Deseri Sichler Censured

During her 2022 campaign for Valencia County Magistrate, Deseri Sichler listed Russel D. Schmidt as her campaign treasurer with the New Mexico Secretary of State — but when Schmidt withdrew his consent to serve, Sichler didn't name a replacement. Instead, she began acting as her own campaign treasurer and personally accepting campaign funds, continuing that way until September 2022. She also created a campaign committee listing herself as the sole point of contact, with her own personal email, phone number, and mailing address used throughout her campaign materials. New Mexico's Code of Judicial Conduct specifically bars judicial candidates from personally soliciting or handling their own campaign funds — a rule that doesn't apply to candidates for other offices. The New Mexico Supreme Court issued Sichler a public censure over the violation on May 13, 2024. Sichler said she corrected the practice once she learned it was improper, and that she had run her campaign the same way she'd run non-judicial campaigns in the past, where the same conduct is legal.