{"id":799,"date":"2006-11-02T11:49:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-02T17:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/voters-cant-lose-in-county-sheriff-race\/"},"modified":"2006-11-02T11:49:00","modified_gmt":"2006-11-02T17:49:00","slug":"voters-cant-lose-in-county-sheriff-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/voters-cant-lose-in-county-sheriff-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters can’t lose in county sheriff race"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve been asked repeatedly who I\u2019ll endorse in the Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> sheriff\u2019s race. I don\u2019t do endorsements, but I\u2019m happy to offer my thoughts on this contest. <\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s simple: The public can\u2019t lose. Either candidate would serve residents well.<\/p>\n

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

Both men have come a long way from their interviews with the county commission in early 2005, following the resignation of then-Sheriff Juan Hernandez. Republican incumbent Todd Garrison and Democratic challenger Ralph Misquez both applied to replace him.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>In speaking with the commission and public, these were the two applicants who appeared the most nervous, the least confident in their abilities in public speaking.<\/p>\n

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

I already knew and liked both men, but, frankly, neither impressed during those interviews.<\/p>\n

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

They look like different men today. Garrison has even testified before Congress about border security. Both appear confident and think much more quickly on their feet than they did in early 2005.<\/p>\n

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

Garrison had the fortune of being appointed by the commission, and he inherited a department that was in bad shape. It was so underfunded and neglected that there were some 30 vacancies, and the public wasn\u2019t being adequately protected.<\/p>\n

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

Working with a bipartisan group of officials, Garrison helped secure a gross receipts tax increase that has stopped the bleeding. With increased salaries and dozens of new vehicles, the sheriff\u2019s department is no longer in crisis mode.<\/p>\n

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

Now it\u2019s time to grow into a more community oriented department that better serves the public and does more to prevent crime. The department needs more officers for patrol and investigation, but it especially needs additional cops to serve in our schools and communities.<\/p>\n

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

Misquez talks a lot about growing the community policing program as soon as possible. Garrison would also like to do that, but, perhaps because of his experience with the budget and tax increase, appears less optimistic that it can happen quickly. He does plan to ask for increased funding this year.<\/p>\n

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

Where would it come from? The county runs a very tight operation, but additional officers are needed.<\/p>\n

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

Misquez isn\u2019t na\u00efve in his pledge to focus on community policing. He was undersheriff under Hernandez for several months and also understands the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

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

Though there are some officers who aren\u2019t happy with Garrison\u2019s administration, most I\u2019ve spoken with say the situation has vastly improved under his leadership, regardless of whether they support him or Misquez in this race.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m confident that, whoever wins this race, the department is in better shape because of Garrison\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

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

But I believe either man would serve our community well as sheriff. Both are consensus builders. Both grew up here and care deeply about the community. Both have dedicated their lives to serving people.<\/p>\n

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

\n

The public can\u2019t lose in this race. It\u2019s too bad we don\u2019t have more races with such excellent candidates on both sides.<\/p>\n

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

Vote your conscience.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been asked repeatedly who I\u2019ll endorse in the Do\u00f1a Ana County sheriff\u2019s race. I don\u2019t do endorsements, but I\u2019m happy to offer my thoughts on this contest. It\u2019s simple: The public can\u2019t lose. Either candidate would serve residents well. Both men have come a long way from their interviews with the county commission in […]<\/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-799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799","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=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}