Enfield sworn in — for now
Gallup's newest city councilor, Mike Enfield is sworn in during a short ceremony at City Hall on Friday afternoon. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — There probably was never a better time for Maria Upshaw to vote for a white man for the first time in her 89 years.

Upshaw, who is Navajo, is the mother-in-law of Mike Enfield, who was sworn in Friday as the new councilor for the northside district, having defeated incumbent Bill Nechero by one vote.

She, along with 30 other friends and relatives of Enfield, as well as a few city officials, were on hand for the brief swearing-in ceremony conduced by City Clerk Alfred Abeita.

Both Pat Butler and Emmett Bryan Wall were among the spectators. Both knew that sometime in April, after a runoff election, one of them would also be sworn in to represent the southside district. The runoff is now tentatively scheduled for April 7, but that still must get approval from the City Council on Tuesday.

Enfield said after the swearing-in that he was not worried about the possibility that his career as a city councilor may be in days and not years, since Nechero has said he will ask for a hand recount.

He’s coming in, he said, committed to doing what he can to improve the antiquated infrastructure that exists in many parts of the city.

He said he also plans to continue Nechero’s tradition of holding neighborhood meetings but he wants to change it somewhat. Instead of holding just one neighborhood meeting on the northside, he wants to hold them throughout his district since the northside district really consists of three distinct entities — the northside neighborhoods, the neighborhoods south of the railroad tracks and the downtown area.

The hand-counting process could only take a few days so voters in the district will probably know by late next week or early the following week whether the hand count comes up with a different winner.

City Manager Gerald Herrera said there is a procedure in the city code that addresses a situation where someone who is sworn in is later found not to have the majority of votes. The procedure allows for the person who was originally sworn in to step down and the new winner to be sworn in.