Vacant Farmington City Council seat adds 4 new applicants to crowded field of 10

Four more people have applied for the vacant District 2 seat on the Farmington City Council, bringing the total number of applicants for the position to 10.

The recent round of applicants includes Herman Buck, Brandon Ashley, Robert Fitz and Nathan Thompson, each of whom is seeking to complete the unexpired term of former City Councilor Sean Sharer, who resigned in December after moving out of the district.

Alexander Chambers, Charles Kittle, Olena Erickson, Richmond Brannen, Stewart Logan and Travis Johnson already had submitted applications through the city’s website for the vacant position.

Mayor Nate Duckett said he was pleased by the number of applicants and their qualifications. The last time a vacancy occurred on the council was in 2015, when nine people applied to complete the unexpired term of District 1 Councilor Dan Darnell, who resigned after relocating to Rio Rancho.

“It’s great to see people wanting to get involved,” Duckett said, adding that he had not been sure how many applicants to expect when the vacancy occurred.

Regardless of who winds up being chosen for the seat, Duckett said he is especially interested to see how many of those applicants file to run later as candidates for the seat in the next election. The term expires on Dec. 31, 2025.

The mayor said he takes the crowded field of applicants as evidence that Farmington citizens are interested in what their municipal government is doing and want to be involved in the decision-making process.

“Based on that number, it’s a very positive thing, and I feel like people are engaged with what’s going on,” he said.

Duckett said the application period will remain open through the end of the month. At that point, the city staff will collect the applications and vet them, making sure the applicants meet the legal qualifications for the office. After that, interviews will be set up with each of the applicants, he said.

Duckett said he hopes to nominate someone for the position at the March 26 City Council meeting. Councilors then would vote on whether to accept that nomination.

Meet the four new Farmington council applicants

Herman Buck, a Shiprock High School graduate, is the owner-operator of Punch’s Boxing Club. He also serves as a jail minister and is fluent in Navajo, as well as English.

In his application, Buck said he is seeking the District 2 seat to help the city in any way possible.

Brandon Ashley, a Farmington High School and Cornell graduate, serves as the director of the Native American Center at San Juan College. He said he has more than 17 years of experience working in Congress for U.S. Sens. John McCain, John Barrasso, John Hoeven and Lisa Murkowski, and for various federal agencies and commissions on water rights, public safety, community block grants, road infrastructure and Native American issues.

“The life experiences of growing up in our diverse community allowed me to be well-prepared for life in our nation’s capital,” Ashley wrote in his application, explaining why he was seeking the position. “I want to be part of our city’s history of culture and diversity.”

Robert Fitz, a Wisconsin native and U.S. Navy veteran, has an associate degree from New Mexico State University’s San Juan College campus and retired in 2023 as vice president of the Four Corners Home for Children. He also has owned his business and served as a safety coordinator for Conoco-Phillips.

In his application, Fitz wrote that his status as a retiree would give him the time to give something back to the community.

“I believe I have acquired skills and experience that would allow me to be an asset to the city I have called home for so many years,” he stated.

Nathan Thompson, a Montezuma-Cortez High School graduate from Cortez, Colorado, has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. He is a former newspaper reporter who spent the last 19 years teaching at the middle school and high school level, including the last 12 years at Rocinante High School in Farmington. He has served as a member of the city’s Public Utility Commission since 2020.

In his application, Thompson noted that he has one brother who has worked as a city manager, another who has served as a city councilor and county planning commissioner, and another brother who works for NASA. He said his background has prepared him well for public service.

“In short, I am as comfortable discussing policy with governors and senators as I am teaching physics, communications, and horticulture at Rocinante High School,” he wrote. I should also mention that I taught at Tibbetts Middle School for 8 years and know how to represent the needs of most of the families in District 2.”

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Farmington mayor looks to nominate new District 2 councilor March 26