Bernalillo County residents are invited to meet the final candidates for county manager Tuesday evening.
Marcos Gonzales, Joseph Lessard and Cindy Chavez are vying to replace County Manager Julie Morgas Baca, who is retiring June 30.
- Gonzales is Bernalillo County’s executive development officer. He has worked in the field since 2008 and been with the department since 2012. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
- Cindy Chavez is a supervisor in Santa Clara County, California, and chairs the board of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. She was also a candidate in the 2022 mayoral election in San Jose and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from San José State University.
- Joseph Lessard stepped down in December as city manager of Ashland, Oregon. He was previously a senior planning director at Texas planning firm Knudson LP and assistant city manager of Austin, Texas. He holds bachelor’s degrees in business administration and political science from Washington State University and a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University Bloomington.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE – CANDIDATE FORUM
WHEN: 5 p.m. June 18
WHERE: Ken Sanchez Commission Chambers in BernalilloCounty@Alvarado Square, 415 Silver Ave SW
VIRTUAL: GOV-TV, on the county’s website or on Bernalillo County’s YouTube channel. Register to speak via zoom here.
The candidates will share their visions for Bernalillo County and answer questions from county commissioners. The public will have a chance to provide comments during the meeting, which will be followed by a meet-and-greet reception.
County officials said earlier they expect to choose a new county manager before the end of the month.
After commissioners choose a candidate, negotiations on an employment contract will follow, Kristen Ferguson, a county spokesperson, said. The commission may appoint an interim county manager from June 28 until contract negotiations have been completed. Commissioners previously decided that an interim manager, if appointed, would not be a finalist for the full-time job.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE – OPEN MEETING VIOLATION MEETING
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. June 18
WHERE: Ken Sanchez Commission Chambers in BernalilloCounty@Alvarado Square, 415 Silver Ave SW
VIRTUAL: GOV-TV, on the county’s website or on Bernalillo County’s YouTube channel
The forum is one of the final steps in the process that began in February when Morgas Baca announced she would be stepping down.
The process has been contentious at times, with one commissioner storming out of a meeting and the New Mexico Department of Justice finding that other commissioners violated state open-meetings law by formulating the search process among themselves without giving notice to the public.
The candidate forum will follow a 3:30 p.m. meeting at which commissioners will vote on whether to rectify the violation with a summary of nonpublic discussions and a vote to ratify their previous actions.