UPDATE: Official canvassed results (Friday, Oct. 6)
Position 1
At-large
Stephanie Russo Baca: 1,124*
Jerome Cordova: 877
Position 5
Valencia County
Brian Jiron: 546*
Carol Benavidez: 515
Kirsten Couevas: 123
With 33 of 34 polling locations reporting in as of Wednesday morning, unofficial results of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors election show Stephanie Russo Baca and Brian Jiron leading in the races Valencia County voters participated in.
In the race for the Valencia County seat, Position 5, there were three candidates vying for the position.
Brian Jiron
Brian Jiron, a farmer in Isleta, has 536 votes, or 45.93 percent of the total votes. Carol Benavidez, of Tomé, follows with 508 votes, and Kirsten Couevas, also of Tomé, currently has 123.
The at-large Position 1 candidate on the board can live in any of the counties the district encompasses, but this year both candidates were from Valencia County.
Preliminary results show current Valencia County director and board chairwoman Russo Baca, 36, of Los Chavez, has 1,106 votes, 56.23 percent, and her opponent, Jerome Cordova, 47, of Jarales, has 861 votes.
Stephanie Russo Baca
Russo Baca is a water attorney, and Cordova is the owner of ADC, Ltd.
With the exception of the Santo Domingo Pueblo Library voting location, all polling places, including mail-in ballots, have been reported in and tabulated.
The MRGCD board of directors will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m., Friday, Oct. 6, to canvass the election results.
The Zoom meeting information for the canvassing meeting can be found on the district’s website, mrgcd.com/agendas-and-minutes. Members of the public can also attend the meeting in person at the MRGCD general office, 1931 Second St. SW, Albuquerque.
Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.
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April 25, 2024
