Bernalillo County has its next manager.

County commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday night to make Cindy Chavez the county’s top administrator.

“I really believe that Cindy Chavez possesses the skill and know-how to be a truly transformative leader,” Commission Vice-Chair Eric Olivas said. “Somebody that can take us to the next level.”

Pending a background investigation and negotiation of an employment contract, Chavez will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county. She will supervise more than 2,500 people and a budget topping $1 billion. Chavez previously served as county supervisor in Santa Clara County California.

The vote

Olivas, Commission Chair Barbara Baca and Commissioner Adriann Barboa supported Chavez. Baca and Olivas said the Alamogordo-born Chavez is familiar with New Mexico and with the issues facing the county. 

Commissioners Walt Benson and Steven Michael Quezada voted against hiring Chavez. Quezada nominated Marcos Gonzales, the current executive development officer for Bernalillo County.

Quezada touted Gonzales’ local background and performance as a county employee.

Joseph Lessard, most recently city manager of Ashland, Oregon, was also a finalist for the job. Current County Manager Julie Morgas Baca is retiring Sunday. She has held the job since 2015.

Commissioners also approved the appointment of Shirley Ragin as interim county manager. Ragin, deputy county manager for finance since June 2014, will serve as interim county manager until Chavez starts her new job.

About Cindy Chavez

Chavez, who has family members who live in the East Mountains, was elected to the San Jose City Council in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, serving as vice mayor in her last year. She also served as executive director of the South Bay Labor Council.

“Cindy Chavez is coming to us from San Jose, California,” Baca said during Tuesday’s meeting. “However, she is a New Mexican. Her heart and her understanding of New Mexico is deep. She’s a servant leader and a senior executive offering 25 years’ tenure in the public sector.”

Wrapping up a volatile time

Chavez’s selection concludes a process that started in April with Morgas Baca announcing her retirement. The path to the decision was contentious at times, with a dust-up over how the commission assembled a search committee.

The New Mexico Department of Justice later found that the commission violated the state’s open-meetings law by discussing possible search committee members through phone and email communications outside of scheduled meetings and without notifying the public.

Commissioners rectified the violation by ratifying the previous actions at an acrimonious special meeting, at which Olivas accused Quezada and Benson of not taking the search seriously and Benson in turn saying he and Quezada were insulted for questioning the legality of the board’s actions.

Bond measure to go on ballot

Also at the meeting, commissioners in a 4 to 1 vote approved a $40.5 million bond package that will go before voters in the Nov. 5 general election. 

Voters will be asked to approve projects in six areas: libraries, parks and recreation, transportation, storm drainage and utilities, public housing and public safety facilities, fleet, and county buildings.