Baca says she's staying in office

CLOVIS — Curry County Commissioner Chet Spear began Friday’s commission meeting by addressing the two absences on the dais.

Ben McDaniel, he said, was out of town on vacation.

After a long pause, Spear reported Commissioner Angelina Baca was “... not here.”

Spear said later no one on the commission knew where Baca might be. Asked about Baca’s absence after the meeting, County Manager Lance Pyle said he had not heard from her.

Reached by phone after the meeting on Friday, Baca told The News that she missed the meeting because she was at a doctor’s appointment with her father.

Her absence was noteworthy because it marked the third straight meeting she has missed since the secretary of state’s office announced she has been removed from the Nov. 6 ballot.

She had been slated to run unopposed for re-election as the District 1 commissioner before officials announced last month — just 68 days before the election — that Baca’s name had been removed from the ballot. That, according to SOS officials, was due to her failure to file a campaign finance form or pay the $1,200 fine for missing the due date.

In Friday’s telephone interview, Baca said she has not abandoned her elected office.

She said she could not attend two separate meetings held on Sept. 4 due to a stomach bug.

Baca said she has no plans to vacate the position prematurely, with her term set to end on Dec. 31.

“I am not going to resign, there’s no reason for it,” Baca said. “I’ve been elected and I’m going to finish out my term.”

Without any Democrats, Republicans or Libertarians on the ballot for the District 1 commissioner position, Baca’s successor will be selected by the next governor.

That selection could be Baca herself as she told The News on Friday that with her finance form now filed and the fine paid, she intends to apply for an appointment to the commission when the time comes.

“We all have priorities and sometimes you have no control on the things that are happening around you,” Baca said. “I’m still here, I’m a member of this community, I have my business, I have my family and my obligation to the county and that’s where I’m at.”