Rick Lopez will formally take the oath of office as the new mayor of Carlsbad, N.M., on Jan. 2 at the Janell Whitlock Municipal Annex, according to a Dec. 10 post on the city’s website.
Lopez is the retired fire chief for the New Mexico city about 26 miles northeast by road from the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: the nation’s only deep-underground disposal site for transuranic waste.
Newly-elected members of Carlsbad City Council will also be sworn in during the ceremony, according to the announcement from current Mayor Dale Janway on the city’s website. “We have been meeting with Mr. Lopez on a regular basis [since the Nov. 7 election] to ensure a smooth transition,” said Janway.
Janway has been mayor since March 2010 and did not seek re-election.
According to election results posted online by the New Mexico secretary of state, Lopez won 1,608 votes, defeating Edward Rodriguez, who garnered 1,326, as well as three other candidates who each received less than 200 votes. Lopez was endorsed by United Steelworkers Local 187, according to his election Facebook page.
