McKinley County commission nominee fired from county assessor job before primary

Ernest Charles Becenti III’s rise to the Democratic nomination for McKinley County Commission District 1 now comes with a question voters did not hear answered before the primary: why was he terminated from the county assessor’s office on March 9?

Becenti, who served four years as deputy county assessor, won the June 2 primary with 1,164 votes, or 33 percent, in a four-candidate race that also included Kevin M. Mitchell, Vincent Muskett and Danielle Notah. All 26 precincts in District 1 were fully reported in the unofficial results, but the termination that shadowed the race did not become public until the May 26 McKinley County Commissioner meeting, only days before ballots were cast.

What is documented is straightforward. Becenti was fired from his assessor’s office job in March, after years in a position that helps manage daily operations, staff and appraisers, maintains property records, responds to public questions and keeps the office in line with New Mexico and county property-tax rules. What remains unexplained in public is the reason for the termination. County manager Anthony Dimas and assistant county manager Brian Money declined to comment on personnel matters.

Money did say the Chief Deputy Assessor position had recently been vacant and had been posted again. He also said the terminated employee had not fulfilled the responsibilities assigned to him. Money described the assessor’s office as a place where staff had spent many hours dealing with personnel problems, saying it had been affected by bad actors and a lot of drama. Those remarks point to a strained office environment, but they did not provide a formal explanation for Becenti’s firing.

The timing may now matter as much as the firing itself. District 1 voters backed Becenti after the termination was already on the public record, but before the primary was settled. That leaves the campaign heading into the general election with a record that includes both a county job loss and a primary win, and with no public accounting yet from county leadership about what triggered the March dismissal.

The assessor’s office sits at the center of county government because property assessments affect homeowners, businesses and tax bills across McKinley County. The political overlap only deepens the interest: Edward Becenti Jr., apparently a relative, was also on the 2026 Democratic primary ballot for McKinley County Assessor, tying the commission race and the assessor race together inside one closely watched county system.