Dem convicted of ballot abuse appointed vice mayor of Arizona city

A Democratic city councilwoman previously convicted of ballot abuse was recently appointed vice mayor of San Luis in Arizona, the Arizona Daily Independent News Network reported.

San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel and the city council decided in a 4-3 vote to name Gloria Torres the city’s next vice mayor, according to a December 14 press release. The decision was recommended by former Vice Mayor Luis E. Cabrera and supported by Council Member Matias Rosales.

Torres was elected to the city council in 2000 and is currently serving her third term.

“Apart from serving on the San Luis City Council, she has been an active member of Comite de Bien Estar, National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. She has served on the Gadsden Elementary School District #32 Governing Board, Western Arizona Council of Government Regional Council on Aging and on the Yuma County Advisory Council,” the city’s announcement stated.

Torres said she is “thrilled to be appointed Vice Mayor of the City of San Luis.”

In October 2022, Torres and Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin were charged with conspiracy and ballot abuse by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The two San Luis women allegedly participated in a “ballot harvesting” scheme, collecting early ballots from voters and delivering them to a ballot box on August 4, 2020.

The AG’s office accused Torres of collecting seven ballots from Lizarraga-Mayorquin. The illegal activity was reportedly captured on camera by David Lara and Gary Garcia Snyder, two Yuma County residents, the Arizona Daily Independent reported. The outlet further noted that former San Luis Mayor Guillermina Fuentes and another resident, Alma Yadira Juarez, were also convicted in 2022 for their involvement.

Ballot harvesting is considered a class six felony under Arizona law.

Torres’ vice mayoral appointment is baffling, considering she pleaded guilty in June to one count of ballot abuse — a class one misdemeanor — barring her from running for or being appointed to public office, KYMA reported. She was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $2,500 in fines. Despite pleading guilty, Torres was allowed to finish her current term as a councilwoman, which is set to end in December 2024.

This incident was not the first time Torres stirred up controversy in local politics. While she was on the governing board for the state’s District 32, an Arizona Auditor General found that the district had “paid (local elementary school) employees for time not worked” and “wasted $65,000 on unnecessary travel.” The district’s failures led to an employee stealing approximately $8,000 from taxpayers.

Snyder, a Republican who is running for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 25, told the Arizona Daily Independent, “I am both outraged and disappointed that a convicted ballot abuser has been elevated to this leadership position. The fact that a majority of the Council appears to have so little regard for our laws is an insult to residents, particularly in the Latino community. We are tired of this type of corruption and the Democrats so blatantly parading it in our faces.”

“Promoting a convicted ballot harvester, who has played a key role in keeping the Democrats’ corrupt grip on our Latino communities, has to be a wakeup call for the Hispanic community in San Luis and surrounding areas,” he added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!