{"id":31983,"date":"2023-09-01T20:25:38","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T02:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmington-business-owner-disqualified-from-mayoral-election\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T01:49:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:49:56","slug":"farmington-business-owner-disqualified-from-mayoral-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmington-business-owner-disqualified-from-mayoral-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmington business owner disqualified from mayoral election"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alexander
Alexander Chambers<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Alexander Chambers, a local businessman who filed to run for election against incumbent Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett, has been disqualified from the race by the San Juan County Clerk\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this disqualification is both unconstitutional and un-American,\u201d Chambers told the Tri-City Record<\/em>. \u201cIt infringes upon my constitutional right as an American citizen to file and run for public office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duckett will run in November unopposed.<\/p>\n

At issue was the address on Chambers\u2019 voter registration card. The card listed his address as 4B County Road 6427, Kirtland. The same address is on Chambers\u2019 driver\u2019s license, according to San Juan County Clerk Tanya Shelby.<\/p>\n

\"Farmington
Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In order for Chambers to qualify as a candidate in the Nov. 7 election, he had to have his voter\u2019s registration updated with a Farmington address by Aug. 9, which Shelby said is the deadline based on requirements for Municipal Officer Election Day according to New Mexico Statute Section 1-22-3b<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are laws in place to ensure the people running for office live in and are vested in the communities they serve,\u201d Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand the rules \u2013 especially with government there\u2019s all of these rules and regulations. Understanding what makes me eligible for running for office. That is the first step in running for office in the community you want to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duckett read the resolution passed by the Farmington City Council on June 13 to establish the municipal election. This is required by law under state statute. This are \u201cstatutory requirements for the state election, and the secretary of state has to do their own,\u201d City Attorney Jennifer Breakell said.<\/p>\n

The New Mexico Secretary of State\u2019s office issued a state proclamation on Aug. 9, which stated the regular local elections would be on Nov. 7 in each county in the state. Per New Mexico Election Statute 1-22-3b, a person must have a voter registration, which has the correct residence on it by the date of the proclamation. It is below:<\/p>\n

\u201cA regular local election shall be a nonpartisan election, and the names of all candidates shall be listed on the ballot with no party or slate designation. No person shall become a candidate in a regular local election unless the person physically resides within the boundaries of the district or districted area in which the person desires to be elected or to represent and the person\u2019s record of voter registration shows that the person is both a qualified elector of the state and was registered to vote in the area to be elected to represent on the date the proclamation calling a local election is filed in the office of the secretary of state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers said the date was not adequately publicized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe date of Aug. 9 was not properly advertised. That may be the standard operating procedure in every election,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m calling for an amendment to make changes to the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said the process is too complicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to be amended for any American who wants to run for office. They should make it as clear as day for them so it is legal,\u201d he said. \u201cThey make it secret. They don\u2019t properly advertise this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m calling on San Juan County commissioners, the state and even the city\u201d to allow for the amendment to change the law.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s attorney counted his claim, stating that the state law is out of the city\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a state law, and the city of Farmington has no ability to amend that law,\u201d Breakell said, adding only the state legislative body would be able to amend the law.<\/p>\n

\"The
The address that former Farmington mayoral candidate Alexander Chambers listed as his home. (Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Chambers said he lives in Farmington at No. 2, 2515 Lee Ave., and he has the utility bills to prove it. He also said he went to the post office to update his voter registration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI simply went to the post office. They gave me a new voter registration card.<\/p>\n

I gave it back to the postal worker, from there I don\u2019t know,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cMy issue lies with, I never got confirmation it was updated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chambers, who owns Chambers\u2019 Steakhouse, said \u201cI did get very busy. I just assumed they updated and that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voter registration was not updated, because the San Juan County Clerk\u2019s Office never received the card from the post office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the candidates\u2019 responsibility to make sure their name, their address and their voter registration is current and up to date,\u201d Shelby said, adding there are several ways to update a voter registration.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do it online,<\/a> at the post office, you can walk in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Chambers insinuated there were errors on the part of the clerk\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have a right to run for public office. It\u2019s a fundamental component of our democracy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt should not be hampered by bureaucratic oversights and administrative errors.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said he called the clerk\u2019s office for general information.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was one time in July, I called the San Juan County Clerk\u2019s Office,\u201d he said. \u201cShe said as long your address is in San Juan County, you should be fine. That was the general information I got.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Qualified candidates for the 2023 Municipal Election on Nov. 7Seat candidate is seekingCandidateAztec Commission District 1Austin Raymond RandallAztec Commission District 3Michael A. Padilla Sr. Aztec Commission District 3Eduardo G. ChavezAztec Municipal JudgeCarlton P. GrayCity of Bloomfield CouncilMichael James BrownCity of Bloomfield CouncilDale L. WallsCity of Bloomfield CouncilJohn A. MohlerCity of Bloomfield CouncilKelly J. BurkholderCity of Bloomfield CouncilLucas Aaron Almeida Barnett (Disqualified)City of Farmington MayorNate DuckettCity of Farmington MayorAlexander Bryon Chambers (Disqualified)Farmington City Council District 3Jeanine Bingham KellyFarmington City Council District 4Janis JakinoFarmington City Council District 4Prudence Lynn BradyFarmington Municipal JudgeRobert E. MillerFarmington Municipal JudgeJames J. RempeFarmington Municipal JudgeRena ScottFarmington Municipal Judge Part-timeRobert FreyTown of Kirtland CouncilRoss Trujillo Jr. Town of Kirtland CouncilJason T. HeslopTown of Kirtland CouncilRachael Erin BanksAztec School Board District 1Amanda D. SutherlandAztec School Board District 4Lacy Lynn NewlandAztec School Board District 5Marie Burnett BuchholzAztec School Board District 5Joe A. Hubbard (dropped out of race)Bloomfield School Board District 1 Sue Ann FinchBloomfield School Board District 3Dale J. MaesFarmington School Board District 1Stephanie ThompsonFarmington School Board District 4Krista Lee McWilliamsFarmington School Board District 5Joan V. ValleeFarmington School Board District 5Lisa Lynn MaxwellCentral Consolidated School District 2Gary J. MontoyaCentral Consolidated School District 2Hoskie Benally Jr. Central Consolidated School District 3Matthew D. TsoCentral Consolidated School District 5Suzette J. Haskie-OberlySan Juan College Board District 1Pete K. Atcitty IIISan Juan College Board District 1GloJean B. TodacheeneSan Juan College Board District 1Ray BegayeSan Juan College Board District 1Hoskie Benally Jr. San Juan College Board District 1Matthew D. TsoSan Juan College Board District 5Judy M. HaleSan Juan College Board District 5Beverly D. TaylorSan Juan College Board District 5Catherine Thomas-KempSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)Kandy Lynn LeMoineSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)DeAnne L. McKeeSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)Gentry M. SterlingSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)Christopher L. CulpepperSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)Leo PachecoSan Juan Soil and Water District Position 1 and 2 District Supervisor (Land owner)Cash A. CarruthSan Juan Soil and Water Position 5 District SupervisorPaul C. BandySan Juan Soil and Water Position 5 District SupervisorCatherine Thomas-Kemp<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That would not be standard operating procedure, according to Shelby, who said her staff is trained and told to \u201clook up the voter, ask what position they are running for, and make sure their voter registration is correct, and they live in the district. We are there to help the people \u2013 to prevent this from happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going away. I will escalate my voice in the community, so the leaders are held accountable,\u201d Chambers said.<\/p>\n

He was not the only candidate disqualified from the upcoming election. Lucas Aaron Almeida-Barnett filed to run for Bloomfield City Council\u2019s position three seat, and he was disqualified for not being registered to vote by the Aug. 9 deadline, according to Shelby.<\/p>\n

Fifty-one candidates who filled out the required paperwork to run in the municipal elections, and Shelby said she only had to disqualify two.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voter\u2019s registration and driver\u2019s license list home in Kirtland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-31983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81639,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31983\/revisions\/81639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31983"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=31983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}