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Larry Diaz was officially sworn in as Cibola County’s next sheriff on November 17. He was surrounded by family as Probate Judge Marie Garcia read his oath of office. The Cibola County Board of Commissioners stood near and watched as their next sheriff took his oath. Diaz was sworn-in but will not take over job duties until incumbent Sheriff Tony Mace’s resignation takes effect on November 28. Nathan Chavez - CC
GRANTS, N.M. – On November 17, the Cibola County Board of Commissioners held two meetings. The first was a special meeting at 4 p.m. to canvass the results of the 2022 general election and appoint a sheriff. They voted to become a Canvassing Board and were given the numbers. It was stated that there are 14,948 registered voters in Cibola County, with 6,889 ballots cast in this election. That is 46.09 percent of registered voters in Cibola County who cast their votes. There were 24 provisional ballots with 23 accepted and one rejected due to having an address in a different county. It was fully approved by the Canvassing Board. They then voted to return to a Commission Board and appointed a new sheriff. Cibola County Manager, Kate Fletcher said she spoke to the winning sheriff candidate and his choice in undersheriff and said that they were willing to move forward with starting their term early, to fill a vacancy left by former Sheriff Tony Mace. She stated that Sheriff Mace’s last day as sheriff would be November 28, and recommended that commissioners appoint Larry Diaz for November 29 to fill the opening. The motion was fully approved.
The next Regular Commission Meeting took place at 5 p.m. An early topic of discussion that came up in public comment is road conditions in Cibola County. Fletcher said that they would be having a meeting to discuss more on road work the following day on November 18. Fletcher also mentioned that another issue is vacancies within law enforcement. She said that they had a meeting with all law enforcement agencies in the county, as well as the warden of CoreCivic and his staff. She will also be setting up a new meeting with the warden, the new sheriff, and undersheriff at some point in the future to discuss this issue.
Before the swearing in of the new sheriff, it was brought to everyone's attention by Fletcher that she invited Sheriff Mace to the event. He was to be awarded a plaque and thanked for his service to the community. He was stuck in traffic, however, on his way back from Albuquerque and didn’t make it. His plaque was read aloud for everyone present before moving on.
The Honorable Marie Garcia then swore in Larry Diaz as Cibola County's next sheriff. Afterwards he then swore in his undersheriff, former Grants Police Chief Jeff Marez.
The meeting then moved on to voting on new business. The items on the agenda were Consideration of Resolution 2022-60 Broadband Plan, 2022-61 Supporting the 2023 Legislative Priorities of NM Counties, 2022-62 Benefits and Salaries of Appointed Officials, 2022-63 Rescind BAR #2 Resolution No. 2022-50 with Schedule 2022-50A, Consideration of Proclamation in Recognition of all Poll Workers, and Consideration of Requisitions over $20,000.
All items were fully approved by the Board of Commissioners.
The next Regular Commission Meeting will be on December 15, 2022.