Las Vegas, N.M., city officials announced Thursday they will not hold a special election following the resignation of Mayor Louie Trujillo but rather let the City Council pick his successor.

Although the original plan was to let people vote on the next mayor in early 2024, internal inconsistencies in the city’s charter put it at odds with state law, City Attorney Randall Van Vleck said in a news release. Instead, he said, the city will move forward with a council vote for mayor as provided by state law.

The four-member council can choose for mayor any “qualified elector” — meaning someone who lives in the city and is registered to vote.

“The challenge is that it does take three votes to fill that vacancy with whomever,” Van Vleck said in an interview Thursday. “If there is a tie, whatever is being discussed, fails.”

If the council chooses one of the current councilors as mayor, that person will then be able to appoint someone to their vacant seat, Van Vleck said.

City Councilor David Romero is acting as mayor pro tempore now.

Romero said in an interview Thursday he thinks the position will likely go to one of the current councilors for “continuity.”

“It’s not I ‘want it,’ ” he said, “but I would gladly fill that position if that’s what my fellow councilors choose.”

The vote is scheduled for a Council meeting Dec. 13, he said.

“In the absence of the mayor, the mayor pro tempore may act as mayor,” Van Vleck said in the release. “This means the mayor pro tempore shall retain voting rights as a councilor but shall not exercise tie-breaking rights that are otherwise the power of the mayor.”

The city’s news release says the office of the New Mexico Secretary of State and the New Mexico Municipal League agree about the plan.

Trujillo’s term was originally set to end in November 2025. He resigned last month shortly after police chief Antonio Salazar was placed on paid administrative leave after officers were dispatched to a Las Vegas residence in response to a domestic violence call involving Salazar.