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Ranked choice voting defeated
The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 City Council killed a proposal to use ranked choice voting for municipal elections Monday night.
Proponents argued that this process would save millions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, opponents said that the new system would confuse voters and that most were not educated enough to research and rank multiple candidates.
Ranked choice voting is already used in municipalities across the country, including locally in Santa Fe and Las Cruces.
鈥淚鈥檓 not calling people dumb or confused,鈥� said Councilor Dan Lewis.
Instead, Lewis argued that the ranked choice system itself is confusing. Lewis pointed to Santa Fe, where even years after implementation, some voters are still unclear on the process.
Ultimately, the measure was voted down on a 6-3 vote.
Councilors Dan Champine, Dan Lewis, Brooke Bassan, Ren茅e Grout and Joaqu铆n Baca , as well as Council President Klarissa Pe帽a voted against the ordinance. Councilors Nichole Rogers, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Stephanie Telles voted in favor of ranked choice voting.
Space fever
The City Council unanimously approved $3 million in funding for a space infrastructure startup.
That startup, Mantis Space, is attempting to develop the first space-based power grid to fuel future space stations, satellites and settlements on the moon.
To persuade the company to set up shop in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, the state and city combined funds to sweeten the deal.
Most of the money awarded to Mantis Space is from the State Economic Development Department at $2.5 million, while the city contributed $500,000 of its own funds.
The ordinance requires the company to hire locally and operate in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 for the next ten years. If the company violates this agreement, the city can claw back funding.
On the agenda: ranked choice voting and more
Tonight, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 city councilors will debate whether to adopt ranked choice voting.
If passed, ranked choice voting would replace the city鈥檚 current runoff system for municipal elections. Instead of voting for one candidate, citizens would rank their favorite candidates numerically. If their preferred candidate is eliminated, their vote is then added to the tally of their second-choice candidate.
This continues until one candidate receives a decisive majority vote, effectively eliminating the need for a runoff election.
Most councilors, however, are against the measure. Five of the nine councilors voted against reviving the bill at last month鈥檚 council meeting.
Councilors Dan Champine, Dan Lewis, Brooke Bassan and Ren茅e Grout, as well as Council President Klarissa Pe帽a voted against reviving the bill.
However, with just a slim majority of 5-4, the bill was revived and will be discussed at the council meeting tonight.
If approved, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 wouldn鈥檛 be the first municipality in New Mexico to test out ranked choice voting. Currently, both Santa Fe and Las Cruces use this system.
Other topics on the agenda for tonight include a ballot question that would ask the public to vote on whether the director of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Safety should be confirmed by the city council, similar to the process for a police or fire chief.