New Mexico Independent » Las Cruces City Council

Las Cruces City Council to ‘revisit certain terms’ of manager’s contract

Heath Haussamen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:10:40 +0000

The Las Cruces City Council decided today to “revisit certain terms” of City Manager Terrence Moore’s contract at a later date and “offer further clarification where needed.”

That’s according to a news release sent out by the city moments after the Council’s closed session on issues surrounding Moore’s employment ended this evening.

“As a result of the meeting, it was agreed by all to, at a later time, revisit certain terms of Mr. Moore’s employment agreement with the City of Las Cruces, and offer further clarification where needed. Mr. Moore has agreed to this and will accept council direction as determined at the later meeting,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said in the release.

No other information about the personnel issue was made available. Moore had no immediate comment except to refer to the news release and direct questions to Miyagishima.

Moore has been under scrutiny lately for at least two issues that have been raised publicly. He recently reimbursed the city for some costs associated with two business trips he took last year — after a complaint was filed over one trip and an attorney requested documentation about the other.

And Moore had his administrative assistant babysit his children on Dec. 21 – while she was on the clock and being paid with public money – so he could attend a city council meeting.

Today’s meeting came after Councilor Dolores Connor pushed fellow councilors to schedule a private session to discuss the issues.

Las Cruces Council to discuss issues involving city manager

Heath Haussamen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:22:25 +0000

The Las Cruces City Council will meet in closed session today to discuss personnel issues involving City Manager Terrence Moore, including concerns that have recently been raised about his travel and an incident in which he had his administrative assistant babysit his kids.

The meeting comes after Councilor Dolores Connor pushed fellow councilors to schedule a private session.

And Moore had his administrative assistant babysit his children on Dec. 21 – while she was on the clock and being paid with public money – so he could attend a city council meeting.

Connor first asked for the closed session in November – before the babysitting incident – but Mayor Ken Miyagishima rejected her request, and the majority of councilors backed him up in refusing to schedule such a meeting.

Miyagishima suggested at the time that Connor meet with Moore individually.

“I don’t think that this rises to the need for any type of a closed meeting,” he said.

At last week’s meeting, Connor raised the issue again, during council comment at the end of the meeting. At that point, the mayor and two other councilors were no longer present.

“I am disappointed that I’ve been ignored on this subject, and I don’t think it’s something we can continue to ignore,” Connor said at last week’s meeting.

Mayor Pro Tem Sharon Thomas agreed, saying she was “also concerned.” The other councilors present, Miguel Silva and Olga Pedroza, also agreed.

Moore is scheduled to have a regular evaluation in February, but Connor said that’s not soon enough for the concerns she wants to discuss, and the other councilors present last week agreed.

Today’s meeting is at 4 p.m. in the council conference room at city hall.

NMI to liveblog election night in Las Cruces next week

Heath Haussamen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:57 +0000

Three city council seats are up for grabs in Las Cruces on Tuesday, and the New Mexico Independent plans to blog live as the results come in.

This comes on the heels of NMI’s liveblogging from last week’s special session of the Legislature – which was so popular that it has propelled NMI to its best month ever in terms of readership.

This is an important election in the state’s second-largest city. The question is whether progressives who took control of the council in 2007 will be able to keep their majority or will lose it.

The liveblog will begin at 6:30 p.m. Polls will close at 7 p.m., and we’ll start getting results sometime after that.

You can sign up for a reminder about the liveblog right here:

You should follow NMI on Twitter and become a fan of NMI on Facebook. Got a news tip? Want to pitch a story idea? Send us an e-mail.

Here are the finance reports for the LC City Council races

Heath Haussamen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:05:03 +0000

The Las Cruces City Council election is a week from today, and the first finance reports were filed late last week. We’ve got them here.

Click on a name below to view that candidate’s finance report. See anything you think is worth reporting on? E-mail tips@newmexicoindependent.com.

District 3 race

• Dolores C. Archuleta

• Olga Pedroza

District 5 race

• Gil Jones

• Gill M. Sorg

District 6 race

• James W. Harbison

• Sharon K. Thomas

You should follow NMI on Twitter and become a fan of NMI on Facebook. Got a news tip? Want to pitch a story idea? Send us an e-mail.

Las Cruces City Council candidate forum being held tonight

Heath Haussamen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:31:04 +0000

Las Cruces City Council candidates will participate in another forum this evening. The forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Munson Senior Center, 975 S. Mesquite Street in Las Cruces. All six council candidates are expected to attend. They’ll be asked questions that are submitted in writing by audience members.

There are six candidates vying for three seats on the council in the Nov. 3 election.

In the District 3 race, Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores C. Archuleta is being challenged by Olga Pedroza. In the District 5 race, Councilor Gil Jones is being challenged by Gill M. Sorg. In the District 6 race, Councilor Sharon K. Thomas is being challenged by James W. Harbison.

Absentee voting by mail is underway, and in-person absentee voting begins Wednesday.