Alamogordo Town News Awaiting Court Response to IPRA Request for May 21st Hearing Documents

Court filings released to date thru 5-20-26 via IPRA expose a legal battle over whether RPNM Chairwoman Amy Smith Barela illegally retained her party post after filing to run for public office — with a June 2 primary now days away.

Public Records Report

OTERO COUNTY, N.M.·FILED: APR 30 – MAY 21, 2026·CASE: D-1215-CV-2026-00406

Full Court Documents — Released to the Public via IPRA

111 pages of filings — complaint, emergency motion, exhibits, correspondence, court orders, and sworn affidavits — available in full.

▶ View All Documents (Google Drive)

What Happened

On March 10, 2026, Amy Smith Barela — chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico — filed as a candidate for Otero County Commissioner, District 2, putting her in a contested Republican primary against plaintiff Jonathan Emery. Under the party's own Uniform State Rule 1-4-4, that act automatically vacated her chairmanship. She refused to leave.

On April 30, 2026, Emery and four co-plaintiffs — certified gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez, Lt. Governor candidate Aubrey Blair Dunn, and two State Central Committee members — filed suit in Otero County's Twelfth Judicial District Court seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction to remove Barela from the chairmanship before the June 2 primary.

A second allegation runs alongside: under Uniform State Rule 1-4-3, party officers are barred from endorsing one Republican candidate over another in a primary. Plaintiffs allege Barela used the RPNM's official Facebook page to promote Doug W. Turner for Governor and David Gallegos for Lt. Governor — opponents of Rodriguez and Dunn — at a Lee County event other candidates were not invited to attend.

Co-defendants Jim Townsend National Committeeman and Kimberly Skaggs State Treasurer are alleged to have contributed money to Barela through their LLCs and openly endorsed her campaign.

"The state officer shall immediately vacate the party office."

— RPNM Uniform State Rule 1-4-4, as cited in the complaint

On May 4, plaintiffs filed a Verified Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order. The originally assigned judge, Daniel A. Bryant, recused — and every other Twelfth District judge followed. The New Mexico Supreme Court designated Judge Cindy M. Mercer to hear the case.

Judge Mercer denied the ex parte TRO on May 6, finding defendants had not yet been served, and scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for May 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., Courtroom 201, Alamogordo District Court.

A service dispute followed: a process server was turned away at RPNM headquarters — a staff member told him she "will not sign for anything" — before Barela was personally served at Veterans' Park in Tularosa on May 8. Defendants contested service in sworn affidavits; plaintiffs fired back with a detailed reply brief.

"A litigant cannot create a notice defense by directing its own staff to turn the process server away at the door."

— Plaintiffs' Reply Brief, May 2026Case 

.What's Next — IPRA Pending

The IPRA documents published with this article cover all filings through the eve of the May 21 hearing. The transcript of that proceeding, any post-hearing orders from Judge Mercer, and any written opposition briefs from defendants are not yet in this release.

Alamogordo Town News has an another IPRA request pending with the court. All records received will be published in full. The June 2 primary proceeds with the outcome of this litigation still unresolved.

Access the Complete Public Record to Date

All 111 pages released via IPRA — including the complaint, emergency motion, exhibits, court orders, and affidavits — are available to the public now.

▶ View Full IPRA Document Release (Google Drive)

Source: All information is drawn from publicly filed court documents in Emery et al. v. Barela et al., Case No. D-1215-CV-2026-00406, released pursuant to New Mexico IPRA. This article reflects the allegations and filings of the parties. No final ruling on the merits has been issued. All parties are presumed innocent absent a final judicial determination.

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