Alas, it appears that Daniel Patterson's plans to forge ahead with a new political career in Silver City, New Mexico, have hit a snag:

On May 29, the town of Silver City received an application from a D.R. Patterson to serve on the town s planning and zoning commission. Patterson was sworn in June 19, and his appointment would have taken effect Aug. 1, following the completion of George Lundy s term, Silver City Town Clerk Ann Mackie said.

But on Thursday, Town Manager Alex Brown received a telephone call from an Arizona Republic reporter asking if he was aware that Patterson was the Arizona state representative who had been under investigation for alleged ethics violations.

Brown said he was not aware that D.R. Patterson and Daniel Patterson were one and the same, but after becoming aware, the town started Googling and quickly learned of Patterson s past.

One reason town officials might not have known about D.R. Patterson's recent problems at the Arizona Legislature:

Patterson did not list his experience in the Arizona Legislature on the application. He told the Sun-News on Monday that he didn t feel that his legislative experience was relevant to the Planning and Zoning Commission seat. He also said that he frequently goes by his initials D.R. and not using his full name on the application was not an attempt to deceive the town.

Patterson also listed on his application that he was a member of Grant County Search and Rescue. In an email to the Sun-News on Tuesday, Grant County Search and Rescue President Marc Levesque said that was not accurate.

"He has submitted an application for membership but has yet to be accepted as a member, Levesque wrote. "The GCSAR directors just wanted to clarify the situation. He has an application pending for membership and we are reviewing that at this time.

[Silver City Sun-News]