4 vie for contentious post as county sheriff

Relations between the office and the county are strained

The Los Alamos County sheriff probably has the least number of duties for any sheriff in the state, and the job pays only $7,000 a year.

Yet four people — a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian and an independent — are all vying for the position in the Nov. 6 general election.

The post is also tied up in litigation after the Los Alamos County Council tried to eliminate the sheriff’s office, using a measure that was on the 2016 general election ballot.

Voters decided to keep the office. Still, a lawsuit filed by current Sheriff Marco Lucero challenging the ballot measure resulted in a ruling by a Santa Fe District Court judge that the Los Alamos sheriff cannot carry out law enforcement duties.

That’s due, in part, to the fact that Los Alamos County, where there are no city governments, has a fullblown county police department that carries out law enforcement duties. That leaves the sheriff with the sole responsibility of maintaining the sex offender registry.

As it turns out, none of this year’s candidates for the $6,888-a-year position have ever been police officers.

The lawsuit filed two years ago against the county by incumbent sheriff Lucero, who has reached his two-term limit, claimed the county’s ballot question to eliminate the sheriff’s office is unconstitutional and exceeds the authority of the county’s state-granted charters. Lucero’s suit also said he makes arrests of sex offenders who don’t comply with registration requirements.

The ballot measure said the county police department is “capable of performing all duties assigned to the sheriff by state statutes.” Lucero told the Journal in 2016 that every county needs an elected sheriff accountable to voters “so you can go to them with allegations of corruption.”

In July, Judge Francis Mathew ruled that the sheriff’s office has no law enforcement authority, but he also ruled that the county cannot

effectively eliminate the office by not funding it.

“… Sheriff Lucero is permanently restrained from exercising law enforcement duties involving keeping the peace,” Mathew’s finding of facts and conclusions of law says.

In an appeal to the Court of Appeals, Lucero is being represented by Blair Dunn, the Libertarian candidate for Attorney General.

Some of this year’s candidates are also at odds with the County Council and also claim the governing body ignores state law by trying to eliminate the sheriff’s office.

Greg White, the independent candidate, has filed eight lawsuits this year in either state District Court or the state Supreme Court, most of which targeted the County Council. The three filings he made in the Supreme Court were dismissed within days.

White said in a recent interview that he filed the lawsuits because he wants the County Council to follow the state law.

“The council doesn’t pay any attention to their own ordinances, let alone the (county) charter and state law,” White said. “You simply can’t run a government like that. I’m simply trying to make them follow the law.”

White says his relevant experience comes from stints in the Coast Guard and Air Force, as well as being a hotel security guard in Las Vegas, Nev.

White said he filed for bankruptcy in 1997 and 2003. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI in 1999 and had to attend DWI school, but couldn’t say much else about the arrest. “I honestly don’t remember what the circumstances were,” White said.

James Whitehead, the Republican candidate, has a pending lawsuit against the County Council, the county police department, and the county parks and recreation department for state Inspection of Public Records violations regarding requests he made for records pertaining to a property he owns. He has another lawsuit against Los Alamos National Security, LLC, which runs Los Alamos National Laboratory, for breach of contract and other alleged violations.

Whitehead, a former deputy fire marshal in Raleigh, N.C., said he didn’t want to comment on the lawsuits, because they’re pending. He also believes the county council has gone rogue.

“I believe Los Alamos County, from its creation, has not been compliant with state law,” Whitehead said. “What does the County Council have to hide that they feel that they have to control law enforcement?”

But, he says, he can get along with the council if he’s elected. “It’s my intention to set everything to the side with my situation with the county and handle it amicably,” Whitehead said.

Libertarian Chris Luchini does not have law enforcement experience, but he does have a Ph.D. in physics.

He says he wants to be sheriff because he wants to serve the public.

“I want to continue to make sure we have a viable sheriff’s office,” Luchini said. “We need somebody who can define what the proper role of the sheriff’s office is.”

Luchini is the chair of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico, according to the organization’s website. He said that, if elected, he’ll have to wait until Lucero’s case gets through the courts before negotiating with the county council on what the sheriff’s duties are. He added that he would bring in an undersheriff who is already a certified law enforcement officer.

Joseph Granville, the Democratic candidate who is currently a kitchen and bathroom designer, says he wants to come in and mend the relationship between the sheriff and the county council.

“I thought it would be great to come in and cool the relationship down,” Granville said. “I want an environment that’s conducive to decision-making.”