Las Cruces mayor candidate Eric Enriquez on housing, legal cannabis, crime, police reform

Eric Enriquez, a long-time firefighter and city administrator, announced recently he's thrown his name as a candidate for mayor of Las Cruces.

Enriquez follows City Councilor Kasandra Gandara, who announced her candidacy in April, to become the third person to run for the seat. The first, Jason Estrada, bowed out long before the other two candidates announced. After long-time Mayor Ken Miyagishima said he would not run for another term, the seat opened. Miyagishma first became mayor in 2007.

The open race comes at a time when Las Cruces is at a crossroads. Among issues, the city continues to grapple with an affordable housing crisis, a spike in certain types of crimes, questions about police accountability amid deadly shootings, a surge of money from a change in gross receipt taxes, and questions about the role of legal cannabis in the community.

Enriquez and Gandara can boast extended stays in the inner workings of city government, setting up a battle between expertise and perspective in the non-partisan race.

The mayor of Las Cruces holds less power compared to the mayor of Santa Fe or Albuquerque, for example. In those New Mexican municipalities, the mayor is the chief executive of the city government. They oversee the city's agencies, appoint department heads, enforce the city's laws, and propose a yearly budget. And in the case of Albuquerque, the mayor can veto decisions made by the council but is not a voting member.

Las Cruces, by contrast, has a "weak mayor system," also called a mayor-council system. In effect, the mayor is the top councilor, first among equals. The mayor sets the agenda for council meetings, represents the city to other municipalities, works with the council to develop and approve a budget, and helps select a city manager.

Here's Enriquez's background and where he stands on some key issues.

Firefighter, city administrator, and tortilla boss

In a recent interview with the Sun-News, Enriquez described his upbringing in the Las Cruces area.

A Mayfield graduate from the class of 1981, Enriquez graduated from New Mexico State University in 1991 with a degree in business. Initially, Enriquez said he wanted to become a business owner.

"Once I completed college, I had a huge opportunity to be a partner and owner of our family tortilla factory," Enriquez said.

Things started well, Enriquez said, but after a few years, the business fell on hard times. Adolf Zubia, the fire marshal of Doña Ana County at the time and a friend of Enriquez, suggested Enriquez could become a firefighter. Enriquez envisioned a firefighter's shift would allow him to earn money with the department, then focus on his family's business during his three days off.

But as Enriquez completed the fire academy in 1997, he said he fell in love with the work and community service.

About six years later, in 2003, Enriquez earned certification from the police department to become a fire inspector. He described that work as creating safe environments via fire codes and protecting firefighters through code enforcement. In 2009, Enriquez moved to Hobbs to become fire marshal.

In 2016, Enriquez returned to Las Cruces and became chief of the Las Cruces Fire Department, and in November 2020, Enriquez became assistant city manager.

Why should Las Cruces elect you mayor?

"I am an accomplished leader, I am a proven leader, and I care about this community," Enriquez said. "I took an oath years ago to serve and to protect. At every level, in every position I've had, I've tried to the best of my ability to uphold that oath. And I would do it as a mayor as well."

Enriquez also emphasized his heritage in Las Cruces and career background in public safety. He added that he'd collaborate with others. He also stressed his faith as being a personal moral compass.

"I think Las Cruces is on the verge," he said." In a way, I think all the ingredients are there. We just need to work together to put them together. And we can really be a vibrant city."

Specifically, Enriquez pointed to the litany of large institutions in the area, such as NMSU and White Sands Missile Range. But, he said, more can be done to get Las Cruces to the next level.

Is the city doing enough to affect the crisis in affordable housing?

"I think we're at the point where we are we're starting to tap into that," Enriquez said. "I know that in the last GO bond, there were funds that were earmarked for affordable housing. I think working with our developers and our contractors is really the answer to our housing issues."

Enriquez said involving the expertise of builders and developers and bringing them as partners would be his preferred approach.

The city estimates that Las Cruces is roughly 5,600 homes short of meeting the demand for multi-family housing. In 2022, Las Cruces voters approved a GO Bond measure to send $6 million to affordable housing projects.

What changes, if any, should be made to Las Cruces' rules regarding cannabis and dispensaries?

"That was already approved at the state level. So, I really think the energy should be focused on how we make it work for our community," Enriquez said.

Enriquez brought up issues around boundaries meant to prevent dispensaries from being too close together and being near schools. The rules underwent a recent challenge when city staff asked the council to remove the barrier prohibiting dispensaries from opening within 300 feet of each other.

Staff pointed out that, despite the rule being in place, the Planning and Zoning Commission permitted dozens of dispensaries to be within 300 feet. But on a 3-4 vote with the mayor acting as tiebreaker, the council nixed the proposal, keeping the barrier in place.

Enriquez did not specify if he supports the barrier but said that cannabis laws should resemble liquor laws. He suggested the idea of putting limits on the number of licenses.

"When you create that free for all, and everybody wants to open one every corner it makes it difficult for even the individuals that are applying," he said.

Do you believe LCPD needs reform?

"No," Enriquez said, adding that "training needs to be addressed, and working with the administration on how and what the needs of the community are. That's what we're looking at."

Police reform has been a topic of debate for years in Las Cruces. In 2020, then-LCPD Officer Christopher Smelser killed Tony Valenzuela using a controversial grappling technique after Valenzuela ran away during a traffic stop. Smelser was then charged with murder, but a judge nixed the murder charge mid-trial.

Then in 2021, the debate was reignited when Officer Jerad Cosper shot 75-year-old Amelia Baca after her family called 911 because Baca was in the throes of a mental health crisis.

With two kitchen knives in hand, Baca seemed confused as Cosper shouted commands at her for less than a minute before he shot her in front of her adult daughter and granddaughter. Cosper has not been charged with a crime and remains a police officer as the state Attorney General's Office determines if criminal charges will be filed. The incident activated a group of citizens, including the Doña Ana County chapter of the NAACP, to call for a civilian oversight committee.

"I'm not in favor of an oversight committee," Enriquez said. "To me, that's just another layer of management and pointing out all the things that you do wrong. I am in favor of looking for some type of committee that would work with police to come up with solutions to some of the problems that are going on."

As mayor, what would you do regarding a rise in certain types of crime?

"Look at what the data is," Enriquez said. "A lot of times, the police hands are tied with some of the things they can do and can't do. And those need to be addressed and clarified because we need to make it a win-win situation."

Enriquez added that laws around involuntary confinement of people found incompetent to stand trial create situations where people commit crimes, are found incompetent, and are released into the streets without support.

Las Cruces saw increases in some crimes, such as aggravated assaults (non-fatal shootings), burglaries, and vehicle thefts over the last decade. Many other types of crime fell or did not increase during the same period.

Do you foresee any other issues affecting Las Cruces in the next four years?

"Our resources aren't being properly lined up, as the residents of this community are saying, "Enriquez said. "These are the things that I'm hearing that we're just giving to certain groups, and we're not taking care of the people of Las Cruces."

Enriquez pointed to the Meerscheidt Recreation Center as an example.

"I grew up here, like to consider myself a gym rat growing up here in Las Cruces at Meerscheidt, and I'm happy that it was here and has been here for 50 years. But I'm also sad," he said. "That is still the only place that youth in this community can go play basketball indoors."

About the fall election in Las Cruces

The position of mayor is one of the five elected offices in the city of Las Cruces up for election on Nov. 7. Those include:

• Mayor, an open election after Miyagishima said he would not run.

• District 1, which opens as Gandara runs for mayor.

• District 2 is held by Tessa Abeyta, who is running to keep her seat.

• District 4 is held by Johana Bencomo, who is running to keep her seat.

• Municipal Judge I, presently held by Joy Goldbaum.

Justin Garcia covers public safety and local government in Las Cruces. He can be reached via email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com, via phone or text at 575-541-5449, or on Twitter @Just516Garc

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces mayor candidate Eric Enriquez shares stance on key issue