Who Will be the New Mayor?
By John Earp
This past Tuesday’s mayoral election could not have been more close, with Philip Little receiving one vote more than Mayor Stephen Aldridge. The Lea County Clerk’s Office said Wednesday that the results will not be made official until November 13th, and also stated that the mayoral election would likely be subject to a recount due to its close result. As of 5:00 a.m. Wednesday, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website showed Aldridge and Little both with 41% of the vote, at 155 and 156 votes respectively. Candidate Larry Burns received 17% of the vote, with 65 votes. A total of 376 votes were cast for mayor.
On the northern side of Lea County, the vote for mayor was almost as close, with Isabella Nicole Olivas Saenz edging out Marilyn Burns by just two votes, 103-101. In Hobbs, Jonathan Sena received 58% of the vote (2,260 total) to defeat Roy Dwayne Penick, who received 1,499 votes for 38% of the total. In Eunice, John Dean Davis received 55% of the votes (262), defeating incumbent Mayor Billy Hobbs, who received 45% of the votes (216). All the above stats were taken directly from the website of the New Mexico Secretary of State, and as noted, are subject to canvassing, with the official results being made public on November 13th.