If City Councilor Paul Wymer wins the April 14 runoff election for mayor, Rio Rancho will face a vacancy-filling process that has never occurred in the city’s history — and the city’s charter has a detailed roadmap for how it would work.
Wymer, who led Tuesday’s six-candidate primary with 45% of the vote, advanced to a runoff against former Sandoval County Democratic Party chair Alexandria Piland, who finished second with 27%. The April 14 runoff was triggered because no candidate cleared the 50% threshold required to win outright.
Should Wymer prevail, he would vacate his District 4 council seat — a scenario the city says has not previously arisen since Rio Rancho was incorporated as a municipal government in 1981.
Under Section 2.06.B of the Rio Rancho City Charter, the process for filling that vacancy would unfold as follows:
The new mayor — Wymer, if he wins — would have 60 days from the date the council seat becomes vacant to appoint a qualified successor. That appointment would then require confirmation by the full Governing Body, the city’s term for the mayor and council acting together.
Under Section 3.02 of the charter, the mayor must notify other council members of the appointee’s name within the required timeframe, after which the appointment would be placed on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled council meeting. If the Governing Body declines to confirm the mayor’s choice, the mayor would have 45 days to name another candidate, and the process would repeat until a confirmation is secured.
The appointed successor would serve until the next regular municipal election, which would be March 2028 and when Wymer’s council term will expire.
Wymer has served six years on the City Council and six years on the Planning and Zoning Board before that. He ran for mayor on a platform of infrastructure investment, public safety pay increases and support for the city’s 2024 Affordable Housing Plan.
The mayor’s seat itself is being vacated by Mayor Gregg Hull, who is running for governor.
Piland, Wymer’s opponent in the runoff, has emphasized fiscal responsibility and a “growth must pay for growth” approach to development.