The Española Public School Board has two new board members after Tuesday night’s election.
Justin Salazar-Torres will replace Brandon Bustos on the board. Salazar-Torrez garnered 289 votes and had no opponent.
He is currently the mayor pro tem for the Española City Council and serves as a District 4 councilor. He replaces Brandon Bustos on the school board. Bustos did not run for re-election. He is currently the chairman of the Rio Arriba County Commission and serves District 1.
Salazar-Torrez said he’s ecstatic to be serving on the school board beginning in January. The district’s students and faculty deserve the utmost attention and service, he said.
“I ran because priorities are out of whack for many moons, Española school boards have been in the business of hiring and firing coaches and making sports their top priority instead of eduction and the well-being of educators and staff,” Salazar-Torrez said. “I am here to be a voice of reason and be a listener to students and educators. It’s time we take off the blinders of taking things personal and get down to business. I’ve seen what we have been and know what we can become.”
He said he plans to retain his seat on the city council, while also serving on the school board.
In the other school board race, Rick X. Vigil, of Española, beat incumbent and School Board President Javin Coriz. The vote tally on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website shows Vigil with 450 votes, while Coriz had 277 votes. The tally for both races includes votes from Santa Fe County.
Attempts to contact Vigil were unsuccessful. The phone number listed on the Secretary of State’s website doesn’t work and a recording said it was changed and/or disconnected. He did not respond to email questions by press time.
Voter turnout in Rio Arriba was low. There were 25,898 eligible voters, but only 3,571 cast ballots.
Chama
The residents of Chama decided to give Ernest Vigil another term. He’s been mayor since 2022. He faced opponents Yvonne Martinez and former Chama mayor and village council member Billy Elbrock. Elbrock served one term and was elected mayor in 2018. Vigil won by a large margin, with 253 votes compared to Elbrock’s 94 and Martinez’s 29.
The race was tight for councilor at large for the Village of Chama. Timothy Gallegos has 189 votes while Victoria B. Gonzales has 210. Jesse T. Lefevre has 114 and Juan Eliseo Maestas has 89.
The race for Chama municipal judge was also a close one. Josephine Elbrock has 195 votes compared to Barry Jon Lucero’s 176.
The Chama Valley Independent School District 19 race saw nine contenders, but it appears Matthew M. Gallegos won easily. He had 448 votes followed by Johnny Gregory Ulibarri with 222, Michael R. Montaño with 183, Stephanie Valdez Maestas with 183, Jacobo Montoya with 174, Donald A. Valdez with 150, Thomas James Harrison Royston with 141, David Paul Koffel with 42 and Diamantina Prado Storment with 25.
Peñasco
Votes for Peñasco School Board were low. There were only 57 votes cast in the District 4 race. Amanda June Bissell leads that race with 22 votes against Gwendolyn C. Simbolo’s 18 votes and Monique F. Visarraga’s 17 votes. Write-in Dolores Lila Gurule did not receive any votes.
Mesa Vista
Emiliano Miguel Martinez and incumbent school board member Marvyn Jaramillo were both elected in the Mesa Vista Consolidated School District 6 race. Martinez has 133 votes and Jaramillo had 107.
Dulce
District 21 of the Dulce Independent Schools also had a full slate of candidates. Diana F. Vigil leads the pack with 118 votes, followed by Jerome T. Tecube 106, Consuelo L. Gomez with 101, Selenarose Larae Hammond with 84, Annette M. Tecube with 84, David M. Montoya with 79, Pamela Jean Montoya with 69, Phillip D. Salazar with 62, Lauren Ann Ninetails with 59, Vickie D. Thomas with 53, Ted S. Valdez with 31 and write-in candidates Carley Tafoya and Teresa N. Cassador each with 0.
Jemez Mountains
Three were vying for the District 53 Jemez Mountains Public Schools seat. Pedro Alfredo Valdez got 109 votes, followed by Randy Cordova with 75 and Kirsten Jo Gutierrez with 67.
Soil & Water
Timothy L. Johnson ran unopposed for the Cuba Soil & Water Conservation Board and garnered 263 votes.
The Santa Fe Pojoaque Soil & Water District saw two running for that seat. John C. Kalecek had 133 votes while write-in candidate William J. Adams had 0 votes.
Four candidates ran for the Position 3 and Position 4 (landowner) San Juan Soil & Water Conservation Board. There were a total of 14 votes cast for that race, with 5 going to Ralph Joseph Fenton, 4 to Steven P. Neville, 3 to John Bervil Arrington and 2 to Cash A. Carruth.
There was also a question on the ballot asking voters if the Santa Fe-Pojoaque Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors should establish a Mill Levy of 0.10 Mills to control and prevent soil erosion and floodwater and sediment damage; promote the health of rivers, creeks, and streams by improving storm water and floodplain management; reduce the risk of wildfire for our communities by improving the health of our woodlands and forests; restore wildlife habitat; improve agricultural land by partnering with local farmers and ranchers to promote Santa Fe Pojoaque Soil & Water Conservation District. There were 130 votes in favor and 31 against.
Hospital Board
Five ran for La Clinical Del Pueblo Hospital Board. Darren DeYapp had 381 votes, David M. Martinez 357, Max D. Martinez 331, Manuel D. Trujillo 329 and Christopher Cano, 316.
General
Obligation Bonds
Voters passed the General Obligation Bond question asking if the Jemez Mountain Public School District No. 53, should issue GO Bonds not to exceed $8,100,000 for the purpose of erecting, remodeling, making additions to and furnishing school buildings, including teacher housing, purchasing or improving school grounds, purchasing computer software and hardware for students to use. There were 105 votes cast in favor and 65 against.
There was also a Public School Capital Improvements Tax question on the ballot for Peñasco, asking if they should continue to impose a property tax of $2 per each $1,000 of net taxable value of property in the school district for property tax years 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031 for capital improvements in the district to include payments made with respect to lease-purchase arrangements as defined in the Education Technology Equipment Act for District 4. Voters cast 27 votes for and 11 against.