Gallegos misses petition deadline; Vigil turns in signatures

GallegosState Rep. Rafael Gallegos (D-Antonio) won't be on the August primary ballot for House District 62, as he missed the Thursday deadline to turn in petition signatures to the Colorado Secretary of State's office.

HD-62 Democratic candidate Ed Vigil, a Costilla County commissioner, did turn in petition signatures on Wednesday, according to a Secretary of State spokesperson. If his signatures are verified, he'll face Rocky White in the August Democratic primary.

Gallegos, in his second term as a state House member, was upset at the HD-62 Democratic primary on May 16, falling three votes short of making the ballot. White was the only candidate elected to the HD-62 primary ballot by the assembly.

The loss gave Gallegos less than two weeks to garner 1,000 signatures in a large district with few population centers.

"Not enough time, not enough signatures," Gallegos explained to PolitickerCO late Thursday about why he missed the deadline.

Asked what he would do now, Gallegos said, "I got seven months to go in my present term. I will continue to work for the people in my district and try to collaborate my efforts with the governor's office and try to improve the standard of living in those areas and go from there."