Sunland Park Meeting Postponed After Chaos Ensues

Thursday’s city council meeting was slated to include decisions on the controversial race for mayor and a new acting city manager. Instead it erupted in yelling and arguing by police officers, residents and even city councilors.

More than 50 people tried to pack into the small council chambers at Sunland Park City Hall to witness Thursday’s meeting. On the agenda, councilors were supposed to vote on declaring the position of mayor vacant and appointing an acting city manager.

Every chair in the room was full so people lined the walls, floor, and blocked the entrance. As city councilors went into closed session on a legal issue, police officers tried to force people to leave since the building was over capacity. Sunland Park residents refused to leave, yelling at officers that they were infringing on their right to bear witness to a public meeting.

“I was a little bit concerned because people were asked to move outside the building,” former mayor Jesus Ruben Segura told ABC-7. “As I remember the state statute, people have the right to listen to a public meeting.”

Eventually city council members emerged from their closed session to ask the crowd to settle down. People complained the council should have set the meeting at a larger venue. Mayor Pro-Tem Isabel Santos said they tried to hold the meeting at the Senior Citizen Center but were denied.

“There were no special accommodations made,” Segura said. “People were outside. They couldn’t hear what was going on.”

After a long period of time that one resident described as chaotic and disorganized, the city council voted to postpone the meeting for next week.

Several people told ABC-7 the lack of control at Thursday’s meeting showed how inexperienced the governing body of the city is.

“You end up with chaos and this is kind of a circus and it needs to stop,” local business owner Robert Ardovino said.

“They need to have an organization that is professional,” Segura said.

The concern over who is running the city is why so many people came out for a meeting that was supposed to bring the city closer to finally getting a new acting mayor. Former mayoral candidate Gerardo Hernandez said amidst all the recent controversy, the attitude in Sunland Park has changed.

“I think from now on you’re going to see this hall full of people because I think there’s more concern now of what’s going on in the government,” Hernandez told ABC-7.

Residents said they just hope the council can get its act together and push the city in the right direction.

“What just happened, all these arrests, and everything, is a cleaning part. Everything is going to be fine,” Hernandez said.

“We’re going through some really impossible times in this city and trying to not work together is not going to work,” Ardovino said.

The meeting will be held next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Riverside Elementary, which should accommodate a larger crowd. Mayor Pro-Tem Santos said the council will likely appoint a new mayor the following week.

Santos told ABC-7 off camera that when the time comes, she will not vote for Hernandez because she does not think he has the city’s best interests in mind. This, despite the fact that she ran on Hernandez’s ticket and told ABC-7 last week, Hernandez would probably be appointed mayor.