SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The Latest on the mayoral election in Santa Fe, N.M. (all times local):
11:55 p.m.
A Santa Fe election official says entrepreneur Alan Webber has been elected mayor of New Mexico’s state capital city.
Five candidates were on the mayoral ballot Tuesday in Santa Fe’s first ranked choice election in which voters could rank each candidate by preference.
City Clerk Yolanda Vigil announced that Webber won a majority of votes after four elimination rounds.
Santa Fe voters ranked party candidates from first to last on the ballot, in order of preference.
When no candidate won a majority in the first round, the last-place finisher was eliminated and voters’ second choices are applied to the remaining candidates. The process was repeated until Weber won a 66 percent majority in the final round.
___
9:20 p.m.
Voting results from several polling locations are arriving at City Hall in Santa Fe’s mayoral election.
Election officials for New Mexico’s capital city on Tuesday said they need complete ballot results from all locations before they can calculate who won. The city is using a ranked choice voting system for the first time.
Five candidates are vying in the mayor race. At the ballot box, Santa Fe voters ranked party candidates from first to last, in order of preference.
A candidate who gets a majority of first-place votes is the winner. If no one wins a majority, the last-place finisher is eliminated and voters’ second choices are applied to the remaining candidates.
The process repeats until someone gets a majority.
___
3 a.m.
Residents of New Mexico’s state capital city are choosing a mayor who will wield new powers and earn a six-figure salary from a field of five candidates with no incumbent.
Tuesday’s local elections in Santa Fe are being decided by a new ranked-choice voting system.
Voters list candidate preferences in descending order. If none receives a majority, votes for the last-place candidate are redistributed until a winner emerges.
The next mayor will command greater authority over the city manager, city attorney and clerk’s office. The salary is increasing from $29,000 to $110,000.
Candidates include three City Council members: attorney Peter Ives, state transportation worker Ron Trujillo and former Espanola Mayor Joseph Maestas. Fast Company Magazine founder Alan Webber and Santa Fe school board member Kate Noble are running too.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.