Sandoval County GOP: Chairman steps down as election nears, cites health
With less than four months remaining before the Nov. 4 general election, the chairman of the Republican Party of Sandoval County has stepped down.
Richard Gibbs told other members of the party's executive committee Saturday that health issues forced his decision to step down, according to a story in the Sandoval County Online Reporting Enterprise, or SCORE. Gibbs, of Cedar Crest, did not return a phone call Tuesday to the New Mexico Independent, nor did Allen Weh, chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico.
Gibbs may be best remembered for his comments about Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap in 2004. Dunlap raised the ire of many Republicans when she began issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. The county party voted to censure her, prompting this quote from Chairman Gibbs:
"Other than assassination, all we can do is censure her."
An attempt to replace Gibbs at Saturday's meeting failed, according to party First Vice-Chair Mary Kwapich. While Gibbs and other members of the executive committee wanted to appoint Todd Hathorne, Kwapich and another member blocked the move, saying there hadn't been adequate public notice. Hathorne is vice-chairman of the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission and a former candidate for Rio Rancho City Council. He could not be reached Tuesday and did not return a phone call from the Independent.
That left Kwapich, of Placitas, with the gavel, though she had already given notice of her plans to step down to campaign for her bid to become Sandoval County Clerk. "It just takes a lot of work" to run the party meetings, Kwapich said. "I just don't have the time."
Election of a new chairman and vice-chairman are on the committee's agenda for Aug. 9, Kwapich said. State party rules would allow Gibbs to show up at the meeting and appoint whomever he wanted, she said, which means Hathorne could end up holding the county GOP reins. But if Gibbs doesn't attend the meeting, nominations for the two open seats will be taken from the floor, she said.
The new leaders will then have less than three months to prepare for what could be an election official to the New Mexico GOP. Sandoval County is home to the third-largest city in the state, Rio Rancho, which leans Republican, but the county itself has supported a mix of candidates from both major parties. In 2006, for example, Sandoval County voters gave Democrat Patricia Madrid a slight advantage over incumbent Republican Rep. Heather Wilson. Two years earlier county voters went for President Bush over Democratic challenger John Kerry.
Kwapich said she doubts the Sandoval County Republicans will miss a beat because of the leadership turmoil. "It won't make any difference," she said, because the party's biggest job is just making sure its members get out and vote on Election Day, and other officials can do that.
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