When endorsements shape elections, voters should ask questions

Rio Rancho residents deserve open discussion about how power is exercised in our local government — especially when it comes to elections.

Since assuming office in 2014, Mayor Gregg Hull has used his title as mayor to regularly endorse candidates for city, county and state office. Over the course of his tenure, he has issued at least 17 public endorsements, with the vast majority of those candidates ultimately winning their races. Most recently, he has endorsed Paul Wymer for Rio Rancho mayor.

When endorsements consistently come from the sitting mayor, are widely publicized and appear to carry significant weight in determining election outcomes, it is fair — and necessary — for voters to ask whether the mayor’s office itself has become a source of electoral influence rather than simply a steward of public service.

This concern is heightened by timing. The deadline to file for candidacy in the March 2026 municipal election has not even passed — it is Jan. 6, 2026. When voters see a sitting mayor endorse a candidate before the filing deadline, what message does that send? To many, the message is clear: don’t bother running. That perception alone can discourage qualified residents from stepping forward, narrowing the field before the public has a chance to hear from all who may wish to serve.

This issue is not about party affiliation or personal politics. It is about the concentration of power and the integrity of our representative republic process. Healthy elections depend on open competition, new voices, and a level playing field. Elections should be decided by voters weighing ideas, records and qualifications — not by an informal endorsement pipeline that advantages certain candidates before the race has fully formed.

Leadership is meant to be temporary. Public office is not a permanent platform, and influence should not linger beyond the term of service. Power should not be used — intentionally or unintentionally — to shape its own succession or preselect future leadership.

As a community, we should be willing to say plainly: power should not pick its successor. We should ask whether the repeated use of mayoral endorsements has crossed from personal opinion into institutional influence, and whether that influence serves the long-term health of our local government.

It is time to take our elections back. The endorsement pipeline should end. Leadership ends, and influence should not linger.

Rio Rancho’s future should be shaped by voters — not by any one officeholder, no matter how long they have served.

Corrine Rios

Rio Rancho