Oh, How Easily We Forget City Manager Search Continues

By Marty Mayfield

KRTN Multi-Media

Oh, how easily we forget as once again the position of city manager of the City of Raton is the topic of conversation and controversy after the Raton City Commission hired former city commissioner Neil Segotta as Interim City Manager after City Manager Rick Mestas resigned from that position.

Mestas resigned his position as of March 31, 2026, yes resigned not fired. His resignation for health and other reasons came after the last city election in which Segotta was ousted by a thin margin. While the search goes on for a new city manager in which there were 10 applicants, city business still must be attended to. Segotta having knowledge of the city workings was felt to be a good choice as Interim City Manager while a new city manager is being considered. Yes, Segotta noted he was not considering the job but soon after changed his mind and threw his hat into the mix.

Residents want change, residents want new blood brought into the city to take Raton in a new growing direction. Let’s go back to 1985 when Eric Honeyfield was the city engineer at the time and was placed as Interim City Manager in 1987 until the city hired Randy Forrester who served as city manager for just over a year from March 1987 to November of 1988. He was from out of town. He was followed by Mike Obrey who served in the position from September 1991 to April 1996. A little longer but he too was from out of town.

Honeyfield was then hired as city manager and served from April 1996 to June 2003. Honeyfield was a local. While Honeyfield was city manager Pete Mileta Jr. was hired as city engineer in May of 2001 and was later hired as city manager in July 2003 and held that position until July 2011. He was a local.

After Mileta’s ouster Scott Berry was asked to be Interim City Manager while the city once again looked for a new manager. Jeff Condrey was hired September 26, 2011, and was forced out on January 12, 2012. He was from out of town. The search went on and Pete Kampfer was hired from February 20, 2012, to March 26, 2013. He was from out of town. Both Condrey and Kampfer left the city in a cloud of controversy. The ideas these individuals brought into the mix were not well received by the community, for example Kampfer’s idea of going after the RPS surplus fund that is used for things like the recent pole replacement. While this would have added money into the city’s general fund RPS needs the money to stay in place in case of a catastrophic emergency such as the recent pole replacement.

At that time former Raton Schools Superintendent Butch McGowen was brought in to settle the dust and get Raton back in the black. As Interim City Manager he held the job from April 2013 to January 2014 when Scott Berry was hired as city manager and held the job from October 2014 to January 2024. He was a local.

Rick Mestas was hired and filled the position from September 2023 until March 2026. While Mestas has relatives in Raton and was from Trinidad, he was still considered to be from out of town.

While the citizens of Raton want change and see the city manager as an important part of that, every city manager that was hired from out of town, that new blood residents wanted, has not lasted over four years in the position of city manager while the local hires have all lasted seven years or more.

Raton is one of only a couple of municipalities in the state that operate under the city commission, city manger form of government. Under this form of government, the city manager is tasked with the day-to-day operations of the city, and the commission is there to hire and fire the city manager. The city manager has a certain amount of power but is still limited to what they can do. Purchases above a certain amount, contracts with the city and other legals are required to go through the commission for approval.

Over the years the State of New Mexico has placed more and more regulations on municipalities and counties, so much so that making changes is a very slow process at times and Raton City Commissioners have expressed their frustration with the processes on numerous occasions. The commissioners and city manager are integral parts in dealing with the state legislature and having a city manager that has contacts in state government has been seen as a big plus in the past.

As the City of Raton once again goes through the process of hiring a new city manager there are many things to consider. While a person from out of town brings forth new ideas and new blood, commissioners will have to consider if that person truly has the interests of Raton in mind or are they simply padding their resume. Are they single or married and have a family and are willing to relocate an established family. Will that family fit in or feel alienated and unhappy and therefore will move on leaving the city to once again look for a new city manager. Do they have ties to the community so that decisions they make have the community’s best interests at heart.

Is the city manager solely responsible for attracting new business or other forms of growth? The city manager has a full-time job running the city on a limited budget. Looking for additional funds and grants to do the projects that the city needs to improve the quality of life in Raton, to keep up the streets and other city services running. The manager also has to deal with the controversaries that keep coming up, thus creating a stress level that can be tough to deal with as Mestas noted in his departure.

As a business owner would you want to bring your business to Raton where there is a limited work force, an aging infrastructure and very little shopping for your growing family if you have one. The economy plays a very big role in how business owners think and look at the future. The economy has changed a great deal in the last 10 to 20 years. The society is more mobile and going out of town to shop is commonplace. Shopping online has grown exponentially. The state finally passed a law to bring those online gross receipts to the municipalities to offset the loss of local business. This has helped the city financially, but the city manager still has a limited budget funded in big part by gross receipts taxes.

Is the city responsible for keeping businesses in town? Yes and no. Many of the businesses in Raton were started a long time ago and as those owners aged and their children moved on there was no succession plan to keep the business going. No young entrepreneurs to buy them out and keep the business going. When the owners finally decided to retire that was the end of their business and thus a reduction in gross receipts for the city to work with. Again, making the city manager’s job more difficult with a dwindling budget.

Simply put residents want change, but what change do they want? What solutions have residents brought to the city to help with that change and is city government solely responsible for making those changes happen?

Many times, we have to look back at our history to see what has or hasn’t worked and to not repeat what didn’t work. The Raton City Commission has a tough job in finding a new city manager. Will their choice be good for the community only time will tell.