ANTHONY — Mayor Diana Murillo has yet to announce whether she intends to run for a third term, but Anthony’s board of trustees demonstrated last Wednesday that rather than wait for municipal elections this November, they will go to court to force her from office — and use taxpayer money to do it.
At the board’s regular meeting, Murillo sat through public comments calling for her to lose her seat as residents aired complaints about her performance, alleging abuses of power, neglect of various issues and improper use of resources.
Residents and trustees alleged that Murillo frequently missed meetings. The city refutes that assertion, as an attendance record maintained by the city clerk and reviewed by the Journal indicates Murillo missed two out of 21 regular meetings in 2024, with one meeting canceled, and five out of 22 special meetings or workshops.
In 2025, up to March 19, city records show Murillo missing one of four regular meetings documented and attendance at five special meetings or workshops. The record does not reflect late arrivals or early departures.
“They don’t want me there; they want me out, yet they’re complaining because I don’t attend,” Murillo told the Journal. “We need to get along. We need to move forward for the interests of the city.”
In open session, trustees have complained that policies and directives approved by the board have been ignored. A group of citizens, including two candidates who were subsequently elected as trustees, sued to remove Murillo in 2023, but the case was dropped. In 2024, the board passed a “no confidence” resolution about her leadership. A pending lawsuit alleges Murillo directed city police to remove a critic from city hall and bar them from public meetings.
In the most recent development, trustees have accused Murrillo of living outside the city based on a recent court petition involving a residence in Santa Teresa. Murillo’s name appears on the lease, but the mayor has said she simply co-signed to assist her adult daughter.
At the March 19 meeting, the trustees and mayor went into closed session to discuss possible action to remove Murillo, whose second term as mayor concludes at the end of the year.
When the trustees resumed open session, Murillo had left, and in her absence, the board approved a resolution to seek quotes for legal representation to take Murillo to court for malfeasance in office.
Trustee Gabriel Holguin told the Journal litigation was worthwhile even with just nine months left to Murillo’s term, citing a 2023 case in which the Tatum town council in Lea County sued to remove Mayor Amy Gutierrez for malfeasance. That case was resolved with a settlement several weeks later in which Gutierrez agreed to resign.
“We are moving in a quick manner, as we believe it is in the best interests of the city to move quick,” Holguin told the Journal. Besides removal from office, Holguin said he hoped for a judgment “barring Mayor Murillo from running for office in Anthony again.”
Holguin is widely rumored to be planning a mayoral run himself but has not confirmed his plans.
His fellow trustee, Fernando Herrera, said an election challenge is still the best way to bring about change at city hall, but he supports legal action as well.
“What we’re trying to do right now is put it out in the open as to what she has done,” Herrera said.
Algernon D’Ammassa is the Albuquerque Journal’s Southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
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