A judicial nominating commission meets next week to consider more than two dozen applicants for vacancies on the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
The bipartisan commission will recommend candidates to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez for possible appointment to the court. The panel meets Dec. 6 and the next day in Albuquerque.
Three vacancies will occur because Metro Court judges were elected to the district court in Bernalillo County — Judges Christina Argyres, Benjamin Chavez and Briana Zamora.
Among the 25 applicants for the vacancies were Bernalillo County Commissioner Simon Kubiak and District Judge Jonathan Ibarra, who is being replaced by Argyres.
Kubiak lost in the general election after being appointed to the county commission in September by the governor. Ibarra wasn't on the general election ballot.