Former PRC candidate to run for county commission

Republican Doyle Pruitt has announced his candidacy for the District 4 seat on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners.

The seat is currently held by Republican Kent Evans, who will leave the commission next year because of term limits. Evans’ wife Anna Mae, also a Republican, has already announced that she’s running for the seat next year.

Pruitt said he’s running “to level the playing field and give better representation to the constituents of District 4 than has been given in the past.”

“Someone is needed to look out for the safety issues of the county, which have been sorely overlooked in the past,” he said. “We are a flood-prone area, which is due to the lack of infrastructure mandated to the builders. We should have had drainage canals like Albuquerque, Los Angels and other cities that have had similar problems in the past.”

Nine months before the June primary, Pruitt’s announcement means there are already three interesting races in the primary season in Doña Ana County. In addition to the race between Pruitt and Anna Mae Evans on the GOP side, on the Democratic side Sen. Mary Jane Garcia is being challenged by Doña Ana County Commissioner Oscar Vásquez Butler and Rep. Joni Gutierrez is being challenged by Mesilla Mayor Pro Tem Jesus Caro.

Pruitt and Kent Evans have a history. Both ran unsuccessfully last year in the Republican Public Regulation Commission District 5 primary that was won by Earl Greer. Many local Republicans said Pruitt garnered just enough support in Las Cruces to give the victory to Greer, who is from Truth or Consequences.

Pruitt said if elected to the commission he would work for “more planning” between the City of Las Cruces and the county on the issue of flood control.

“Good planning means less loss of life, dollars and property by the residents of the county and the city,” he said. “All of the people are in the same boat when it comes to this problem.”

Pruitt has a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering, and said he thinks the county needs people like him “who will look at the problems from a logistical and sane perspective.”

Pruitt has lived in the county for eight years.

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