Former deputy first in race for Santa Fe County sheriff seat
A former Santa Fe County deputy announced Saturday his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to replace his former boss, Sheriff Robert Garcia, who won’t run again because of term limits.
Adan Mendoza, 45, who retired in 2016 from the sheriff ’s office, is the first to announce his candidacy for Santa Fe County sheriff. The primary election is June 2018, in which voters will nominate candidates for their respective political parties.
Mendoza was born in Santa Fe and raised in the village of La Cieneguilla.
He worked 18 years for the sheriff ’s office, starting as a patrolman and retiring as a major. All his law enforcement career has been at the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, where he began working a few years after graduating from The University of New Mexico in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology.
“I decided that I wanted to continue in law enforcement, this time hopefully as sheriff of Santa Fe County,” Mendoza said in a news release. “I believe I have the experience, credentials and skill set to hold this position.”
Since his retirement, Mendoza has worked as assistant coach for Capital High School and also is a substitute teacher.
If elected sheriff, Mendoza said, he wants to increase the number of staff in the office. When he left the sheriff ’s office, there were about 94 sworn-in deputies, he said. He wants to at least have a total of 100 sworn-in deputies but also increase the number of support staff in the office, he said.
Still, he said, one of his priorities is to retain the deputies that are currently working.
The county has a population of about 148,000 people and stretches from Española to Edgewood.
Garcia, the current sheriff since 2011 and who is in his second term, said that Mendoza has the capability to be a good sheriff.
“He does great work and he knows the job,” Garcia told The New Mexican in a phone interview. “I’m hoping that he continues moving forward, which I feel confident that he will.”