Cindy Chavez is the new Bernalillo County manager, but sees her job as part of a partnership with local, state and federal governments, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of the people who live here.
Chavez, formerly a member of the Santa Clara County (California) Board of Supervisors, started her job as county manager in November.
The Alamogordo-born Chavez said she applied for the job in part as tribute to her parents, Reyes and Carmen Chavez, along with her grandparents, who instilled in her the values of service, kindness and generosity.
“It’s an honor, truly, when leaders in a community place their faith in you,” she said. “My obligation is to serve in a way that would make my parents proud.”
Chavez said she recognizes that residents will bring their concerns to county commissioners, and commissioners are entitled to share those concerns with staff. She said commissioners can’t, for example, direct snowplow operators to cover certain streets, but can point out an issue to staff, who would then figure out how to apply resources where they are needed.
“As somebody who was a community activist and an elected official and and now, on the administrative side, we all have to work together to make sure we’re providing the best services possible,” Chavez said. “And that’s a really good example of why commissioners are so important, actually. Someone knows them well enough to call them and say ‘I need your help.’”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
City Desk ABQ: What are you excited about regarding this job?
Cindy Chavez: Well, the commission has a really thoughtful vision for the community, and that is having a strong economic development program that really continues to bring jobs to the region. [It’s also] really focused on how we’re providing mental health services and then making sure that we are engaging deeply with many partners to facilitate the building and availability of affordable housing. The jobs and affordable housing are so critical because we don’t want our kids to have to move away to get work or find a place to live, they should be able to stay here.
And I think our board has been very committed to collaborating, in particular with the City of Albuquerque, but with the private sector as well, to effectuate change.
What are some of the challenges and opportunities you see?
Our biggest challenges as a community are looking at the high number of people who need drug and alcohol [treatment] services, who need mental health services and who need housing. We are at an inflection point, in the sense that we have an opportunity to move quickly to dramatically improve the lives of our community and the quality of life for everybody who lives here. If we do our jobs right, in partnership with the leadership of the state —our governor, our mayor, our board chair — we’re going to have to lean in really hard, roll up our sleeves and just not quit until we resolve these issues.
How do you plan on working with commissioners of varying viewpoints?
Commissioners represent the community for us, and so when a majority of the commission votes to go in a specific direction, our job is to meet that challenge and exceed their expectations.
New Mexico is disproportionately dependent on federal aid. Are you concerned at all about how support from Washington might change under the new administration?
I believe that as a state, we’re going to have to fight for resources for our community, and that is part of the reason that the high, high level of collaboration and integrated strategies are going to be really important for the community right now. Irrespective of who had become president, I would be saying the same thing, because I think there are lots of services that states like New Mexico and and more Midwestern states need. As an example, there need to be more dramatic improvements to [Department of Housing and Urban Development] resources. And that should have happened 50 years ago, because that has been impacting communities like ours for generations. So no matter what, we need to be prepared to get in there and fight for resources for this great state.