Wymer nominates Rio Rancho schools lawyer for vacant District 4 seat

Mayor Paul Wymer nominated David Mann, Rio Rancho Public Schools’ general counsel, to fill the vacant District 4 seat on the Rio Rancho Governing Body. The council is expected to consider the appointment July 23, a vote that could put the school district’s top lawyer in position to weigh in on school funding, development and city-school negotiations.

The seat opened April 30, when Wymer moved from the council to the mayor’s office and began his four-year term on May 1. Rio Rancho’s charter requires the mayor to name a qualified successor within 60 days, with the Governing Body holding the final confirmation vote. If the council rejects the nominee, Wymer has 45 days to put forward another person. The appointee would serve until the next regular municipal election in 2028, and District 4 has been without direct representation as one of the city’s six council districts waits for a replacement.

City records show 11 residents applied for the vacancy before the May 26 noon deadline. Two were disqualified for not meeting District 4 residency requirements, leaving nine candidates for interviews and three finalists for second interviews. Applicants had to live in District 4, be at least 18 years old, be registered voters and have no felony convictions. The salary for the appointed council member was listed at $22,113.84 a year, plus health insurance but no leave.

Mann has served as RRPS general counsel since 2022 and has lived in District 4 for more than 12 years. The New Mexico State Bar lists him as an active attorney for the school district, and professional directories show prior work as deputy county attorney for Sandoval County and in New Mexico state agencies.

His background also stretches beyond New Mexico. Mann came to the United States from England, earned his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and later received his law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law in Oklahoma. That mix of school-district, county and state legal work gives Wymer a nominee with deep public-sector experience at a time when Rio Rancho is still adjusting to the transition from Gregg Hull’s era to Wymer’s leadership.

The appointment now turns on confirmation, but the larger issue is how a sitting school lawyer would fit on a council that regularly confronts questions tied to growth, public facilities and intergovernmental coordination. For District 4 residents, the nomination raises the stakes of a vacancy fill that is likely to shape how closely the city watches conflicts, recusals and the boundaries between the council chamber and the school district.