{"id":606,"date":"2006-09-22T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-22T14:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/sheriff-candidates-remain-cordial-during-forum\/"},"modified":"2006-09-22T08:14:00","modified_gmt":"2006-09-22T14:14:00","slug":"sheriff-candidates-remain-cordial-during-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/sheriff-candidates-remain-cordial-during-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheriff candidates remain cordial during forum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The candidates for Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename> sheriff were cordial and agreed often during a candidate forum Thursday night in Mesquite<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sheriff Todd Garrison, a Republican, is facing Democratic challenger Ralph Misquez, a former undersheriff, on Nov. 7. This is the most hotly contested local race in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> this year.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p>The forum, attended by about 40 people, was sponsored by the New Mexico Progressive Alliance for Community Empowerment and moderated by activists from the Mesquite<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and Vado area.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Patrol in rural areas<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In response to a question about how he would improve patrols in rural areas, Garrison pledged to ask the commission this year for funding for additional deputies for the patrol and community policing divisions. Though he pushed for a public safety tax increase last year that helped the department fill more than 20 vacancies, the number of positions budgeted for the department is still dozens below the national standard.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe county is growing at a very fast rate, and I think law enforcement has fallen behind,\u201d Garrison said. \u201cWe have to increase the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Misquez agreed.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cSheriff Garrison is correct as far as the county not keeping up with growth,\u201d he said, adding that both the uniform patrol division and community policing need additional officers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe uniform division is the backbone of any department,\u201d Misquez said. \u201c(Community policing officers) build the trust of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Misquez also pledged, if he\u2019s elected, to evaluate the department\u2019s structure to determine whether any administrative positions can be replaced with patrol officers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Illegal immigration<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In response to a question about border security, Misquez and Garrison both said illegal immigration is a big concern.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Misquez said the enforcement of immigration law is \u201ca federal issue, and I think it should be left a federal issue,\u201d but added that the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> \u201cshould always protect our borders. I\u2019m against any criminal element coming into the United States<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> from any country.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He said counties should not try to direct resources into enforcing border laws, and if additional money becomes available, it should instead fund community policing.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garrison also said the sheriff\u2019s department must focus on local crime, not border security.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government has failed to do their job the way they should have done it, and it\u2019s affected us,\u201d Garrison said. \u201cForty percent of the people in our jail right now are illegal aliens.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He said that\u2019s proof that people who come here illegally are committing other crimes such as robbery and domestic violence, and said the federal government must come up with the resources to help local law enforcement agencies deal with such crime.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the crimes I\u2019m concerned with,\u201d Garrison said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Personnel records, grant writing<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Both candidates were asked whether they would be willing to make public their personnel records and those of their undersheriff candidates. Both gave me and the commission access to their personnel records when they applied for the commission appointment secured by Garrison 18 months ago, and said they would do it again.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cMy life is an open record, and so is my undersheriff\u2019s,\u201d Misquez said of Joel Cano, who he says will be undersheriff is he\u2019s elected.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garrison said he and Undersheriff Chuck Franco would give access to their personnel records by signing waivers allowing others to view them.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI have no problem with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The candidates were questioned about grant writing. Misquez said the sheriff\u2019s department writes its own grants, and he supports the securing of state and federal money though grants. Garrison said grants are necessary and the department has received more than $1 million in grants since he took office about 18 months ago.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Dispatch problems<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In response to a question about the function of the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority, Garrison said there have been recent problems, but he believes they were due to a lack of funding and are being addressed. He noted that, before cellular phones, dispatch might have received two calls when there was an accident, but it\u2019s not uncommon now to receive 30-40 calls, so the need for staffers has increased greatly.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think this dispatch center is on track,\u201d Garrison said. \u201cWe have a ways to go, but it\u2019s going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Misquez said he has little experience with that dispatch center. Much of his recent career was with the New Mexico State University Police Department, which has its own dispatch system. But he said all calls should be recorded, so that if there are problems with response times or other issues, investigation can later reveal the problems.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Partisan politics<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The candidates were also asked how they would bridge the gap of partisan politics to work with other public officials.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Misquez said he has been campaigning for this position since 2003 and has spoken with and listened to a lot of people all over the county.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve opened my arms to everyone, and I\u2019ve been non-partisan,\u201d Misquez said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also pointed out that he and Garrison, both lifelong residents of the Mesilla<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> area, are friends.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re friends. We\u2019ve had coffee,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026I think we can all work together as a community. If we did that, we\u2019d be stronger and safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garrison agreed. He said he has worked with all commissioners, regardless of party affiliation, \u201cto get the job done, and that\u2019s what I think it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He said the only time the job is partisan is during an election.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, it\u2019s all about serving the public. It\u2019s all about doing what\u2019s right for the people,\u201d Garrison said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The candidates for Do\u00f1a Ana County sheriff were cordial and agreed often during a candidate forum Thursday night in Mesquite. Sheriff Todd Garrison, a Republican, is facing Democratic challenger Ralph Misquez, a former undersheriff, on Nov. 7. This is the most hotly contested local race in Do\u00f1a Ana County this year. The forum, attended by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}