BetterBelen.com

Commission bans placing names on vehicles

June 06, 2010

The Valencia County Commission last week banned county elected officials from putting their names on county vehicles, a response to Sheriff Rene Rivera placing his name on patrol cars. According to the county, the new rule, approved unanimously by resolution, won’t mean Rivera will need to remove his name from the patrol cars. “It will [...]

Luna defeats Barela, other incumbents win

June 01, 2010

With all precincts reporting, challenger Julian Luna has defeated incumbent Rep. Elias Barela, according to the Valencia County Bureau of Elections. Barela represents State Representative District 8. All other incumbents won their races. Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera will face former Peralta Municipal Judge Louis Burkhard in November. Valencia County Commissioner Pedro Rael beat his [...]

Primary Election Day is today

June 01, 2010

Today’s your last chance to vote in Valencia County’s primary election. You can vote between 7:00am and 7:00pm at your precinct. Other than the state-wide races for governor, lieutenant governor and others, there are a number of exciting local races to watch. The exciting races The two state representative races have been respectfully contentious, with [...]

Carrillo appointed to the council’s vacant seat

March 16, 2010

Lorenzo Carrillo was appointed last night as the person to fill the Belen City Council’s vacant seat. The seat was vacated when Mayor Rudy Jaramillo, a former councilor, was sworn in as mayor one week ago. Carrillo, calling himself a “fiscal conservative” who’s dedicated to growth, was sworn in immediately at the beginning of the [...]

Billboard case dismissed by district court

March 14, 2010

The district court case filed by the City of Belen against then-city council candidate Jerah R. Cordova over the placement of a campaign advertisement on a billboard was dismissed late last week. The counterclaim filed by Cordova against then-City Manager Sally Garley also has been dismissed. The case began on January 6 when an advertisement [...]

Gallegos elected as new mayor pro tem

March 08, 2010

Belen City Councilor Wayne Gallegos, the previous city council’s mayor pro tem, was again elected mayor pro tem during the first meeting of the Jaramillo administration. The former city council, which included councilors David Lopez and Terese Ulivarri, met first tonight to conclude its business and adjourn for the last time. Then the new city [...]

New mayor and councilors discuss cooperation

March 07, 2010

Mayor-elect Rudy Jaramillo hosted a meeting on Friday afternoon with Councilor Wayne Gallegos and councilors-elect Mary T. Aragon and Jerah R. Cordova to discuss Tuesday’s election and how to make cooperation happen. During the private meeting at Pete’s Cafe in Belen, the four officials conversed about the need for cooperation during the first major transition [...]

Belen election results to be made official

March 07, 2010

The City of Belen canvassed the municipal election tallies on Friday morning, confirming Tuesday’s results that brought a new mayor and two new councilors into office in Belen. Rudy Jaramillo was elected mayor, edging out Tibo Chavez Jr. by just seven votes. Mary T. Aragon and Jerah R. Cordova took the two council seats by [...]

Torres honored for his service as mayor

March 01, 2010

Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres was honored tonight by the City of Belen for his tenure as mayor, in addition to his many years of community service during the past couple of decades. “We recognize Mayor Ronnie Torres for his vision for our city and for his efforts, dedication and hard work in fulfilling that vision,” [...]

Gallegos will focus on flood control if elected

February 16, 2010

Wayne Gallegos, a Belen city councilor, said yesterday he’s running for mayor to continue to address Belen’s flooding problems. “That’s the number one thing,” he said. He said the “buzzword is the economy” and he thinks the other candidates are unnecessarily latching onto it as an issue. “My heart’s still on the emergency response and [...]