Jasso wins second term, street bond passes easily in Deming election

DEMING – Benny Jasso has won a second term as Mayor of Deming by a decisive margin, and the first general obligation bond issue in the city's history was approved by voters, according to preliminary results Tuesday evening.

Voters in Deming's 2018 municipal election only needed to fill an oval for two ballot questions: who should be Mayor, and whether the city should, for the first time in its history, issue general obligation bonds for up to $3 million to fund maintenance of city streets. 

Two members of the City Council, District 1 Councilor David Sanchez and District 4 Councilor Victor Cruz, stood unopposed for re-election, continuing a recent trend of uncontested elections in the city. In 2016 the other half of the Deming City Council, Joe "Butter" Milo and Roxana Rincon, were both re-elected without opposition. 

All of Deming's Councilors and the Mayor serve for 4-year terms.

Mayor Jasso ran against two challengers: local hotelier Edward Khanbabian and Deming resident Shannon Relyea. Preliminary results Tuesday evening counted 650 votes for Jasso against 240 for Khanbabian and 24 for Relyea, giving Jasso more than 71 percent of the vote.

The 914 ballots cast indicated a 14.8 percent turnout of registered voters.

Preliminary results indicated 619 out of 877 voters approved the bond versus 258 opposed. 

MORE: Second town hall touts Deming street bond

Edward Khanbabian entered the mayoral race in the last few minutes before the deadline to file candidacy in January, saying he did not want to see an unopposed election for the Mayoral position. Although his goals for economic development and tourism did not differ sharply from Jasso's, Khanbabian severely criticized city staff and elected officials for insufficient transparency and allegedly lax ethics.

Relyea made his third run for the office but did little campaigning aside from an entertaining appearance at a candidates' forum in February. 

As the final hour of voting approached, Khanbabian was in the parking lot of the Learning Center, well past the 100-foot campaign-free zone, near a pickup truck with a campaign sign on it. 

While Jasso had an election watch party getting underway at Deming's Elks Lodge, Khanbabian said he planned to catch the results over the radio at the Butterfield Stage Motel, which he owns. "If I win, fine; if I lose, no big deal," he said. "If they pick the guy who doesn't do anything, they get what they choose." 

Jasso arrived at City Hall a few minutes after the polls closed at 7 pm, and waited for the results alongside his wife, Natasha. After City Administrator Aaron Sera announced the results, Jasso thanked "the voters of Deming for having faith in us," adding, "We're going to move forward." 

The decisive margin of the bond's approval surprised Jasso, though he said he had been confident it would pass, knowing the condition of Deming's streets has been a frequent complaint. "That's sending a message to us," he said, "that we know we need to step it up, because that's what they want." 

In Columbus, Salas elected Mayor

In the Village of Columbus, Philip Skinner has been unseated after one term as Mayor by Trustee Esequiel "Bruce" Salas. Preliminary results counted 174 votes for Salas versus 119 for Skinner. The Mayor serves for four years.

MORE: Esequiel Salas aims for Mayor's seat in Village of Columbus

Village Trustees elected on Tuesday night were Ricardo Gutierrez, William Johnson, and Paulino Villegas.

According to preliminary results, Gutierrez was elected with 188 votes, Johnson claimed 159 votes, and Villegas 141. 

Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-546-2611 (ext. 2608) or adammassa@demingheadlight.com.