LAS CRUCES — Sunland Park Mayor Martin Resendiz, who was lampooned on cable television after news that he admitted signing nine city contacts while drunk, has abandoned his plans to run for Congress.
Resendiz, reached after a City Council meeting Wednesday night, said he made his decision in recent weeks “based on the bad publicity we’ve had over a lot of different issues. It’s not the proper time.”
Resendiz, a former El Paso police officer and Sunland Park municipal judge who was elected mayor in 2008, had said he planned to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Steve Pearce for the 2nd Congressional District.
But Resendiz’s political career hit a major bump in August when news broke that, in a 2010 deposition for a civil suit against the city, Resendiz admitted signing nine contracts for work with an architectural design firm called Synthesis+ in 2008 after drinking with company executives for several hours.
In a written response to questions posed by the company’s attorney, Resendiz wrote that he had “way too much to drink” and “I didn’t know what I was signing.”
Resendiz’s admission, first disclosed publicly by Sunland Park’s city attorney Frank Coppler, was subsequently lampooned on comedian George Lopez’s since-canceled TBS talk show.
Resendiz said his decision to cancel the congressional bid was “partially” based on the news about the Synthesis+ suit. Municipal financial challenges, which have led to several position cuts, also influenced his decision, he said.
“With the problems we’ve had with our budget and what have you, we have to look at fixing our house before we go out and try to fix somebody else’s,” Resendiz said.
There was more turmoil last week during a City Council meeting when Resendiz and two councilors exchanged angry words during a discussion about other city contracts, signed by Resendiz, that some councilors claim are not valid.
At one point, Councilor Christian Lira asked the mayor if he was drunk. At another point, when mayor pro tem Daniel Salinas yelled at the mayor to answer a question, Resendiz, upset, leaned toward Salinas, who then asked if the mayor was trying to kiss him. There was talk of stepping outside to settle the dispute.
“I do want to comment that I am incredibly apologetic about the behavior that we displayed and just that our public deserves better from us,” Resendiz said.
Salinas, too, sounded apologetic.
“He yelled at me first, and I yelled at him back,” Salinas said. “I shouldn’t have done it. I should have acted more professionally.”
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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