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A judge disqualified a district attorney candidate after finding dozens of nominating petition signatures invalid.
The ruling on April 8 means Las Cruces attorney Pedro Pineda won’t appear on the 2024 Democratic primary ballot. Pineda’s disqualification drops the race from six to five candidates. The district attorney’s race is the most competitive in Doña Ana.
Four candidates, including Pineda, challenged first-term District Attorney Gerald Byers in the Democratic primary in June. The winner faces a Republican challenger in November.
The DA supervises a staff of prosecutors, office workers and investigators. Together, the office prosecutes state crimes in the 3rd Judicial District. The district’s borders overlap with Doña Ana County.
The six candidates submitted nominating petitions to appear on the ballot. The petition must contain at least 246 signatures, per state law. State law also says the signatures must be from voters in the district and of the candidate’s political party. The signatures must also be exclusive to one petition.
Luna County judge Jarod Hofacket oversaw Pineda’s case. According to court filings, the full slate of 3rd Judicial District Court judges recused themselves from the case.
They did not say why. However, they may have feared a future conflict, given that the race’s winner will prosecute crimes in the district court. It’s also possible they felt recusal was necessary because Macias, a former district judge, and Pineda, a practicing attorney, have strong ties to the area’s legal community. The recusals led the state Supreme Court to appoint Hofacket.
Fernando Macias, another Democrat in the race, challenged Pineda’s signatures on March 22. Doña Ana County Clerk's Elections Bureau supervisor Janice Giron said 142 signatures should be invalidated.
According to court records, Giron tossed most because they were ineligible, did not provide a full name, were not registered Democrats, or the signer signed more than one nominating petition. There were more questions about another 25 signatures. Those were missing addresses but otherwise compliant.
By the end of it, Pineda had 198 valid signatures, short of the required 246.
“In a larger race, this may seem like a small number. However, (Pineda) is nearly 25 percent short of the required signatures,” Hofacket said.
Pineda turned down a phone interview with the Bulletin. Over email, he said he had no plans to challenge Hofacket’s ruling, and also criticized both Macias and Byers though he will not be on the ballot against them.
“There are no grounds on which to file an appeal. Judge Hofacket's decision and written orders are sound,” he said.
