Complaint: Rio Rancho Councilors Broke Law

Rio Rancho’s City Council has come under scrutiny by the state Attorney General’s Office again over allegations that four of its members broke the law by discussing public business in private meetings.

Tonya Cantu filed a complaint on Oct. 25, claiming that four of the city’s six councilors violated the state Open Meetings Act by discussing controversial changes to the city’s animal ordinance outside of a public meeting.

Cantu based her complaint on the Attorney General’s 2007 opinion in the case of fired city manager Jim Palenick. The opinion said conversations between the then-mayor and four city councilors before a public vote to fire Palenick violated the act, even though all parties were not in the same place at the same time. The opinion called it a “rolling quorum,” which occurs when a majority of a governing body discusses public business outside of a public meeting.

Palenick used the opinion to sue the city, claiming he was illegally fired and the case is still pending before the state Supreme Court.

Cantu’s complaint said the Oct. 10 council meeting agenda listed the animal ordinance, with proposed changes, cosponsored by councilors Tim Crum and Lonnie Clayton. It was scheduled to be discussed again at the council’s Oct. 24 meeting.

Cantu said that, on Oct. 22, she saw councilors Chuck Wilkins, Mark Scott and Clayton talking about the ordinance in Wilkins’ office.

She claimed that the cosponsorship of the ordinance by Clayton and Crum, followed by Clayton’s meeting with two other councilors, constituted a rolling quorum.

The Attorney General’s Office has assigned Assistant Attorney General Sean Cunniff to investigate the case.

“I’m glad they’re taking this seriously,” Cantu said. “It’s kind of scary what I saw. They’re just not playing by the book.”

Clayton called Cantu’s allegations “groundless and false.” He said he didn’t know that Crum had asked to be included as a sponsor of the ordinance until he saw it on the agenda.

“I don’t talk to councilor Crum about anything at all unless it’s in a council meeting,” Clayton said on Friday.

Crum also denied the allegations. “Lonnie and I did not talk about cosponsoring this (the ordinance),” Crum said.

Cunniff wrote to Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack on Jan. 16, asking the city to provide a detailed response to the allegations by Feb. 15.

City spokesman Peter Wells said the city attorney’s office is gathering the requested information and will provide it by the deadline.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal