargas sought to gather signatures to remove Naranjo on the basis of multiple alleged acts of wrongdoing, contending Naranjo also perjured himself before a special grand jury empaneled to investigate alleged unlawful activities of the North Central Solid Waste Authority and deciding outside a commission meeting to hire the Rio Arriba County manager.

Ward found probable cause only for the petition move forward on the Open Meetings Act issue.

She wrote in her order replacing the statue of Oñate, the controversial Spanish conquistador was a "matter of public policy" and "the decision process should have been open to the public scrutiny regardless of who had authority to make the final decision."

The statue, which had been removed from public view in 2020, ultimately was not placed near the county government complex last year. But Jacob Johns, a Native American activist from Spokane, Wash., was shot during a demonstration following the cancelled installation. Ryan Martinez, 23, of Sandia Park is charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident and is being held in a Rio Arriba County jail awaiting trial.

DeVargas will need to gather about 3,634 signatures to force a recall vote in a special election.