Magistrate faces rare foe
Former bail bondsman Jerry Gonzales Jr. is trying to unseat incumbent Santa Fe County Division 1 Magistrate David Segura, who has been on the bench for 12 years and has not faced a challenger since he was first elected in 2006.
Segura points to his tenure on the bench and 20 years he spent working at the Santa Fe Police Department before becoming a magistrate as reasons voters should re-elect in him.
In both roles, Segura said he gained a reputation as a problem solver who could streamline processes and fix things that weren’t working.
For example, he implemented and presided over the first DWI Drug Court in the First Judicial District from 2008-17, and as the presiding magistrate has reorganized the four Magistrate Court divisions in a way that has reduced scheduling conflicts. That resulted in cases moving more quickly and smoothly through the system.
“I have the ability to look at items with a large picture view but focus on results toward the individual we are addressing at the time,” he said.
Segura said he’s also taken it upon himself to seek out additional training and even developed a proposed curriculum of online courses and exams he’d like to see magistrates complete each year.
Gonzales said he is “enmeshed” in the community by virtue of his years living and working in the area as a bail bondsman, where he often was the first and only person defendants could turn to for information about the court system.
“I understand the system; I understand the people,” he said in a recent interview. “I’ve had oneon-one dealings with thousands of people throughout my career. I understand the issues facing this community. I shop at the same
shops as everybody else. I eat at the same restaurants. I’m just a concerned citizen who just happens to have 26 years of experience within the judicial system.”
If elected, Gonzales said he would focus on “public safety and accountability.”
Gonzales said he’s dismayed by the prevalence of substance abuse related shoplifting and property crime and thinks the courts should focus more on the underlying reasons people continue to reoffend.
According to court records, Gonzales was issued a “vicious animals” citation in 2012 but pleaded not guilty and the case was dismissed. He did not respond to messages seeking comment on the case.
Bond reform measures implemented in the past year that made it illegal for the state to hold defendants in jail simply because they couldn’t afford bail essentially drove Gonzales and
others out of business. He is one of several former bail bondsmen across the state running for magistrate judge, but said there was no coordination between him and other candidates.
Magistrates are currently paid about $80,000 per year, but during the last legislative session lawmakers approved an salary increase, which will bump them to about $89,907 per year starting July 14.
Segura graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1976.
Gonzales says he dropped out of Santa Fe High in his senior year. Despite having a successful career, he said in a recent interview he was bothered by his lack of a diploma. He decided to go back to school online in 2017 to obtain his diploma. A counselor at Robertson High School in Las Vegas, N.M., confirmed that Gonzales’ diploma, dated Feb. 28, 2018, is available for him to pick up at the school.