By Lynn Janes

The town of Hurley had a regular meeting January 6, 2026. Reynaldo Maynes, Aron Phillips and Ester Gil attended.

The meeting started with Darlene McBride swearing in George Moreno as municipal judge.

Moreno then swore in Maynes, Phillips and Gil for the council positions.

Maynes called the meeting to order.

The town of Hurley had received one letter of interest for the council position open. Robert Candelaria had submitted a letter of interest.

Candelaria said he had already been on the council. He had originally not planned to run but no one had come forward to run for the seats. Adding to that the mayor's passing he decided to put in a letter of interest for the open position. He has a degree in computer information security and has been doing it for twenty years. He said he had donated a lot of his time to the town in the past and had donated his stipend back to the town since he had not been voted in. He has run multimillion dollar budgets and projects. "I am willing to be here and help with the community and to make sure we keep doing the right thing for the community."

The council appointed Candelaria to the open council position. Moreno swore Candelaria in.

The town of Hurley had only received on letter of interest for the position of Mayor. The letter came from Maynes. He said he had been on the council for three years and had liked it and learned a lot. Maynes said although sometimes stressful it had been rewarding to help people. He had not planned on running for mayor but after Ed Stevens passed, he decided to step up. Maynes said he planned to be here the rest of his life, so he felt he might as well do something good for the town.

The council approved the appointment of Maynes for mayor. Maynes abstained from the vote. His term will end December 31, 2029

Moreno swore Maynes in as mayor.

Maynes had written a short speech. He had been deeply honored by the appointment and thanked them for their confidence. "I accept the role with a strong sense of responsibility and service. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank Mr. Stevens. We mourn his passing. Mr. Stephens served the town with dedication and care and his commitment to Hurley will not be forgotten. I'm grateful for his service, and I extend my sincere condolences to his family and friends and those who worked closely with him. This appointment is not about any one individual but about continuing the work of serving our community. Over the next four years, I am committed to working collaboratively with the counciors, the town staff and residents to ensure Hurley remains a place we are proud of to call home." Maynes said sometimes they may disagree or hold different views but believed they would be united in the shared goal to act in the best interest of the town. He will strive to lead in a way that reflects his values and that of the community.

The next regular meeting will be on January 20, 2026

McBride said with the appointment of Maynes as mayor they will have his position on the council open. The town will be asking for letters of interest to fill that vacant position on the council. They hope to have some before the next meeting to be able to fill the vacancy.

McBride added that they usually have the meetings the second Tuesday of the month, but Phillips will be attending the newly elected officials training at that time so the pushed the meeting to the third Tuesday for January.

Meeting adjourned.