Out of concern for a lack of representation for the El Valle area, Democrat Louis G. Gallegos is making a bid to represent San Miguel County’s District 2 as its commissioner.
Gallegos is in a three-way race for the spot as candidates Walt Borton and Berna Baca also vie for the seat. Baca was nominated by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to represent District 2 after former County Commissioner Janice Varela left the role back in March to pursue other opportunities.
This is Gallegos’ first county election. Primary election voting is June 4.
“I am running for election because I feel that the El Valle area does not have the representation it needs at the county level,” Gallegos said in an email to The Optic. “Unlike the other four districts, District 2 doesn’t have a slice of the County Seat of Las Vegas.”
Gallegos lives in the El Valle area, in a small village called Vallito de Piedra between Villanueva and Sena.
“The seat for District 2 seems to always go to someone from the town of Pecos, in part because that is where most of our population in District 2 resides,” Gallegos said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t had a commissioner from our area of the District since Mr. Roy Gallegos in the ’90s; I’m here to change that.”
Gallegos admitted he is new to politics; however, he said that is a strength for his campaign.
“I bring a new vision to the table,” he said, adding that he has been involved in politics for one year and eight months. He currently serves as secretary for the San Miguel del Bado Land Grant Merced, a political subdivision of the State of New Mexico. Gallegos was elected to the Board of Trustees during a special election in September 2022. He ran for reelection in May 2023 and was reelected to a two-year term.
The acquisition and placement of boundary signs as well as efforts to establish historic sites in the land grant are two accomplishments that Gallegos is proud to say he helped make possible. The effort with the boundary signs began small – with Gallegos purchasing two boundary signs from Highway Supply in October 2022. These signs were then donated to the land grant.
“I felt it was important for our communities to have visual recognition,” Gallegos said. “In response, we had an outpouring of positive feedback.” After this success, Gallegos said, he was able to work with the Land Grant Board of Trustees to purchase 25 more signs. He said the state’s Department of Transportation and the San Miguel County Roads Department assisted in getting the new signs installed at predetermined locations throughout the land grant Merced.
Another accomplishment that Gallegos is proud of is working with local legislators to secure capital outlay funding for a historical preservation project that is still in progress. He said that he has also worked with the private owner of a historic building that was part of an original settlement and was able to coordinate its return as a donation back to the land grant.
“Through these efforts, I have played a key role in applying for some historical preservation grants through the Department of Cultural Affairs for our Merced,” Gallegos said. “Our historical preservation projects are going to be an ongoing effort, being part of a 20-year plan of rebuilding the old settlement of San Miguel del Bado.”
One of the area’s biggest challenges, Gallegos said, is making a full recovery following the devastation caused by the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.
“The consensus I have seen at the county commission meetings is that this is a priority and an endeavor that current county commissioners are working diligently at addressing,” Gallegos noted. Another challenge that the county faces, Gallegos said, is a lack of CDL drivers. This in turn poses a public safety risk, he explained.
“We must find a way to give our CDL drivers a competitive wage without having to raise taxes,” Gallegos said. “Without CDL drivers, equipment doesn’t move, and as a result, roads don’t get maintained and refuse isn’t disposed of.”
In order to help resolve this issue, Gallegos said he pledges to research and dedicate himself to increasing the wages of the county’s equipment operators so that they can be retained as CDL drivers.
“I will use other resources like job recruitment platforms to better advertise the open positions within the county,” Gallegos said.
Another challenge for San Miguel County is that of crime and drug use, which Gallegos said is on the rise in the community.
“The state’s lack of pre-trial detention has allowed career criminals to be released back into the community where they are free to commit even greater crimes as they progress through the system,” Gallegos said. To help with this issue, Gallegos said he pledges to persuade legislators to “introduce and pass a bill that would give prosecutors and judges the authority to keep suspects charged with violent crimes in custody while they await trial.”
There are several developments that are going well within the county, Gallegos said, one being the Northern New Mexico Regional Drug Treatment Center in Las Vegas. Gallegos said the center is about 75 percent complete, and this progress is due to the hard work and dedication of the current county commission as well as state legislators.
Gallegos said he would help promote the drug treatment center by using online and local platforms to share information about it.
“This will help us in making the resources we do have more accessible to those who may be unaware or not fully informed of them,” Gallegos said.
A self-described family man, Gallegos said he has a wife and three daughters. All of his daughters attend the University of New Mexico and work in Albuquerque, he said.
Gallegos said he is a proud West Las Vegas High School graduate, class of 1994. He attended New Mexico Highlands University shortly after graduating high school. After he completed his freshman year at Highlands he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Gallegos went on to serve aboard the USS Kitty Hawk as an electronics warfare technician for four years. He also served in the New Mexico Army National Guard 720th Transportation Company out of Las Vegas.
Gallegos went on to complete an electrical trades degree from Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque. He used the skills he gained to start an electrical contracting business, Aegis Energy LLC.
“I pledge to work with the county commissioners for the benefit of my district and for the benefit of the county,” Gallegos said. “I am a firm believer in being the change I want to see in my community.”
