Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The New Rockford City Commission has the potential to look quite a bit different come June.
It's an election year, and four of the five commissioners will find their terms up and seats open.
Stuart Richter's first term as commission president will end in June, and as of press time he had not announced whether he would seek a second 4-year stint in the city's highest office.
The seats currently held by commissioners Kelly McKnight and Justin Ystaas are also up this year. McKnight, who has served on the commission since 2010, has said she will not seek another term. Ystaas was first elected in 2020.
Dillon Hewitt was appointed in 2022 to fill the seat vacated by Ryan Hager, who won the position by write-in. There were no names on the ballot, as Hager had not petitioned to run again when his first 4-year term was up. Hager resigned during the reorganization meeting in late June, and the commission sought out Hewitt to fill the void until this year's election.
Any person age 18 or older who has resided in the city for at least nine months prior to the election is eligible to run for city office. The individual needs to fill out a petition and then obtain a few dozen signatures from other city residents in order to have their name on the ballot on Tuesday, June 11.
Commission candidates must obtain at least 31 signatures, and candidates for president of the commission must obtain at least 43 signatures.
Petitions are available at New Rockford City Hall. Completed petitions with the appropriate number of signatures are due back at the city office by Monday, April 8 at 4 p.m.
