Applications under review for county commission seat

CLOVIS — At least four individuals have asked to be considered for the upcoming appointment to fill Ben Smith’s seat on the Curry County Commission.

Smith announced his resignation, effective Saturday, at a commission meeting last month. He said he accepted a position in the dairy industry in Nebraska.

The District 4 vacancy will be filled by appointment from Gov. Susana Martinez, but the timeline is open-ended.

“Applications are being reviewed, and an announcement will follow the Governor’s selection,” spokesman Michael Lonergan said Thursday by email.

Lonergan and other representatives of the governor’s office did not respond to requests Thursday and Friday for more information on the process.

In the past couple weeks, at least four persons — many of them previous hopefuls to the commission — have submitted applications online.

“I ran a few years ago and at the time I really wasn’t ready for it,” said Seth Martin, a farmer in Grier. “I had been asked to run a time or two before, but when Mr. Smith was running I thought that he was a good representative for the area so there wasn’t any reason to run against him.”

Now that the commission is short one representative, Martin said he “thought (he) would step up and try to be that person for the county.”

Steve Gershon, who was runner-up in the 2016 election that placed Smith in office, said he also put in for the appointment as soon as he heard of the opening.

“I faxed (the governor’s office) everything,” he said. “I asked them how long it would be and they said there’s no time limit.”

Ronnie Montague, who runs a farming ranch in south-central Curry County, said he applied and “just want(s) to serve the community in the best way (he) can.”

James Townson of Melrose, retired from Farmers' Electric Cooperative, said he ran for the position “twice in the last 10 or 15 years” but wanted to try for it again because he “felt like we needed somebody from the western side of Curry County.”

Prospective candidates to the job, which has a starting salary of $24,599, can apply online at: http://www.governor.state.nm.us/ApplyForBoards.aspx