At Raton City Commission meetings, five people seated before the public were elected by the voters: Mayor Lori Chatterley, Mayor Pro Tem Mark Honeyfield, and Commissioners Linde’ Schuster, Dan Campbell, and Sally Hoger.
But City Manager Neil Segotta and City Clerk Deserie Trujillo also sit alongside the commissioners, creating the appearance of a seven-member governing body.
They are not elected commissioners.
Yes, the city manager and clerk have important responsibilities. They should attend meetings, answer questions, and provide information. The Raton City Charter specifically requires the city manager to attend governing-body meetings and allows the manager to participate in discussions. However, the charter also makes the distinction clear: The manager is responsible to the governing body and cannot vote.
That separation should be visible to the public.
In many government meeting rooms, administrative employees sit at a separate staff table facing the elected officials. They remain available to answer questions, but their placement makes it clear who governs, who advises, and who answers to whom.
Raton’s current seating arrangement blurs those lines.
This is not simply a complaint about chairs: government ceremony, placement, and access matter. The commission table represents authority voters have entrusted. When unelected administrators occupy the same space as elected officials, residents may reasonably question whether those employees hold more influence than their positions provide.
It also creates practical questions. Are commissioners able to deliberate independently? Does the arrangement give administrators an outsized presence during discussions? Could members of the public mistakenly believe the manager and clerk are part of the decision-making body?
City employees may provide expertise, but commissioners are responsible for setting policy, directing the administration, and answering to the voters. The manager works for the commission—not beside it as an equal member of the governing body.
The Raton Range is asking the City Commission to explain who established the current seating arrangement, why it continues, and whether the commission has considered placing administrative staff at a separate table.
Transparency is not limited to agendas, votes, and public records. It also means presenting government in a way that leaves no confusion about where authority rests.
Five commissioners were elected.
The room—and the seating—should make that unmistakably clear.
