By Mike Bush
Editor
575magazine.com
Mayor-elect poses with his wife, Kristie, Tuesday at City Hall after he won election.
“Throw the bums out!”
That seemed to be the mood of Roswell city voters Tuesday as they voted out all but one incumbent in the city election, including Mayor Sam LaGrone.
Del Jurney defeated LaGrone, 2,490 to 2,304, with the remaining 199 votes going to Alfredo Dominguez.
The only incumbent to win was City Councilor Jason Perry, appointed to his Ward IV seat in November. He handily defeated challenger Jonathan Rothschild, 591-164.
Incumbent Marilynn Manatt, appointed to her Ward I seat in August, narrowly lost to Dusty Huckabee, executive director of MainStreet Roswell, 365-315.
In Ward II, Jimmy Craig outpolled three other candidates, receiving 778 votes t Billy Wood’s 696, Edgar Lytle’s 269 and Thomas Felber’s 127.
Former Councilor Art Sandoval, who resigned his Ward IV seat when he moved to Ward III, defeated incumbent Ward III Councilor Sonny Espinoza 574-481.
Art Sandoval, Ward III
Rob McWilliams took the remaining Ward IV seat, defeating Timothy Smith 437-308.
Middle-school teacher Barry Foster defeated Juan Oropesa, executive director of the Roswell Hispano Chamber of Commerce, in a close race for the Ward V seat, 295-277.
Jurney said he was overwhelmed and excited by his win.
He said he couldn’t say for sure exactly what he plans to do.
“But we’ll continue what Mayor LaGrone did,” he said. “We’ll expand on it, We’ll continue to work hard and our best days are still ahead.
“What an incredible 60 days this has been,” he added.
First, he wants to get some rest, he said.
Then he wants to start contacting councilors to “establish a agenda, a direction, and get to work.”
He said he expects some things to happen “pretty quickly.”
The vote will be canvassed Friday, the new mayor and city councilors will be sworn in at 5 p.m. March 11 in preparation for the council meeting at 7 p.m.
McWilliams said the voters have spoken and said it’s time for a change.
Rob McWilliams, Ward IV
“They want change from within and we can se that by the way they’re voting,” he said, “so if people are nervous in city administration, they need to be, because that’s my goal. Enough of the status quo.
“I’m not going to be a puppet. I’m going to be the voice of opposition, so people better get used to hearing me say ‘No’ a lot. I want an explanation and I want in detail what’s going on.”
One of the things McWilliams wants to do is take a look at the city’s financials, “really taking a good look at the city budget,” he said. “I want I broken down penny by penny and dollar by dollar, where it’s going, where it’s gone, why we’re wasting money on certain things we don’t need to be.”
The Roswell policeman mentioned the Police Department flying recruits into Albuquerque and putting them up at city expense.
“And then they either quit or get fired or leave,” he said. “How are we going to recoup that money?”
He said he won’t be a yes-man.
“I’m going to make sure that taxpayers are taken care of and they get the explanation they want, and not just fluff,” he added.
McWilliams said he has given the Police Department his two weeks’ notice and will go to work for the Chaves County Sheriff’s Department beginning March 8.
Since he will no longer be on the city payroll, there will be no conflict of interest in his serving on any City Council committee, he said.
Huckabee said he was really excited by his victory.
Dusty Huckabee, Ward I
“My friends all came together behind me and just supported me and helped knock on doors and put signs out, and it’s just a real honor to be able to represent my ward.
“I’m going to do the best I can to make things happen, and not only in my ward but in all of Roswell.”
Huckabee said he heard a lot from Ward I residents about crime problems, especially in “Chihuahuita,” the area south of Second Street and east of Main Street.
“I’m going to see that Chihuahuita gets some attention,” Huckabee said. “There’s no street lights over there, it’s a breeding ground for crime.”
Roswell also has a trash problem, Huckabee said.
“We’ve got Keep Roswell Beautiful, and I think we [should] use that as an organization to help address that,” he added. Sandoval said it was a great honor to go back on the City Council. He thanked his supporters and campaign contributors.
He said he wanted to continue working with the Police Department, specifically working with Police Chief Rob Smith to develop a policy “that would protect all the citizens” including immigrants, no matter what their immigration status.