Nora Barraza

Voters in the Town of Mesilla replaced 12-year incumbent Mayor Michael Cadena today, electing Trustee Nora Barraza to lead the city out of its current budget deficit.

Cadena finished third in a three-way race, with 113 votes to Ella Nelson’s 324 votes and Barraza’s 488 votes, according to Town Clerk Juan Fuentes. The results are unofficial until a canvassing election that will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

“It was a lot of hard work, but it all paid off,” Barraza said this evening. “I know what the issues are and I’m just ready to move forward on them.”

Among Barraza’s top priorities, she said, are addressing the city’s budget deficit and improving communication between the mayor, the board of trustees, staff members, residents and business owners.

Cadena could not immediately be reached for comment.

Two seats on the Mesilla Board of Trustees were also up for grabs and were won by incumbent Jesus Caro and newcomer Linda Flores. Caro finished with 451 votes, Flores finished with 423, Kathleen Foreman finished with 314, Christopher Alexander finished with 231, Carolyn Dixon finished with 209 and Dennis Burn finished with 122.

Caro said he was pleased by his re-election and the victory by Barraza, who has been a trustee for 11 years and is the mayor pro-tem.

“I think that things are going to start looking up,” he said

Cadena had been dogged in recent years by some controversial incidents, including the firing of former Mesilla Marshal Angelo Vega. And in 2007, he was investigated by the district attorney’s office but not charged after a Friday-evening outing to the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in an unmarked police vehicle.

The vehicle Cadena drove to the casino is a seized vehicle that federal regulations state can’t be used for any purpose that’s not law-enforcement related. The vehicle’s siren blared when Cadena pulled up to the casino before he drove around other vehicles to the front of the valet-parking line.

And when police found Cadena in the facility 45 minutes after he arrived, he failed field sobriety tests and they refused to let him drive the vehicle home.

The district attorney said after investigating that there were no charges to pursue and no policies in Mesilla that prohibited what Cadena did.

“People just got tired of what was going on,” Caro said tonight of Cadena.

Barraza agreed.

“I think the town of Mesilla is ready for a change. Michael had been mayor for the last 12 years,” she said. “The residents were just ready for a change and ready to go in a new direction.”

Incumbent Mayor Michael Cadena is being challenged by Trustee Nora Barraza and former Trustee Ella Alvarez Nelson in the mayor’s race, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting. And, in a separate article, the newspaper reports that six people are vying for two trustee seats.

From the newspaper:

“Striking a balance between preserving Mesilla’s deep, historic roots while still allowing for business growth and prosperity is the most obvious challenge facing the town. Concerns have also surfaced about adequate communications between elected officials, town staff, Mesilla’s business community and, most of all, residents.”

Cadena has been mayor for 12 years. Nelson was a trustee for eight years, and Barraza has been a trustee for 11 years and is currently the mayor pro tem.

Trustees serve at-large, so the top two vote getters on Tuesday will win. From the Sun-News:

“All of the six (trustee) candidates entered in Tuesday’s municipal election – Chris Alexander, Dennis Burn, Jesus Caro, Carolyn Dixon, Linda Flores, and Kathleen Foreman – support preservation and keeping what has made Mesilla a nice place to live. But from there, opinions of how the town goes about addressing its future noticeably vary.

“Some staunchly support the principle that Mesilla’s historical significance should not be compromised by growth. Others want to be more business friendly to stimulate Mesilla’s sagging economy, where gross receipts taxes have fallen 26 percent in the past year. And there are those who aren’t opposed to that, but want to move more cautiously.”

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Mesilla Town Hall, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla.

This is, of course, a change from yesterday. But if you don’t like the weather forecast in New Mexico, just wait five minutes…

If you are up north, then you probably already have a white day-before-Christmas Eve. And that is causing problems, according to The Santa Fe New Mexican. But probably even more interesting from the New Mexican is its time trial between whether it is faster to take a car or the Rail Runner to get to the airport from the City Different. The results? You’ll just have to look. And don’t forget to see the video.

Meanwhile things aren’t so great out at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. The main tenant, the New Mexico Scorpions, just isn’t paying the bills. The minor league hockey team is causing the city of Rio Rancho to lose money — but not hope. So far, the proposed downtown area of Rio Rancho consists of just the Santa Ana Star Center and the Civic Center, which has the City Hall and will have Rep.-elect Ben Ray Lujan’s office and other venues.

The town of Mesilla is cutting the workweek of full-time employees from 40 hours to 32 hours in a cost-cutting measure.

Finally, break out the aluminum pole, get ready for the feats of strength and have a happy Festivus everyone.