Sunland Park’s new mayor tries to oust mayor pro tem

Another Sunland Park City Council meeting brings even more controversy for the troubled bordertown.

Newly appointed mayor Javier Perea pushed for the removal of Isabel Santos as mayor pro tem.

After months of chaotic meetings, Perea said he’s giving the city a complete overhaul, and this is just one part of it.

Perea placed the item to vote on a new mayor pro tem on the agenda for Wednesday’s City Council meeting. After a lot of arguing and plenty of support from the public, Santos remains the mayor pro tem.

Perea told ABC-7 he’s trying to move the city forward, and they need the right person as mayor pro tem.

Over the past few months, Santos has stirred up a lot of controversy. During meetings, she’s walked out, yelled at other councilors and abruptly fired employees with no notice.

Perea said it’s time for a change.

Coincidentally, Santos was the only city councilor who voted against Perea when he was appointed. ABC-7 asked if that had anything to do with this decision.

“No, not really. I’m a new leader in the city, andI just want to make sure the council is in line with me, as well. It’sthe council’s decision of who they want to put as mayor pro tem. Theycan vote to put her in as well again, and it’s respectable for me toaccept the council’s decision on that,” Perea said.

Perea said the mayor pro tem is there to run the council meetings in his absence and keep order. That’s something Santos has struggled with in the past few months when the city had no mayor.

“Some of the meetings have had a lack of controlin how the meetings have been managed. You’ve seen this happen in themedia the last couple of months. There was a lot of yelling back,bickering between the council and things like that. When the mayor’snot there, we do need someone to enforce the rules,” Perea said.

At the council meeting, the chaos that has become a staple at the meetings tried to rear its head, but Perea managed to calm the agitated public.

“We can do this in an orderly and civilized manner, but I willnot tolerate yelling across the room,” Perea told the room.

Residents stood up in support of Santos and argued that the council was discriminating against her by trying to remove her title.

Councilor Carmen Rodriguez supported the mayor’s push for a change.

“In my own personal opinion, I believe that we are startingfresh. We are starting new. We need someone who can run a meetingcorrectly, that can speak the language correctly, that can understandwhat is being spoken,” Rodriguez said at the meeting.

That caused an uproar from the audience, and some called Rodriguez “cold” and the decision “unethical.”

Rodriguez tried to appoint councilor Sergio Carrillo, but none of the other councilors would support her.

In the end, no one new was appointed, so Santos kept her position by default.

“I am very happy because I’m going to continue with my mayor pro tem position. I think I continue here because the people voted for me,” Santos told ABC-7.

Despite the changes Perea has tried to make throughout the city, it’s clear the toxic relationship between city councilors remains.

“I think Ms. Rodriguez need more leadership because sometimeshe can to speak very well the English, but sometime she have a badstatement because she say one thing that don’t apply for the city. Shecan to speak very well, but she don’t think with the brain,” Santos said after the meeting.

“Right now it’s very difficult because Ms. Santos has beengiving orders day-to-day to employees, and she can’t do that. She needsto step back and realize what her job description is,” Rodriguez said.

Both councilors said despite what happened on Wednesday, they think the city is moving forward in a positive way.