Estancia Mayor Runnel Riley was sworn into his position on Dec. 15 after overtaking the incumbent mayor, Nathan Dial, by just a few votes, prompting a recount and confusion from the community and Dial himself about the runoff process in New Mexico.
After the initial count, Dial and write-in candidate Boyd Vardy each had 63 votes, while Riley had 68.
With the three candidates each earning fewer than half the votes, Dial said he was expecting a runoff — and he wasn’t the only person in Estancia who thought this.
“What nobody knew was: In order to have a runoff election or ranked choice voting, the town or municipality has to have it in ordinance or statute, or something in writing,” Dial said.
After an automatic recount, Riley was elected and sworn in as the mayor of Estancia. Riley did not reply to requests for comment in time for publication. He sat on the town council for six years, according to his Facebook.
Dial said neither he nor Riley did much campaigning throughout the process, since people were expecting a runoff election.
Riley was sworn in as mayor on Monday, Dial said.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to campaign like I wanted; it’s a little hard from this hospital bed,” Riley wrote in a Facebook post on Nov. 4.
The Town of Estancia has been facing recent scrutiny for its Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. Dial, who describes himself as a conservative Republican, has been outspoken on his stance in favor of the facility because of its economic benefits to the town, despite the facility’s current expired contract. Riley has not been outspoken on social media about his stance on the facility.
The Estancia mayoral recount was one of 34 in the state. According to the New Mexico Secretary of State website, this includes a recount for the Estancia Municipal School District Board, with Jonathan Barela leading.
