Ex-Sunland Park candidate drops mayor bid

The losing mayoral candidate and victim of an alleged extortion plot in a troubled New Mexico border city has given up his legal fight to claim the seat.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/11icQMw) that former Sunland Park mayoral candidate Gerardo Hernandez instead will set his sights on the 2014 mayoral election.

District Court Judge Manuel Arrietta this week rebuffed Hernandez’s request to be declared the winner in the 2012 municipal election that was marred by allegations that some out-of-state residents were registered to vote and that some questionable ballots were cast.

Daniel Salinas, who beat Hernandez last year, was prevented from taking the mayoral office after he was charged with extortion by secretly Hernandez receiving a lap dance from a topless woman in his campaign office.