Curry, Roosevelt to see new sheriffs after June primary

New sheriffs will be in town next year. The process for replacing Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller and Roosevelt County Sheriff Malin Parker begins Tuesday as candidates sign up for the June 7 New Mexico primary.

Both Waller and Parker are term limited after eight years in office and cannot run again.

While Tuesday is the official filing date, familiar faces in law enforcement have already announced they will seek the sheriff jobs – Mike Reeves in Curry County and Javier Sanchez in Roosevelt County.

Reeves is a retired Curry County undersheriff who has worked in law enforcement for more than 30 years.

Sanchez is currently a lieutenant in the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s job isn’t the only one that will be changing hands in 2023 after this year’s elections.

Seats for judges, commissioners, assessors and state representatives also are to be decided in June or at the general election in November.

All of the elected official jobs come with salaries and other benefits.

Sheriffs in both counties earn about $65,000 annually, assessors receive more than $60,000 and magistrate judges are paid more than $80,000.

Roosevelt County commissioners earn just under $23,000 annually, while Curry County commissioners receive about $24,600.

Most of those who have expressed interest in county and state seats are Republicans and at least two races are expected to have competition from within the party.

Clovis Magistrate Judge Shaun Burns has plans to run for the 9th Judicial District judge seat occupied by Ben Cross, who was appointed last year by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and hopes to keep the job.

At least three candidates have expressed interest in Burns’ Division 2 magistrate position, according to Curry County GOP Chairman Marcus Smith.

Smith said Republicans Eleisa Munoz, Donald Sawyer and Stephen Whittington all want the job and more candidates could follow.

Curry County Division 1 Magistrate Judge Janemarie Vander Dussen is expected to seek re-election, Smith said. Last month, he said he was not aware of any other likely candidates for that spot.

Roosevelt County Magistrate Judge Christopher Mitchell said he plans to seek re-election as well.

At the state level, Rep. Randal Crowder, R-Clovis, said last month he will not seek re-election. Retiring District Attorney Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, plans to seek the position. Neither Reeb nor Crowder knew of any other likely candidates.

Local representatives Jack Chatfield and Martin Zamora plan to run again, Smith said. Smith said he expects Democratic opposition for Zamora.

Independent Rep. Phelps Anderson of Roswell did not respond to a phone call and text asking about his future plans.

Among Democrats, Curry County Commissioner Tom Martin said he plans to seek the remaining two years on the District 2 seat after he was appointed to succeed Jim Ridling, who died in office. District 1 Commissioner Robert Sandoval said he plans to retire and has endorsed longtime Clovis City Commissioner Fidel Madrid to replace him.

Curry County Democratic Party Chairman Anthony Mahan said late last month he was not aware of any other potential Democrats who might run for local offices.

Republican Chet Spear is term-limited on the Curry County Commission in District 3. His daughter-in-law, Clovis MainStreet Director Lisa Pellegrino-Spear, is expected to seek the position as is Norman Kia Jr., vice president for internet technology and operations at Clovis Community College.

In Roosevelt County, Commissioners Tina Dixon and Paul Grider both said they plan to seek re-election. Shane Lee is term limited. Former County Commissioner Bill Cathey has expressed interest in the job again.

Stevin Floyd is expected to seek the assessor’s position in Roosevelt County, according to County Clerk Mandi Park.

Other potential candidates who have inquired about seeking public office include Randa Jesko and Jandi Stanfield of Clovis, according to Curry County Clerk Annie Hogland.

The general election is Nov. 8. Tuesday’s filing deadline is 5 p.m. at the county courthouses.