Area candidates gather at public forum

By ROB LARSON
Daily Press Staff Writer
Gathering at the New Mexico State University-Carlsbad gymnasium, local candidates for the upcoming general election, including Carl Barnes, Eddy County Sheriff Ernest Mendoza and Sgt. Scott London, took to the stage Monday night to answer questions from audience members in a special candidate forum sponsored by the Carlsbad branch of the American Association of University Women, NMSU-C and the Current-Argus.
Glenn Collier, Barnes’ Republican opponent, was not able to attend the forum due to prior commitments with the Eddy County DUI Task Force. Nevertheless, Barnes answered questions concerning minimum wage, his thoughts on the Eddy County Commission hiring a lobbying firm, his experience with keeping a budget, and what he thought about holding commission meetings at night instead of in the morning. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
Barnes began speaking about the commission hiring a lobbying firm as a notion that didn’t sit very well with him, though he said he was a supporter of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant from its inception.