One of the duties of the Española mayor is to be the defendant in any litigation against the city.
Alice Lucero, Robert Seeds and Peggy Martinez are all vying for the mayor’s office, but they have more than just that in common — all three are also familiar with city litigation outside their duties on the City Council.
Martinez won a settlement from the city in 1980 after a 1974 incident at the Lucero Center forced doctors to amputate two of her toes.
A previous report states a teenage Martinez was playing basketball at the Lucero Center when a volleyball standard fell on her foot. Martinez said doctors amputated the toes when her injured foot developed gangrene.
The report states Martinez’s mother, Priscilla Sanchez, filed a lawsuit against the city, the Española Municipal School District, standard manufacturer Alco Manufacturing Co., and standard dealer Tiano Sporting Goods. Martinez said she received a settlement “in the neighborhood” of $270,000.
“I did get a little money out of it,” she said. “I’m not going to lie.”
Lucero lawsuit
Martinez isn’t the only one who’s received a “little money” thanks to litigation against the city.
Previous reports state Lucero sued the city and Richard Lucero after the former mayor terminated her as the acting city manager in 1998. Alice Lucero successfully negotiated a $32,000 settlement from the city for 400 hours of unpaid leave and firing her without cause.
Seeds’ legal fees
Seeds also found himself on the other side of litigation when the city joined a 2004 lawsuit against him to overturn a 1995 zoning exception that allowed him to operate his towing business out of his house.
Previous reports state District Judge Timothy Garcia sided with Seeds and ordered the city to pay $10,575 for Seeds’ legal fees.
In an example of the changing times, Alice Lucero, then a councilor, was key in negotiating an agreement between the Council and Seeds that had the city drop its appeal of Garcia’s ruling in exchange for Seeds withdrawing his requests that the judge levy additional fines against the city.
One of the Councilors supportive of the zoning overturn and against paying Seeds’ legal fees was future Alice Lucero ally, Pedro Valdez.
Marquez prone
to dismissals
District 3 City Council candidate Leo Marquez has had several court appearances, but the outcomes have left his criminal record relatively spotless.
Court documents state some of the major case dismissals Marquez has been a part of include:
• A 1997 federal lawsuit alleging that Marquez, then a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy, sexually assaulted and raped a woman. State Federal Judge John Edwards Conway ruled the woman did not have enough evidence to prove her claim and dismissed the suit.
• A 2009 charge against Marquez alleging battery against a household member filed in Bernalillo Magistrate Court. Six months after the complaint was filed, Magistrate Judge Delilah Montaño-Baca ordered to dismiss the case.
• A 2013 case where Marquez was charged with DWI. Magistrate Judge Pat Casados granted Marquez’s motion for dismissal after the State Police officer that arrested Marquez failed to appear in court on time.
While Marquez’s felony record remains clean, his financial record isn’t so spotless.
Previous reports state Marquez’s car dealership was sent into foreclosure in 2006 after the Los Alamos National Bank filed a suit in district court alleging Marquez hadn’t paid his loan since 2003.
Ortiz accused
of abuse
Amidst a messy divorce, District 2 City Council candidate Wray Ortiz was accused of hitting one of his two children, according to court documents.
Shortly before their divorce, attorney Susan Schaefer McDevitt filed a Jan. 30, 2012 objection on behalf of Delilah Ortiz, Wray Ortiz’s wife, stating Delilah Ortiz’s disagreement with a priority consultation and recommending the Ortizes share joint custody.
Delilah Ortiz’s first reason for opposing joint custody was laid out on the top of the page.
“On the weekend of Jan. 27, 2012, Respondent/Father “smacked” the parties’ son hitting him on the head,” the objection states. “Respondent is unable to control his anger.”
Despite the allegations, online court records do not show any criminal charges were filed against Wray Ortiz.
District Judge Sarah Singleton ordered the priority consultation recommendation of joint custody Feb. 8, 2012, with a condition that neither parent use corporal punishment with the children.
Even with Wray Ortiz and Delilah Ortiz’s divorce finalized March 26, 2012, the two parents have spent the past two years submitting complaints, objections and letters to the courts over their custody dispute.
Ortiz’s name was recently removed from the ballot because of questions surrounding his residency, so one particular piece of evidence in his divorce case stands out.
In an Aug. 13, 2013 objection to a priority consultation regarding which school district her and Wray Ortiz’s children would be enrolled in, Delilah Ortiz included a printout of a text detailing Wray Ortiz’s idea to help get their children into the Pojoaque School District.
“Know I’m doing everything within my power to get them enrolled ASAP,” Wray Ortiz wrote in a July 29, 2013 text message. “Worse (sic) case I can use Eric’s or Eddies (sic) address but not sure how you would feel about that.”
Wray Ortiz did not return a request for comment.
The disagreement between the Ortizes is still ongoing — they’re both due back in court March 11, 2014 for an advisory consultation.
Contractor sues
Edmonds
Part of District 1 City Council candidate Nelson Edmonds’ duties, if elected, will be to consider bids and requests for proposal. However, a Los Alamos contractor sued Edmonds for a construction bid he felt went unpaid.
Contractor Michael Harrison filed a suit against Edmonds Jan. 15, 2011 alleging Edmonds hired him to renovate his house and refused to pay him for the work he did after Edmonds unexpectedly terminated him.
In a letter attached to the lawsuit, Harrison wrote their high school friendship led to their initial agreement on Sept. 29, 2009.
“Nelson Edmonds and I went to school together and new (sic) each other for quite some time,” he wrote. “When the bidding process started he had given me a possible budget for all work to be completed. At the time I did need a job so I conformed the amount of work to the given budget. Which essentially means that Nelson Edmonds got a really good deal. I was fine with that, we were friends and I needed the work.”
After three months on the job starting in April 2009, Harrison wrote things took a turn for the worse.
“I took a personal loan from my family to help supplement the project,” he wrote. “Then after I spent $5,692 out of my pocket, essentially I was let go by Nelson Edmonds. He’s enjoyed his remodeled house for almost a year. I still have not been paid.”
In total, Harrison wanted $23,080 for the work he did, the supplies he bought and the subcontractor’s fees.
Despite pages full of receipts, drawings and forms, District Judge Barbara Vigil granted Edmonds’ motion for dismissal April 19, 2011.
In her ruling, Vigil cited Harrison’s lack of clear labeling of his evidence and his failure to stipulate the connection between Stewart’s Builders and MH Builders, LLC, which he alternated between when listing his contracting company.
Edmonds declined to comment.
Four Foreclosures for Chacon
District 2 City Council candidate Phillip Chacon first got onto the city’s radar when his North McCurdy Road trailer park development was denied by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council in 2010, despite his site plan review meeting city criteria and the conditions of approval.
After appealing the Council’s decision in Santa Fe District Court, Judge Barbara Vigil sided with Chacon and ruled many of the Councilors engaged in ex-parte contact when they spoke out against the development during their campaigns for their Council seats.
Chacon’s application was returned to the Council and with the offending Councilors not included in the vote, it voted to pass his site plan review.
Even with the trailer park victory, some of his other real estate ventures have not been as successful.
Online court records state four of Chacon’s properties were foreclosed on since 2009. In two of those cases, once in 2010 and again in 2013, Chacon filed bankruptcy to keep the banks from repossessing the property.