A Democratic ward chairman has left the fold in Santa Fe to go to work for a Green candidate for the 3rd District Public Regulation Commission, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. Ward chairman Bernie Logue y Perea of Santa Fe decided to go to work for Green candidate Rick Lass.

Just when you thought the election in New Mexico couldn’t get any more interesting, the corruption trial of a former top Democrat, a former court official and other defendants has been scheduled a week before the Nov. 4 general election, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Former Metro Court administrator Toby Martinez, his wife Sandra Mata Martinez, engineer Raul Parra, former state Sen. Manny Aragon and contractor Michael Murphy are charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering. The trial is scheduled to last six to eight weeks.

Some Billy the Kid enthusiasts have sued current and former Lincoln County lawmen they say are withholding public records about DNA evidence collected during an investigation into events leading up to the Kid’s presumed death in 1881, the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has pulled ahead of Democratic nominee Barack Obama in San Juan County, the Farmington Daily Times reports. That doesn’t come as a complete surprise since that area of the state is a GOP stronghold.