John Bear—Daily NewsDistrict 1 Otero County Commissioner Tommie Herrell stands in front of the Otero County administrative building on Thursday.
John Bear—Daily News District 1 Otero County Commissioner Tommie Herrell stands in front of the Otero County administrative building on Thursday. Herrell is seeking reelection to the commission as a write-in candidate.
District 1 Otero County Commissioner Tommie Herrell submitted a declaration of intent Thursday to be a write-in candidate for the November general election.
Herrell, 75, filed to be a write-in candidate with the Otero County Clerks office on filing day. Herrell will run against Janet White in the general election.
Otero County Clerk Denise Guerra confirmed that Herrell filed as a write-in candidate and that he was qualified to do so.
"(June 26) was filing day for independents, minor candidates and also write-ins," Guerra said. "Tommie filed as a write-in candidate and what qualifies him is that he was not a candidate on the primary ballot. All that qualifies him is that he is a registered voter and he wasn't a candidate on the primary ballot."
Guerra also confirmed that Herrell resides within the district in which he has declared his candidacy.
Herrell said the decision to run as write-in candidate came after some deep contemplation.
"This is something since the primaries that I've thought long and hard about," Herrell said. "The primary election didn't really go to suit me. So, my options were this or do nothing and sit back and complain."
Herrell said one of the main reasons he elected to run as a write-in candidate was his concern for the projects he's worked on as commissioner over the last four years.
"I think some of those projects would possibly be in jeopardy if there is a change on the commission and so that's my reasoning for this," he said.
When asked why he didn't run for re-election during the primaries, Herrell said at the time he felt it was time to retire and relax.
"I thought, you know, you'd better enjoy life a little bit while you can," he said. "And I've been very blessed. I've been able to do what I want to do nearly all my life."
He said that when the primary elections came around, he had hoped his predecessor, former District 1 Commissioner Doug Moore would get elected again.
"I thought if the election goes back and Moore got reelected — he and I share a lot of the same views and visions for the county — and since that did not happen in the primary election, then I felt the only alternative I had was to offer my name for consideration for county commissioner," he said.
He said he also chose to run again because he has enjoyed his time in office as a county commissioner.
Herrell said he found out about the option of becoming a write-in candidate from the New Mexico Secretary of State's office and the Otero County Clerk's office.
He said campaigning as a write-in candidate will probably be difficult.
"I know the write-in is going to be extremely hard to win, because you basically have to educate people what to do with a write-in since you're name is not listed," he said. "People will have to mark the ballot and write my name in where the mark is."
Herrell said he knows the other part that will make his campaign difficult is that he is up against a seasoned campaigner.
"Janet's a strong campaigner as this is her third time to run for the seat," he said.
When White found out about Herrell running for office against her, she said she welcomed the competition.
"It's still a free country," White said. "Mr. Herrell is welcome to change his mind and vacillate to his heart's content."
White not only welcomed the competition she also issued a challenge to Herrell.
"I challenge Mr. Herrell to list all of his campaign contributors as I have done and will continue to do," she said. "Never under estimate established interest in your tax dollars and freedoms."