Alamogordo NM
7-30-2026 7:37am

Judge Hears Full Day of Testimony in Burnett Recall Case; Ruling Expected Friday

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A district court judge spent more than six hours Wednesday hearing testimony and argument over whether a recall effort against City Commissioner Stephen Burnett may move forward, with a written ruling expected by the end of the day Friday.

The probable-cause hearing in Murillo v. Burnett (No. D-1215-CV-2026-00626), before Judge John P. Sugg, opened at 9 a.m. and ran until approximately 3:30 p.m. Petitioner Kim Murillo, who is representing herself without an attorney, is seeking court authorization to begin gathering signatures for a recall of Burnett under state recall law.

Judge Sugg made clear during the hearing that the court is not being asked to determine whether Burnett is guilty of wrongdoing. Instead, the question before him is narrower: whether Murillo has shown enough to allow a recall petition to proceed to voters. Under a statutory deadline, Sugg has 14 days from the initiation of the case to rule, putting the deadline at the end of this week. Once issued, the written order may be appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court within five days.

No legal duty to respond, Burnett says

The most notable moment of the day came during Burnett's closing remarks, when he told the court he has no legal obligation to talk with his constituents or to respond to their requests for information or dialogue. As a matter of law, Burnett's position is largely accurate: constituents have the ability to email or call an elected official, but no statute requires that official to respond. Burnett indicated his intention is not to be "consumed" by responding to constituents.

Supporters of Burnett say that position clears the legal bar. Critics argue it misses a different one — the ethical expectation that an elected official actually engage with the people who elected him.

That distinction became a undercurrent of the hearing: whether an official who declines to enter into dialogue with constituents is fulfilling the role he was elected to perform, and whether a pattern of refusing to communicate rises to the level of malfeasance. The court's ruling is not expected to resolve that debate directly, since it bears on the recall's merits rather than the threshold question of whether the petition can proceed — but it was raised repeatedly by both sides.

City manager selection under scrutiny

A significant portion of the day was devoted to Burnett's role in the city manager selection process, including the commission's handling of Dr. Stephanie Hernandez's candidacy and the eventual hiring of Robert Stockwell. Witnesses and questioning returned repeatedly to why the commission voted 7-0 at one point to move toward offering Hernandez a contract, only for that process to stall and ultimately end with Stockwell's selection instead.

Former Mayor Susan Payne, Commissioner Warren Robinson and former acting City Manager Dr. Stephanie Hernandez were each called unexpectedly to testify. None appeared to welcome being placed on the stand, and each visibly struggled at points with Murillo's questions — but all three answered honestly and directly.

Payne, under questioning, gave background on the timeline and testified that the selection process was still ongoing when it stalled. She acknowledged that a city attorney had determined the process had been legally deficient, and that the original process was described as "tainted" and requiring a do-over. No witness, including Burnett, offered a clear explanation for why Hernandez was not ultimately hired after the commission's 7-0 vote.

Burnett, for his part, sought to characterize the eventual selection of Stockwell as having been driven by former City Manager Rardin and Pattillo rather than by the commission itself but the whole commission votes in public. He also argued he had no issue with Hernandez as a candidate. But scoring sheets from a portion of the interview process, introduced during the hearing, told a different story: Burnett and Rardin gave Hernandez the lowest marks of any panelists, even though her overall score remained the highest of all candidates and he had voted 7 to 0 to offer her a contract but then reversed it to via a 4 to 3 vote without explanation even to the court.

A tense courtroom

The hearing was not without friction. Burnett appeared to receive coaching from the gallery on multiple occasions, including from his wife and a supporter in attendance, and at times seemed flustered and unprepared to answer questions on his own. Murillo, representing herself, struggled at points with courtroom procedure and appeared overwhelmed by the formality of the process, but pressed her case with visible conviction — arguing, in essence, that she simply wants her elected official to explain his positions and speak with the voters he represents, something she says Burnett has declined to do throughout the city manager selection process.

What happens next

Judge Sugg took the matter under advisement and did not rule from the bench. A written order is expected by the end of the day Friday under the statute's 14-day deadline. If Sugg authorizes the recall to proceed, Murillo would then be cleared to begin gathering the signatures required to place the question before Alamogordo voters. Either side may appeal the ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court within five days of its issuance.

Alamogordo Town News will continue to follow the case. Stay tuned.

EDITOR'S DISCLOSURE: Chris Edwards, publisher of Alamogordo Town News, has provided  input to petitioner Kim Murillo in this matter but is not a party to the case. Edwards is separately a plaintiff in a related but distinct civil action, Edwards v. Alamogordo City Commission (No. D-1215-CV-2026-00514), which remains pending before a different judge on the City's motion to dismiss.

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