Magdalena’s new mayor brings steady hand, engineering background to Village Hall

When Michael Thompson walked into Village Hall last August to file his election paperwork, he expected nothing more than another run for trustee. A week before the deadline, the sitting mayor announced he would not seek re‑election, and no one else filed for the job. With the village suddenly facing an empty ballot, Thompson reconsidered his plans.

Within days, he withdrew his trustee candidacy and filed as a write‑in for mayor, a move he describes as both unexpected and necessary.

“I thought I could do it. I thought I could do a good job. And I felt like I was needed,” Thompson said in an interview Monday. “The village needed a mayor and needed somebody who was qualified to do it.”

Thompson had already served about a year and a half on the board, appointed after losing his first trustee race by a single vote. When the trustee he lost to resigned for health reasons, both of his former opponents voted to appoint him to the vacancy, a gesture he still recalls with gratitude.

Before entering public service, Thompson built a long career in metallurgical engineering and quality management. He worked for several companies in the well‑field manufacturing industry, designing and implementing quality systems for firms that produce drill bits and other drilling components. He earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from New Mexico Tech, where he met his wife while the two worked at the McDonald’s on California Street.

The couple retired to Magdalena in 2020, returning to the region where they first met. 

“Houston was a fine place to work and raise a family,” Thompson said. “But we wanted a smaller town, and we liked the climate.”

 They have been married 39 years and have two daughters who now work in Arizona’s copper mines.

Now, as mayor, Thompson is focused on steady, practical governance. His priorities include completing ongoing wastewater infrastructure projects and strengthening the village marshal’s office, work he sees as essential to the community’s long‑term stability.

Though officially retired, Thompson’s days remain full. He volunteers around town, helps older residents with small projects, and is active in the Magdalena Community Church across the street from his home. The work, he said, keeps him connected to the people he now serves.

Six years after moving to the village, Thompson finds himself leading it, not a role he sought at first, but one he says he’s committed to fulfilling with steadiness and a sense of responsibility.