Sunland Park Councilors Appoint New Mayor

From therepublic.com - City councilors in the troubled New Mexico border city of Sunland Park have appointed a new mayor. By a 3-2 vote with one abstention Wednesday night, the council selected 24-year-old Javier Perea. He'll be sworn in next week in the council's next scheduled session. Former Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Salinas won the election in March, but was barred from taking office under the terms of his release from jail. The 28-year-old Salinas was charged before the election with trying to force fellow candidate Gerardo Hernandez from the race with a secretly recorded video of him getting a lap dance from a topless woman. Hernandez has filed an appeal, claiming there was fraud in the absentee ballot. If a judge sides with Hernandez, the mayor's seat could be declared vacant again.

Sunland Park Councilors Appoint New Mayor