The town of Mancos will likely cancel its municipal election this spring, because the same number of petitions for seats on the ballot as vacancies on the Board of Trustees were submitted.
The election was set for April 7, with four Town Board seats up for election. But only four people submitted petitions by the deadline, and staff members are asking the board to cancel the Mancos municipal election.
“A regular municipal election may be canceled if there are not more candidates than offices to be filled at the close of business on the 64th day before the election AND if we did not receive any affidavits of intent for write in candidates,” Town Administrator Heather Alvarez wrote in a staff report, citing the town’s municipal code.
The one new board member is Janice Bryan, with the remaining open seats held by incumbent Mayor Ellen “Queenie” Barz, and trustees Ed Hallam and Cindy Simpson.
Currently, the seven-member board includes Mayor Barz, Mayor Pro Tem Fred Brooks, and trustees Hallam, Simpson, Craig Benally, Betsy Harrison, and Brent McWhirter.
The terms for Barz, Benally, Hallam, and Simpson are up this spring, and none of them are term-limited, according to Alvarez. However, Benally did not submit an election petition.
Interested candidates had until Jan. 27 to circulate petitions and obtain signatures, in order to be placed on the ballot. And since no additional candidates or affidavits of intent for write-in candidates were submitted by Feb. 3 – the 64th day before the regular municipal election – the town can cancel the event, according to town code.
“As of 5:00 p.m. on February 3, 2020, we received no affidavits of intent for write in candidates,” Alvarez wrote. “Also as of 5:00 p.m. that day, we received one qualified petition for Mayor and three qualified petitions for Trustee positions.”
Barz is set to retain her position as mayor. In Mancos, the mayor is elected as a separate office, while the mayor pro tem is chosen by the board after the election, according to Alvarez.
A resolution officially canceling the election will be up for a vote at the Town Board meeting Feb. 12. New trustees are scheduled to be sworn in at the April 8 meeting.
ealvero@the-journal.com