Las Cruces, NM - According to unofficial results from the County Clerk’s office Kevin Bixby and D. Craig Fenske prevailed in Tuesday’s Doña Ana Soil and Water Conservation District board election.
Bixby and Fenske defeated Joe Delk in Zone Three and Kent Thurston in Zone Four respectively. In Zone Three Bixby received 521 votes and Delk received 285. In Zone Four Fenske received 1,812 votes and Thurston received 841 votes. Results for the election will be certified on Friday by the canvassing board.
Of the 70,654 eligible voters 3,459 voted in the election.
“While five percent is the highest turnout we’ve seen in this election, it is another sad turnout for a local election,” said County Clerk Scott Krahling. “With two elections back-to-back we will never get the turnout we need in local elections. In these past two elections, the school board election and this election, we had increased turnout but it is unacceptable. Five percent turnout in any election is not democracy. People deserve better. We need to work harder to fix our broken election system.”
Krahling led the effort to pass the Local Elections Act, a bill designed to consolidate local, non-partisan elections into one local election. The bill passed both chambers of the legislature with overwhelming bi-partisan support but was vetoed by Governor Susana Martinez.
“Consolidating our local elections will increase turnout. It is the answer.” explained Krahling. “We need a direct pathway to voting. Let’s leave sensationalism and politics out of it, and get people voting again.”
Information from Dona Ana County