GRANTS, N.M. — The Grants City Council is set to decide next week whether apparent District 1 winner Dolores P. Vallejos meets the City Charter’s residency requirement, according to the Nov. 19 agenda and packet materials.
The agenda lists a single determination item with four possible outcomes: (1) Vallejos met residency at filing and still meets it; (2) she did not meet residency at filing and is ineligible to hold the seat; (3) she previously met residency but does not currently meet it, resulting in forfeiture; or (4) the Council cannot reach a final determination and orders additional proceedings.
A decision framework included in the meeting packet— titled “District 1 Councilor Eligibility Review: Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law”—lays out how the Council should proceed. It states that Grants is governed by its Charter; that councilors must reside in their district at the time of filing and throughout their term; that failure to meet residency results in automatic forfeiture; and that the City Council is the judge of its members’ qualifications. The document specifies this is a Charter-based eligibility review, not an election contest.
The framework lists factual questions for the Council to answer (the address given at filing, whether that address is in District 1, whether the candidate physically resided there at filing, and the candidate’s current residential address and residence status). It also identifies evidence the Council may consider, including physical presence, where the candidate sleeps most nights, voter registration and driver’s license addresses, utility bills, mail receipt, property records, and testimony. Due-process boxes ask the Council to confirm advance notice to both sides, equal opportunity to present evidence, and reliance only on the record before reaching legal conclusions and selecting one of the four outcomes.
The upcoming hearing follows a close Nov. 4 District 1 race in which Vallejos received 133 votes (39%), incumbent Zachery T. Gutierrez received 130 votes (38%), and Bob W. Tenequer received 81 votes (24%), for a total of 344 ballots cast, according to the Secretary of State. After the election, Mayor Erik Garcia questioned whether Vallejos resides at the address on her voter registration and noted she receives mail at a different address outside District 1. In a Nov. 11 interview, Garcia said he raised the issue after connecting what he was seeing on the ground with the newly drawn district boundaries. He later cancelled an earlier special meeting on the matter, citing the need to allow more due process after consulting the city attorney, and said the city had not filed a formal complaint.
Vallejos previously told the Citizen she changed her voter registration to her mother’s address last year primarily for medical and caregiving reasons, saying she spends most of her time caring for her mother, who has dementia. She said she confirmed her district at the polls and maintains multiple properties in Grants.
Under Section 2.02(B) of the Grants City Charter, a councilor must be a resident of the district on and after the date of filing and must continue to reside in the district throughout the term.
The Cibola Citizen contacted Vallejos for comment on the Nov. 19 agenda item; a response was not received.