2023 Las Cruces mayoral election results: Eric Enriquez wins in 6th round of ranked choice
Note to readers: We've made this story free as an important public service to our Las Cruces community. The Las Cruces Sun-News will be posting the results of the local elections as they are available. Check back at www.lcsun-news.com.
The race for Las Cruces mayor took six rounds of ranked choice voting to be determined.
Eric Enriquez took 52.32% of the vote in the sixth round of ranked choice voting to defeat current District 1 City Counselor Kasandra Gandara (47.68%), according to unofficial results around midnight on Wednesday.
Enriquez hosted a watch party at the Mesilla Valley Mall, where his campaign offices have been for the past few months. Enriquez was out and about talking with supporters and doing interviews Tuesday night. He said that nothing surprised him on the campaign trail. However, he said the kindness and openness from Las Cruces voters was a pleasant benefit of running for office.
The results will be certified by the State Board of Canvass on Nov. 28.
Understanding ranked choice: Las Cruces elections 2023
The Las Cruces mayoral race consisted of seven candidates, who were vying to replace long-time Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who did not run for a new term. The contest was Las Cruces' second mayoral election using ranked-choice voting, sometimes called instant run-off voting.
Due to legislation that was passed in January and took effect in June, the absent voter election board recesses at 11 p.m. on election night if not all absentee votes are counted and resumes to count votes if needed from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on each subsequent day. In previous years, the Election Board would not adjourn until all votes were counted.
However, in an email sent by Doña Ana County Clerk, Dr. Amanda López Askin just prior to midnight, "Approximately 20 Ranked Choice Voting Ballots remain to be tabulated. Due to the public’s interest in the results of the specific City of Las Cruces ranked-choice voting races, our office has completed the RCV tabulation and transmitted those results to the Secretary of State. The remaining ballots will be processed and tabulated on Wednesday."
At 10:30 p.m., there were still over 100 absentee votes remaining, according to the Clerk's office. The County had 2,737 absentee votes accepted.
Enriquez and Gandara jumped out to a sizeable early lead that held throughout the night.
Isabella Solis was third in the mayoral election, receiving 20.77% in the fifth round. Mike Tellez was fourth, receiving 9.4% in the fourth round. Mariah Hernandez was fifth, receiving 2.83% in the third round. Gina Montoya was sixth and Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez was eliminated in the first round with 2.29%.
Follow here after polls close: 2023 Las Cruces local election results
Original story
Candidates for mayor varied in experience
Gandara, a long-time social worker and current mayor pro tem of the Las Cruces City Council, representing District 1. If elected, Gandara would be the first woman to hold the office of mayor in Las Cruces' history.
Enriquez, also a candidate, is a long-time firefighter and city administrator. Enriquez completed the fire academy in 1997, and about six years later, in 2003, Enriquez earned certification from the police department to become a fire inspector. In 2009, Enriquez moved to Hobbs to become fire marshal. In 2016, Enriquez returned to Las Cruces and became chief of the Las Cruces Fire Department, and in November 2020, Enriquez became assistant city manager.
Solis worked with the Federal Emergency management Agency (FEMA) at the time and was involved in recovery efforts following major flooding in Hatch. She worked part-time at the Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority before running for Doña Ana County Commissioner for District 4 in 2016.
Gina Ortega, two-time mayor hopeful and Doña Ana County Assessor, is running a third time to become Mayor of Las Cruces. She's ran against all but two of the candidates in previous bouts. This time, Ortega said she's running because she stands against what many of the other candidates stand for.
Mike Tellez is running for Las Cruces mayor for the second time, and he says his platform hasn't changed since he finished third in the 2019 election.
"When I ran four years ago, it's crazy because my platform hasn't changed," said Tellez, 66, during a recent interview with the Sun-News inside of the Dream Center, a faith-based community center he established in 2000. "Mental health and substance abuse. We need to get a facility to help treat that. We still don't have that. We still don't have a plan for the homeless."
Alexander Paige Baca Fresquez will be on the ballot with hopes of becoming mayor of Las Cruces for a second time. Fresquez, 35, was born and raised in Las Cruces and graduated from Mayfield High in 2006. He is a craftsman who, for the last few years, has worked as a sawmill operator. Environmental action is a large portion of Fresquez’s platform, as well as public housing and meeting the needs of the people of Las Cruces.
Mariah Hernandez has never ran for an elected position. Hernandez grew up in Grants and said she moved to Las Cruces 20 years ago. Hernandez, 40, met her husband, Jesse Hernandez in Las Cruces and they currently make their living in real estate.
Got an Election Day tip? Email us at news@lcsun-news.com.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Eric Enriquez wins 2023 Las Cruces mayoral election
