Silver City mayor fails to make appointment for district one

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a special meeting January 7, 2026. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Simon Wheaton-Wheaton-Smith, Nicholas Prince, Stan Snider and Victor Nañez.

The council approved the agenda for the meeting.

Council comments

Prince wanted to remind everyone that the legislative session would be starting January 20, 2026. He asked people to reach out to their town council members with any information. He wanted to make sure everyone would be fairly and accurately represented.

Snider wanted to emphasize how great the town employees have been. "They are always helpful and efficient."

Nañez did not have a report.

Wheaton-Smith wanted to echo what the other council members had said because the town staff has been incredible. He had worked with the town in two capacities, first with public works and then as town clerk. "I know how hard the people work."

A few things would be coming up in the agenda. On the job description he thought they had a good description but questioned the wisdom of including the salary. On the rules and procedures, he knew they would be looking at Corrales and had comments that some should be thought out in more depth.

Wheaton-Smith said he would be focusing on the Big Ditch. "It is the heart of our town." He noted that planning and zoning would be making it a focus.

The town has some vacancies, and Wheaton-Smith went over some of them. Jacqui Olea, interim town manager, added they will be accepting applications for the lodger's tax advisory board, and they have five positions.

The council approved the minutes from December 9, 2025, meeting.

Public input.

Jim Charleston, executive director of the unhoused Silver City Theater, which meant they didn't have a building. He did however say they did own an idea, mailing list, and an alarming number of chairs. He welcomed the incoming council member, mayor and those returning. "Public service is a bold choice." He then added since the people governed; they will absolutely see them throughout the day wherever they go. "Silver City is not just a place you run but a place you host." He said their little theater had brought people in from as far away as Maine, San Diego, Austin and Wyoming for seven sold out performances of Woody Guthrie's American Song. The coming weekend they would be welcoming Vivian Nesbitt and John Dillon for a musical, Mother Jones in Heaven. He went on to speak about other things he has been involved in.

Patsy Madrid thanked the council and welcomed the new ones. She was born and raised in Silver City and said she had not come to complain but to give observations and solutions. Before Christmas she and a friend had taken a drive downtown and found it very sad. No spirit or joy and few lights. Town had been dead and dismal. During the day they had not seen the trolley or Santa Claus. "No one was downtown, and it was Christmas week and seemed to be that way all over town."

She suggested a Christmas committee to work with one town council member starting now to plan for next year. She thought having school kids involved in the decorating would be a great idea. She also suggested the Chamber of Commerce to decorate a tree. "I have never seen downtown so dismal."

Daniel Duran Paiz welcomed the new members. "As it always happens in a democracy, new people are routinely elected to office and a new era takes place. I see this time now as a time to reexamine past issues and problems and try to find new ways to improve the quality of life in Silver City." He finished with a quote from John F. Kennedy, "We choose to go to the moon, among other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

Peter Stubben congratulated the new members. "I hope it's a great year for all of us and for new, interesting and smart leadership with the town council, with the town of Silver City." He had a suggestion. This year will be the 250-year anniversary of the United States. He hoped the town would be preparing for the celebration. He suggested a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. "It is probably the most important document in the history of the United States, and some say since the birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. It is one of the most amazing documents of world history." He thought it would be great to have the students from all the area high schools involved. Civics in high schools has somewhat fallen by the wayside. Studying that document gives better insight into the history of the United States and what it means today. The document does not just have meaning in the States but around the world.

Gary Stailey had been gone for about three years but had come back. He had worked with the youth in volunteer programs for many years and looks forward to doing it again. The areas have a problem with the youth and a hard time keeping them here. He will be looking forward to many years working in volunteer programs. In his experience although people differ in a lot of things they can find things in common to be able to work together.

Raul Turietta congratulated the new members. He also wanted to tell people to make sure they have received an exemption they qualify for on their property taxes. He wanted people to know that January and February will be a period of time they must file personal property tax on business, livestock and agriculture. Also, if you own a mobile home people must call in or it will be a five percent penalty on the valuation. Turrieta did go over the exemptions.

On February 14, 2026, they will have the Territorial Charter Ball and will be honoring the 1878 charter for the town. They will also be having Burlesque Baseball again at Fort Bayard. "Stay tuned for more information down the road."

Mark Duran congratulated the new members. He had a couple of questions he had asked around but had not received a good answer. "We've been watching TV and see a lot of what ICE is doing with people. I know that we had the Stonegarden money come into the community, and I don't know if that's affected us positively or negatively in any way and is there a report on how any of that has been utilized? I also kind of want to know how many people have been deported from our community." He also wanted to know how that money had been utilized. Wheaton-Smith told them they could not comment or answer questions on public input.

Reports

Police Chief Freddy Portillo had a report for the council. He said he appreciated all the comments from the citizens made in the meeting. He looked forward to working with everyone. He also had an update on recent promotions. Joseph Aguirre had been promoted to patrol captain and will oversee all patrol operations. Manuel Jaure has been promoted to administrative lieutenant and will also be the training coordinator, oversee equipment, fleet and community relations. It will include the DARE program. Jaure had not been able to attend due to a death in the family, but Aguirre had. Portillo said moving forward they wanted to build a stronger community relations by being proactive in the community. Some of this will include attending more community meetings and scheduling community meetings for the residents to attend. They will also be working with the mayor and town council to begin networking with established groups and committees to achieve this goal to build public trust. Portillo will be launching a new chief's corner to be held at different locations to discuss issues and concerns with the public. "We will be following our mission statement, which is to provide services with integrity and dedication to preserve life, to enforce the law, and to work in partnership with the community to enhance the quality of life in the town of Silver City." He turned the floor over to Aguirre.

Aguirre said his family had attended and he introduced them to the council and thanked his wife for her support. He had joined the department in 2009 and went over his accomplishments and promotions through the years. He encouraged the public and council to reach out to him. He had already started implementing some of his goals such as more officers downtown, targeting loud noises, speeding and vandalism. Aguirre said he has an open-door policy for everyone.

Julian Madrid, director of parks and recreation, had an update on the Henry "La Burra" Morales Recreation Center. They had opened in August 2025 and had an average of 60 – 100 people per day. Over 200 people had registered, and they have hosted a few events. Recently an online registration system had been added called civic rec. The system not only allows for registration for programs and events you can also access applications and permits for tent rentals and special events. Madrid went over all the events happening at the recreation center. All council members thanked Madrid for how well the recreation center had been doing.

Olea wanted to reiterate the mayors' comments at the beginning of the meeting concerning the vacancies on several committees. "I feel it is very important we have diversity of opinions and perspectives on these committees." She continued that they really appreciate the volunteers they have and anyone willing to step up.

Unfinished business

Town of Silver City rules of procedure.

Prince said he had been surprised that in 147 years of the town's existence they did not have any parliamentary procedures in place. He had asked for this to be on the agenda so they could have some good conversation and continued with his reasons. Roberts Rules of Order would be a good de facto parliamentary procedure they could amend, and update based on what they see. Snider deferred to Corrales and their use of Roberts Rules of Order. Nañez agreed on the use of Roberts Rules of Order.

Wheaton-Wheaton-Smith said he had watched a lot of county commission meetings, town council meetings and planning and zoning. He referred to the July 29, 2025, meeting and even before and questioned what problem they would be trying to fix. He said in the July 29, 2025, meeting he saw three Roberts Rules of Order repeatedly violated and went over some of the violations and asked again what they would be trying to fix. Wheaton-Smith recommended that they adopt specifically Roberts Rules of Order newly revised twelfth edition. He continued to explain the difference of Roberts Rules of order, Corrales's, Municipal League and Open Meetings differences. He said several times in his comment that the decision would be for the council and not him. Prince said he would write the resolution and present it at the next meeting. He will present it to Charles Kretek, town attorney, before the meeting.

Town manager job description.

Snider thought the job description looked good but asked how they would proceed. Prince wanted to make sure they had enough time to explore all options and went over all the obstacles they might have. He had found the state of New Mexico did not have an exact degree program for a town manager nor had he found one at any major universities. Nañez agreed the job description had been well covered. The timeline of how they want to proceed will be a major factor moving forward. Wheaton-Smith tasked Nañez with making a presentation after talking to numerous people without violating the open meetings act on different options for timelines.

The council discussed the formation of a committee to help with the search process. Prince went on for some time about concerns, districts and challenges. From what he had said, Wheaton-Smith asked if he had been suggesting a period of time, perhaps a couple of months, for each council member to work within their own districts to come up with ideas and if they want to see a committee or not. Snider felt each council member should bring one or two for the committee. Nañez agreed on a minimal number and input from the constituents.

New business

Mayors' appointment of a council member for district one to replace Rudy Bencomo.

Wheaton-Smith said he had interviewed everyone who had applied for the position, and he thought Prince and Snider had also. "I'm having a very, very difficult time coming to a decision. Why? Because everyone is, all of them are very well qualified, I believe, and the more I look at them, the more I'm coming up with subjective ideas as to who is best. So, then I thought, how are we going solve that one? Well, I propose, and it's up to the council, that we use the same method that we use when nominating and electing a Mayor Pro Tem. I'm proposing we do what is in Robert's Rules, Section 46 in particular, is that we would open the floor to nominations."

Prince said regarding process and procedure he believed underneath New Mexico Statutes, they have a bit of conflict, nothing he thought too hectic legally, but underneath the in Chapter 3, the nomination needs to come from the Mayor with the consent of the council. Wheaton-Smith said that would be a very good point and suggested that after they had done the nominations and then the voting, he would take the one that passes first and then nominate it back so they would have complied with that.

Prince nominated Angelina Saliaz, Snider nominated Carlos Arenivar and Nañez nominated Lori Rodgers. Each one voted for their nomination. No one nominated Ronald Perez and Wheaton-Smith asked if any would vote for Perez. Wheaton-Smith said, "We do not have a majority on any of them. In which case, I do not feel inclined to recommend for appointment of somebody at this meeting."

They discussed if they could talk to each other outside of the meeting on this and not create a quorum. Kretek said the rules still applied, two could speak with each other but no more or it would create a quorum. By waiting until the next meeting they all could meet with the candidates again.

Wheaton-Smith had the council nominate the appointee for mayor pro tem instead of him. Snider nominated Prince to hold the position of mayor pro tem. No further nominations were made so Prince will be the mayor pro tem.

The council approved resolution 2026-01 Open Meetings.

The council approved the mayor's appointment of Richard Bigelow to the historic design review committee.

The council approved the mayor's appointment of Theodore Mauer to the museum community advisory group.

The council approved the mayor's appointment of Laura Schoen to the planning and zoning commission.

Wheaton-Smith went over the vacancies for the boards and commissions for the council. Nañez will be the representative on the cemetery board. Prince will continue with the library board. Randy Hernandez, business operations manager, will be the alternate for the dispatch committee. Snider will continue with the area transportation authority and Wheaton-Smith will serve as the alternate. Prince will be the representative for the museum advisory group. Nañez will be the representative for the parks and recreation board that has been inactive for years. The Southwest Solid Waste Authority representative position will remain vacant for now and possibly be passed to the new district one council member after appointment.

Olea wanted to make the council aware of additional boards and organizations requiring representation by the council, Grant County Water Commission, Main Street Project and the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments. Wheaton-Smith said they would address those at the next meeting.

Meeting adjourned