GRANTS, N.M. – Days after the Nov. 4 municipal election, Grants Mayor Erik Garcia questioned whether apparent District 1 winner Dolores P. Vallejos lives at the address where she is registered to vote, prompting the city to schedule — and then cancel — a special meeting to review residency requirements under the City Charter.
According to election results published by the New Mexico Secretary of State, Vallejos finished first in the three-way race for Grants City Council District 1, receiving 133 votes (39 percent). Incumbent to the seat, Zachery T. Gutierrez received 130 votes (38 percent), and Bob W. Tenequer received 81 votes (24 percent), for a total of 344 ballots cast in the contest. Gutierrez is a political ally of Mayor Garcia.
After the election, allegations surfaced from Grants Mayor Erik Garcia, who said he believes Vallejos may not reside at the address listed on her current voter registration, these allegations stem in part because Vallejos receives her mail at a house that is not in District 1.
Public records show that Vallejos has updated her voter registration address several times over the past two decades.
• On Oct. 24, 2007, she registered at 111 Davis, Grants, N.M., with her mailing address listed as “Same as Above.”
• On March 2, 2011, she registered at 1004 Kabrico, Grants, N.M., again listing 1004 Kabrico as her mailing address.
• Most recently, on July 28, 2025, Vallejos registered to vote (and subsequently, run for office) at 1417 Del Norte Blvd., Grants, N.M., while keeping 1004 Kabrico Dr. as her mailing address. This address is in Grants Council District 3.
In a Nov. 10 phone interview, Vallejos told the
Citizen that she changed her voter registration to her mother’s address on Del Norte Boulevard last year, primarily for medical and caregiving reasons rather than for political purposes.
“My mother became very ill last July,” Vallejos said, explaining that her mother now requires 24hour assistance and has been diagnosed with dementia. “So, I ended up having to literally end up with her. I’m with her probably about 80 percent of the time.”
Vallejos said she sought to update her address as an effort to secure medical support for her mother. “I did an address change and it wasn’t basically for political reasons, it was more for medical reasons,” she said. “I cannot get her medical care. So, yes, I am with her. Yes, I am taking care of her. And like I said, the address change was more for her, for medical reasons than other purposes. At that time, I was trying to get her medical help for nursing, but that didn’t happen. Which is kind of sad because with all the nursing facilities we have in Grants, none of them will take Medicare. They will take Medicaid, but they will not take Medicare. No Medicaid. I tried to get her on it. She was denied. So, anyway, that’s my reasoning for the address.”
She also said she owns multiple properties in Grants and moves between them as well as her mother’s home. “I have my house on Kabrico, I have another house on Davis, and I’m currently living with my mother,” Vallejos said. “[Mayor Garcia] could see me coming out of my house, he could see me coming out of my mom’s house, and he could also see me coming out of a Davis residence. I have three residences. I’m registered at my mother’s, like I said, for medical reasons.”
Vallejos is the sitting Cibola County Assessor and, based on the unofficial election results, is poised to serve simultaneously as a countywide elected official and a member of the Grants City Council. She also expressed that she is proudly helping her daughter run a local title company. When asked about these roles, Vallejos said, “Yeah, I do that. If you know me, I am a very active woman… mentally I’m good and I’m very active for my age.”
Vallejos said she confirmed her eligibility to vote in District 1 before casting a ballot. “I made sure when I went to go vote that I was voting in the right district,” she said. “I asked, they said, ‘No, you’re District 1.’ I said, ‘All right, that’s fine,’ so that’s what I did.”
She questioned why the residency challenge is surfacing only after the election.
“I know that Mr. Erik is very upset,” she said. “I understand his frustration… but he should have addressed it months ago, not when I won.” Vallejos noted that her candidacy and District 1 filing information were published repeatedly before Election Day. “This was in the paper from the time that I signed to the week before the election,” she said.
In a separate Nov. 11 interview, Garcia said he only realized the potential residency issue after the election, when he connected what he was seeing on the ground to the newly drawn council district boundaries.
“We had changed our boundaries [election districts], and they barely kind of changed by a little bit,” he said. Garcia, who works across the street doing maintenance from the Kabrico address, said he regularly sees Vallejos there.
“I kept seeing her… and then it just dawned on me,” he said. “It wasn’t something – like – If I knew earlier, I definitely would have raised the issue. It’s not [that] Zach [Gutierrez] lost… it’s because it’s against the charter.”
Garcia acknowledged some residents might view the dispute as a reaction to the close race.
Asked what he would say to people who see the challenge as “sore loser” politics, Garcia replied, “I wouldn’t call Zach a sore loser… it’s not because of that. It’s because, like, we’ve really been fighting to keep this charter. If we don’t value this charter as our constitution, then why even have it?”
A special Grants City Council meeting had been scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. The agenda lists two items related to the issue:
• Item 1.1 – “Discussion – Review and Clarification of Residency Requirements for Elected City Councilors under the City Charter.”
• Item 1.2 – “Discussion/ Action – Approval of Finding of Ineligibility of 2025 Regular Local Election, District 1 Candidate, Dolores Vallejos, due to Violation of Residency Requirements Under the Grants City [Charter].”
Garcia confirmed that the meeting was later cancelled.
Asked why, he said, “I believe it’s just to give enough time for due process… After talking to [the Grants City Attorney it was] just to give everybody enough time for due process. I’m not trying to throw the wool over them.”
Garcia also said the city has not filed a formal complaint against Vallejos.
Vallejos maintains she has complied with the rules as she understands them and says her focus remains on representing District 1 if the results stand. “I ran solely to represent my constituents and voice their concerns,” she said. “I do commit to serving District 1.”
What the Grants City Charter Says About Residency Section 2.02 – Election; Residency; Terms B. Residency. A person shall not be eligible to be a candidate for the office of Mayor unless that person is a resident of the City on and after the date upon which a declaration of candidacy is filed. A person shall not be eligible to be a candidate for the office of City Councilor unless that person is a resident of the district on and after the date upon which a declaration of candidacy is filed. The Mayor must continue to reside in the City and Councilors must continue to reside in their district throughout their terms.
(Amended at Regular Municipal Election, March 1, 2016)