The Sept. 16 village of Bosque Farms council meeting was filled with tension, arguments and some tears.

BOSQUE FARMS — A local municipal council has decided it’s time to try to oust their mayor.

On a 3-0 vote, the Bosque Farms Village Council voted to initiate district court proceedings to remove Mayor Chris Gillespie for malfeasance in office, as allowed by state law.

CLICK HERE for complete document from Councilor James Bruhn

Councilor James Bruhn asked for the item to be placed on the Sept. 16 agenda, saying it was, “due to all the roadblocks. I like Chris, it’s nothing personal. I don’t think he’s the person for the job. I’ve been here for nine months and nothing has been done.”

Under state statute, section 3-10-7, “Any person elected or appointed to an elective office of a municipality may be removed for malfeasance in office by the district court upon complaint of the mayor or governing body of the municipality.”

Once the complaint is filed, the court will hold a hearing on the matter. As of 9 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 23, no complaint had been filed.

Councilor Erica DeSmet then read through an eight-page document she said was written by Bruhn, which detailed reasons the mayor should be removed from his position.

“Of particular concern is an alleged continuing pattern in which actions have been approved by majority vote of the governing body but subsequently have not been implemented,” DeSmet read. “Including circumstances in which the mayor allegedly directed the village clerk to not carry out approved action.”

Such instances include the council’s decision to use $4.9 million from loan/grant funding for grinder pumps and approved changing the scope of work and submitting the necessary documentation to the state and the council’s decision to self-report to the state auditor.

Bruhn’s written statement allege those council decisions weren’t carried out because the mayor directed the Village Clerk Erica Martinez to not take action.

“He has flat out said he won’t do something if he doesn’t like a councilor,” DeSmet said.

Bruhn’s statement, as read by DeSmet, went on to say the mayor made appointments to village positions without council approval, specifically the appointment of previous village clerk Vernon Abeita in 2025 as the volunteer EMS coordinator to get the village’s defunct EMS program and ambulance back in service and his appointment of Bosque Farms Police Lt. Jason Adams as interim police chief in April.

Other allegations include purposefully preventing publication of ordinance changes, not rectifying Open Meetings Act violations as directed to by the New Mexico Department of Justice and using taxpayer money to research the possibility of bringing criminal charges against DeSmet and others.

Bosque Farms Council Meeting, Sept. 16

The statement notes the mayor is the village’s chief administrative officer and during his time, “substantial financial administrative deficiencies have developed, including delays in requesting a total of $1 million in reimbursements from grants, accounts payable being about three months delinquent, fire department stipends going unprocessed and fuel cards for the police and fire departments being unusable.

“I hope you’re all sitting down for this — $120,000 spent on legal council the last six months,” DeSmet said.

Bruhn noted that amount was actually only for four months since the village has been without an attorney for two months.

The allegations continued, stating Gillespie gave a $60,000 professional services agreement contract to a personal friend and allowed “a person from the community to sit behind closed doors and redact (Inspection of Public Records Act requests), which allowed a normal resident access to all your information. To fire and police personnel,” DeSmet said.

She continued, saying the vacancy on the council after Ronita Wood’s resignation in August continued because the mayor isn’t complying with the law to fill it.

“This mayor has to come with a name within 15 days or at the next meeting,” she said. DeSmet asked Bruhn if he had anything to add.

“The list is pretty long,” Bruhn said. “We can’t continue like it is and expect any different outcome.”

DeSmet continued, asking Gillespie what he will do “to get the village back to where it was. You said the council is bullies,” noting she had been told things would improve if she stepped down.

She then asked since the village doesn’t have legal council, would filing a complaint with the courts cost the village. Bruhn said they’ve “spent $120,000 on legal council to get this far so it makes sense to spend to finish this out.”

Gillespie said the village will have to pay for the legal action “to have this pack of lies unraveled. We’ll have to let the attorneys sort it out.”

DeSmet scoffed, “Listen to this man. He’s already spent $120,000.” Gillespie countered that of that total, $25,000 was directly tied to legal work requested by DeSmet plus an additional $50,000 was spent on the recent negotiations to form the police department union.

“OK, I will admit to $25,000 of $120,000,” she said. “There’s zero accountability from him. It’s always someone else’s fault. To the residents, I am so sorry. This man refuses to take any personal responsibility for anything in this village.”

The motion to file a complaint in district court to remove Gillespie for malfeasance passed 3-0, with DeSmet voting “Aye, with pleasure.”

At a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22, the council voted 3-0 to enter into a professional services agreement with Domenici Law Firm, P.C. and Pete V. Domenici Jr. as independent legal council for the governing body to handle the legal proceedings for the removal of the mayor.

“I’m going to say something you might not like,” Gillespie said, addressing the three councilors. “Mr. Domenici is a personal friend of mine and a he and his father have been a friend of my family for many years.”

A couple members of the audience chimed in with “he’s dead,” referencing the late Sen. Pete Domenici, who died in 2017.

DeSmet said when she spoke to Domenici he “didn’t indicate he knew you at all.”

She also noted village taxpayers would have to foot the bill for the council’s attorney and that the mayor would have to get his own attorney. The councilor said the council was going to ask the court for an injunction to remove the mayor from his duties until the court date is held and the judge makes his decision.

DeSmet and Gillespie quibbled briefly about whether the village would also have to bear the cost of the mayor’s attorney, with the councilor insisting that was illegal and the mayor arguing it was allowed.

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Bosque Farms Council moves to oust Mayor Gillespie