Mayoral Candidates King and Wiley: In Their Own Words
Cloudcroft's mayor race is on. Meet your next mayor through their answers to the Readers' Candidate Questionnaire
On Tuesday, November 4th, Cloudcroft villagers cast their ballots for our next mayor. The Reader asked both candidates, Tim King and Gerald “Dusty” Wiley, to answer a few questions.
The answers below are published unedited and precisely as they were written, in Wiley’s and King’s own words.
(1) What skills and experience do you bring to the role of mayor?
Dusty Wiley:
Two years ago, in Cloudcroft’s most-voted mayoral election ever, I earned the second-highest number of votes which shows many residents already trust me to lead.
Professionally, I’ve managed large budgets and staff-as Assistant Commission of Agriculture for Riverside County, I oversaw a $77 million budget and 73 employees. Here in Cloudcroft, I’ve owned and operated businesses, which gave me firsthand understanding of water, tourism, and community economics.
At the recent “Meet Your Next Mayor” event, the current appointed mayor admitted in his own words: “I don’t have a lot of leadership experience to be quite honest with you.” Leadership and experience matters-and I bring it to the table.
Mayor Tim King:
I have had a wide variety of experiences throughout my career that I think fit well with the position and responsibilities of the mayor. These include the years I spent in Cultural Resource Management (Archaeology) where I dealt with Local, State and Federal regulations related to large-scale construction projects across the country. This experience led me into the career shift into the technology aspects of data collection I started in 1997. Data management in the field became my passion and I began to work on larger and larger multi-state projects ending with the capstone of my career on the Alaska LNG project from 2010-2016. This was an 850-mile pipeline project from Prudhoe Bay at the northern tip of Alaska to the Kenai Peninsula. The pressure was intense and demanded 24/7 attention and focus and constant problem solving skills. I was in charge of all of the Cultural Resources data collection setup and collection, including creating systems to allow for efficient collection and display of data within strict time limits to crews in the field and higher ups in offices across the country. Also, I was appointed on December 17 2024 as the Mayor and have been diligently working to address the many challenges making significant progress.
As mayor, what will you prioritize as the top issues to address? Why those?
Dusty Wiley:
My first priorities are financial stability and transparency. Until our finances are accurate and up to date, we cannot responsibly budget for police, water, tourism, or staff. The Village has not posted monthly council meeting minutes all year and residents still don’t see the most recent financial audit posted online. That must change. I will also prioritize stabilizing staffing and protecting our water infrastructure. When employees stay, the Village saves money and provides better service. And when our water system is secure, our entire community is stronger.
Mayor Tim King:
Getting the Villages financial house in order has been my top priority since I was appointed Mayor. It has been a long and arduous road but we have made a lot of progress in the intervening 11 months. From getting our interim and final budget in on time for the first time since 2023, to getting our ending balances for each fund for FY25 and beginning balances for FY 2026 submitted to NMDFA this past weekend, I have put in countless hours to learn and understand the NM budget process.
Second on the list is attracting and keeping qualified staff. This has also been a difficult task as I have had to take on duties that most Mayor’s do not. This includes IT, Webmaster, Facebook Admin, Microsoft 365 Admin, Village Clerk duties, etc. The recent approval of the Village Compensation Plan has gone a long way to creating a structure that I feel current and future employees will appreciate as it charts a course for success as an employee of the Village and along with an upcoming update to our Personnel Policy Manual and more detailed job descriptions will keep the Village at the leading edge of Human Resources Management.
The third priority is getting the Village infrastructure upgraded for the next 100 years. A lot of our infrastructure is close to a century old and we have been working on a lot of grant funding to enable us to get new water and sewer infrastructure in the ground as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, quickly as possible when dealing with State and Federal Government procedures and regulations can lead to what the public views as a simple project (paving roads for example) into a 3-5 year ordeal from passing of a resolution to a shiny new paved road.
How would you describe your leadership style?
Dusty Wiley:
I lead by listening first, asking questions, and then making decisions. Leadership is not about logging the most hours in the office; it’s about building a team that stays. When employees feel valued and supported, they stay longer, saving taxpayer’s money and improved services. I will have an open-door policy-just as I pledged two years ago, my private cell number will be public because residents should not have to schedule appointments just to talk to their mayor. Whether you live in the village limits or nearby, if you consider Cloudcroft your home, I will always be here for you.
Tim King:
I try my best to lead by example. On the large pipeline projects, I worked as an Archaeologist and as a GIS Specialist I put in countless hours to get the job that I was tasked with completed and completed well. As Mayor, my leadership style is participatory where I encourage involvement of all members of the Village. I believe that when you empower people to contribute using their talents and skills, great things will be accomplished. This works under the servant leadership model as well. Working as a team has been the best solution in addressing all of these issues and being transparent is crucial to ensure the confidence of the community.
Why do you think the Village has had so much personnel turnover in the last several years? How do you plan to reduce it?
Dusty Wiley:
Turnover comes from instability at the top. Every resignation costs taxpayers money in rehiring, training, lost productivity, and it strains the few employees who remain.
I have experience in Human Resources, and I know that stability begins with hiring the right people the right way. Too often, hires are rushed or made without clear expectations, which sets employees up for failure.
As mayor, I will ensure the hiring process is done professionally and intentionally-putting the right people in place, giving them the tools and training they need, and supporting them once they’re hired. When staff feel respected, supported, and properly equipped, they are more likely to stay. Consistent leadership and professional hiring practices will save money, reduce turnover, and build long-term trust within the Village.
Tim King:
I think the primary reason was that for almost three decades the Village had continuity in the leadership of the Village in Mayor Dave Venable. When he stepped down it was inevitable that things were going to change without his leadership. Add to that the fact that the entire world was going through a once-in-a-century pandemic and it was certain that new leadership would be faced with challenges that no one since the 1919 Infuluenza Pandemic had faced. Not only that, but in the last 20 years new technology has been adopted and new technologies have totally transformed the office environment of every business in the country. In my time on the Village Council, the personnel turnover has been a result of employees being hired without experience and knowledge of New Mexico Local Government leading to the financial challenges we are now correcting. Recruiting qualified, competent people is the key.
Law enforcement in Cloudcroft consists of the county sheriff, state police, fish & game officers, and the village’s own police department. Define the objectives of the Cloudcroft police department. What percentage of the village’s operating budget should be spent on local police?
Dusty Wiley:
The police department’s job is to keep residents safe, deter crime and support our visitors. But we cannot responsibly set percentages until financial reports are accurate and posted. Right now, even the last audit isn’t online. I support strong public safety, but within a framework of fiscal responsibility and transparency.
Tim King:
The Village of Cloudcroft is lucky to have so many partners when it comes to Law Enforcement. I would add the USFS to your list of law enforcement in the region and our Police Station, while not in the best location, is an office for many of these partners. I feel that a Village like Cloudcroft needs a Police Department. I recently asked Mtn. Deputy Roger Schoolcraft that question at the EMS Meeting put on by the Cloudcroft Reader. His answer reflects my feelings as well.... the Village of Cloudcroft and all Villages and Towns need a police department. While we rely on the Otero County Sherrif’s Office for our primary law enforcement at this time, their coverage area is the size of a small state, 220 square miles. This area is covered by a total of 64 officers running two shifts per day. If an incident happens in Weed, Sacramento or Mayhill the Village may be without police presence for a few minutes to a few hours.
On the question of the size of the budget for the Cloudcroft Police Department, I would say no more than 30%. As for the size of the department I would say we should stay under 4 officers and that would include a working chief of Police. We could also augment the force with Community Service Officers, that could reinforce the police department with extra vigilance and high visibility in the community. I would also like us to restart our Neighborhood Watch which could aid in having more eyes and ears on the ground to deter crime.
Should the village report monthly crime data to the public?
Dusty Wiley:
Yes-absolutely. Nothing should ever be kept from the people of this Village. Just like with finances, crime data must be open, accurate, and easily accessible. Residents should never have to guess, dig, or make special requests to know what’s happening in their own community. Full transparency builds trust, and without trust, government fails the people it serves.
Tim King:
When I was a Trustee, I got with Chief Roger Schoolcraft and began a Dashboard that tracked all the calls that the Village responded to from the County system. I thought this was valuable information for the residents of the Village and it showed that in general Cloudcroft is a relatively low-crime Village. Unfortunately, when Chief Schoolcraft resigned at the end of 2024, I did not have the time to get Interim Officer Swanson set up with getting the data and removed the Dashboard from the Cloudcroft GIS site. I have contacted Lt. John Emery of the Otero County Sherriff’s office to get access, but time limitations have led to not being able to get the dashboard fully functional again.
But being a relatively remote Village in the Sacremento Mountains, Cloudcroft reminds me a lot of some of the areas I worked in in Alaska. While beautiful, the remoteness attracts not only nature lovers, but individuals trying to escape their past or stay away from the authorities. We personally had that situation occur with an individual that lived behind us with warrants for his arrest in 4 states. He eventually left Cloudcroft for Alamogordo and Oliver Lee State Park where he executed his wife in February 2024.
What is your assessment of the health of the village’s water and sewage infrastructure? Describe how you would approach managing those issues.
Dusty Wiley:
Our water and sewage systems are strained, outdated and falling behind modern standards. The wastewater plant and our purification systems are years behind current technology. This has been put off for too long because of expense, but delaying only makes the problem worse, and more expensive. We cannot continue to kick the can down the road.
As mayor, my approach will be: (1) conduct a full assessment of our system public pursue state and federal grants to fund upgrades. We must bring our systems up to modern technology and we must do it now. Infrastructure may not be glamorous, but it is the backbone of Cloudcroft’s future. Without clean, reliable water and a modern sewage system, Cloudcroft cannot grow, thrive, or even function.
Tim King:
Like a lot of the US, Cloudcroft is way behind on upgrading its infrastructure. As mentioned earlier, the majority of our buried infrastructure is over 80 years old and is in severe need of repair and/or replacement. In relation to managing our water and sewage infrastructure we have applied for and received several grant/loans for the replacement of old infrastructure. A project that will be starting up next Spring is the Mountaintop Project. Due to the increasing cost of supplies since the Mountain Top project was started, we have recently applied for a CDBG grant to supplement funding for this project.
When I was a Trustee I located the previous GPS mapping that Chief Wuersching did back in 2012-2013. This data covered all water meters, fire hydrants, valves and some of the water lines. Moving forward I would like to map the remaining lines by tapping the knowledge of Scott Powell one of our longest serving employees who has been with the Village since 1995!
We also need to update our Asset Management Plan and I would like to incorporate the 3D scans I have done over the past two years, including the Water Plant, the Wastewater Plant, James Sewell Ice Rink, the Michael Nivison Public Library, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Village Office (incomplete).
Tourism is a key driver of the village economy. What actions can you, as mayor, take to improve the use of the lodgers’ tax funds to drive visitors? Do we have the right organization in place? Who should ultimately be responsible for the tourism promotion efforts?
Dusty Wiley:
Tourism is vital to Cloudcroft. Lodger’s tax funds should directly support marketing, family events and improvements that bring visitors here and encourage them to stay longer and to return again and again. Festivals and our “Christmas Capital of New Mexico” identity prove our potential.
The mayor and trustees must ensure these funds are used transparently and effectively, with input from the Chamber and community members.
Tim King:
As a Village, we have begun to require more detailed documentation of the spending of Lodgers Tax funds by the organizations that request the funds. While that does not improve the use of the funds, it does keep us within the regulations set forth by the State of NM in relation to Lodgers Tax funds. On improving the use of the LT Funds I am looking into possibly creating a new position within the Village that would be in charge of marketing/promotion of the Village. This position would not replace the Chamber but be an additional person to work on a long term vision for where the Village’s tourism can take us over the next 25 years. I would also like out to our local neighbors like High Rolls/Mountain Park, Mayhill, Weed, Pinon, and Sacramento to see how we can partner and make Cloudcroft the tourism hub for the Sacramento Mountains.
We recently passed an ordinance providing for the renovation and development of the James Sewell Ice Rink to provide for ice sport activates for all ages, with a focus on youth hockey. This will not only provide outdoor recreation for our local citizens but will attract visitors and tourists from all over the US and Canada.
Sloppy financial management from previous years continues to plague the village. As the mayor, what must happen before you can feel confident of the accuracy of the financial reports, including a balance sheet?
Dusty Wiley:
I will feel confident in our finances when everything is caught up-all past purchase orders are paid, our bank accounts are reconciled, every quarterly report is completed, and financial reports for the state are current. Just as important, we must establish clear policies and procedures that ensure we never fall behind again. Outside audits must be completed and posted promptly, balance sheets must be accurate and all financial information must be accessible to the public. Again, right now, residents are still looking at the 2022 audit on the Village website. Until we are current and operating with strong safeguards in place, no department budget-whether for police, water, tourism, or staffing-can be set responsibly.
Tim King:
The first thing that needs to happen is that we implement additional systems that allow us to track our expenditures in a more cohesive way. One of the ways we recently implemented this was with our credit cards. In the past we had 4 credit cards that were checked out in no set order by staff to purchase items for different departments. This led to a lot of confusion for Finance Director Sylvia Hall with different individuals/departments checking out different cards for different purchases. We now have 4 binders separated by dept so that one card is used for each department which makes managing them easier and more consistent.
I am in the process of creating a budget charting and editing tool that should make next years budget process a lot simpler than what we have had to go through over the past 11 months. I want real time updates to data, charts and graphs so that we don’t have to print multiple copies of large spreadsheets due to a few changes.
Do you believe Cloudcroft needs to generate more revenue for its operating budget? If so, what will you advocate, and how much additional revenue do you think is achievable?
Dusty Wiley:
Yes, but in careful, smart ways. The solution is not raising taxes or overburdening residents. I will pursue the state and federal grants that are already set aside for communities lie ours and strengthen tourism collections.
Just as important, we must recognize that turnover is costing the Village tens of thousands of dollars with the combined cost of vacancy, lost productivity, onboarding and training. Every time we lose staff, that’s money right out of taxpayers’ pockets and if turnover happens multiple times a year, the cost snowballs exponentially.
By improving efficiency in staffing and reducing turnover through professional, intentional hiring and support, we can save as much as we generate. With strong leadership and management, Cloudcroft can responsibly increase revenues by 5-10%-not just by bringing in new dollars, but by protecting the dollars we already have.
Tim King:
Yes, with our current deficit in the water/sewer fund, the first things we are going to need to do are 1.) Complete a Utility rate analysis, 2.) Separate our water and sewer funds in our accounting software so we can see where the discrepancies are. And 3.) Establish a fund reserve to support capital projects and unforeseen expenses. This will eliminate transfers from the General Fund. With regards to the general government, marketing Cloudcroft is a high priority and will provide additional revenue and economic benefit. An additional way that we can attract more revenue for the Village is to leverage our community assets. We have an amazing resource in the Michael Nivison Public Library (MNPL)/Community Center led by our amazing new Library Director Dr. Sandra Barr.
We have a lot of plans to utilize this space to its fullest potential. The first step in doing that is getting appraisals of all of Village owned facilities including the MNPL, CLOC Pavillion, Chamber Building, and the Sacramento Historical Museum. We want these appraisals to lure investments to partner with the Village to bring in more events and activities for the communities.
We also need to tap into Cloudcroft’s amazing location and natural beauty to bring in outdoor enthusiasts that stay and make Cloudcroft a home or even start a new business in the Village. Another possible revenue stream has been championed by Trustee Gail McCoy in trying to promote Cloudcroft as a great place for High Altitude training for elite athletes. We are uniquely situated where one can go from 9,000’ to 5,000 in less than a half-hour. I have also reached out to other outdoor enthusiasts including Ervan LeCarre of Santa Fe, New Mexico developer of MoveNat https://movnat.com/about/ and also Wim Hof developer of the Wim Hof Method https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ I think that our natural environment is a perfect fit for both of these innovative practices. I am always looking for new and different ways to promote the Village while keeping Cloudcroft’s inherent charm intact.
What would you like residents to know about you and your intentions?
Dusty Wiley:
I want residents to know that I believe in putting community first and empowering the people of this Village. Cloudcroft is not just the lines on a map; it’s everyone who works here, goes to school here, owns property here, or calls this mountaintop home. I bring experience in managing large budgets, Human Resources and local business-and I intend to restore stability, transparency and professional management so our Village government truly serves its people.
I am also honored to have the endorsement of former Mayor Craig Turner. He recognized the importance of doing things right, but he faced many insurmountable challenges. I am excited about the new trustees that will be coming on board soon. I know that with their vision and support, I will carry our shared commitment and carry it forward for Cloudcroft.
Tim King:
I would like them to know that I am totally committed to this Village. From the first time I drove through Cloudcroft on May 21, 1995 to today I have loved everything about this Village. It totally changed my life and I feel that I owe it a great debt of gratitude and service. I am trying my best to be as transparent as possible and want to hear all concerns from not only the full-time citizens of Cloudcroft, but part-timers, new arrivals, businesses, tourists and basically anyone that loves this place we call Home.
How can people contact you and/or learn more about your campaign?
Dusty Wiley:
Residents can contact me directly by phone at 575-800-4538, by email at dusty@dustybootsmotel.com or follow my campaign on Facebook-Elected Gerald Dustin “Dusty” Wiley Mayor of Cloudcroft. Unlike the current system where residents must make appointments, I will always be available, because accountability begins with accessibility.
Tim King:
They can contact me directly at (575) 921-9290 or at king4mayor2025@gmail.com. They can also go to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579923729146 and my website at https://www.summitinnnm.com/king4mayor2025.html
I am also accepting donations and will be posting a link on the King4Mayor website and Facebook page.
Meet Your Next Mayor. Ask Questions.
Get your questions ready. The mayoral candidates go head-to-head in a free public forum, co-sponsored by the Cloudcroft Chamber of Commerce and the Cloudcroft Reader.
After the mayoral conversation, the candidate for Trustee will speak and take questions.
This is a unique opportunity to get an up-close look at the individuals running for Council to help run the Village.
Free to attend.
At the Pavilion, next to the hardware store.
Limited seating.
Cash bar.
Reserve seats by emailing us at rsvp-debate@cloudcroftreader.com
Wow! That was eye-opening! Thank you for publishing this. It is very apparent who has the leadership skills, the experience in and knowledge of how to responsibly run Cloudcroft.
Dusty has the leadership background and real-world experience our village desperately needs. His previous project management of 73 employees and a $77 million budget, as well as his several years of owning and operating multiple businesses is the kind of skill set you need to get a handle on Cloudcroft’s current financial mess. It sounds like he recognizes that the root problem is the lack of oversight and transparency, and he’s committed to cleaning up the books BEFORE making new spending commitments. His approach on hiring is something that’s been missing for years.
Our water and road systems are crumbling, and past administrations have only patched them up instead of facing the problem head-on. I like how he understands that these projects are unavoidable and essential for the future of our community.
King seems like his heart is in the right place. I’m sure he works hard, but we need someone who will work smarter not harder. He was simply moved into the mayor’s seat less than a year ago, and while his heart may be in the right place, his background in pipeline data collection and management in Alaska doesn’t translate into the skills needed to run this treasured mountain community. He’s tied to the old “good old boy” network and lacks the ability to tackle fiscal management, employee retention, or infrastructure planning.
If Cloudcroft wants real change, true leadership, retention of staff, a strong and lasting infrastructure, responsible fiscal management and transparency- it appears Dusty is the only candidate who can deliver it.