Republican Todd Garrison, left, and Democrat Vanessa Ordoñez
Voters to decide next head of the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office
DONA ANA COUNTY – Democrat Vanessa Ordoñez and Republican Todd Garrison are seeking to become the next Doña Ana County sheriff in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The winner of the race will replace outgoing Sheriff Kim Stewart, a Democrat whose term ends Dec. 31.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
A look at their backgrounds
Vanessa Ordoñez, a former city of Anthony police chief, brings with her prior leadership experience as a combat veteran with the U.S. military and holds a master’s degree in criminal justice administration. Ordoñez is from Doña Ana County and said she has an understanding of public safety in today’s society.
“Most recently as the chief of police for the city of Anthony, where I worked, was ranked the first safest city in New Mexico from 2025 crime data,” she said.
She said that experience would help her in the sheriff’s role because she knows how to “manage personnel, operations, budgets, and the day-to-day activities of leading a law enforcement agency.”
Ordoñez said she has a good rapport with state legislators, which she believes is a necessity for the sheriff.
Todd Garrison is a lifelong resident of Doña Ana County. He said he has a 44-year marriage
and 20 grandkids, as well as a “vested interest in this community.” He previously served as county sheriff.
Garrison began his law enforcement career in 1985 as a police officer with the city of Las Cruces. He also served the New Mexico State Police Department Motor Transportation Division before becoming sheriff for Doña Ana County for 10 years between 2005 and 2015. He was first appointed to fill an incomplete term and then won two elections.
Both candidates were asked how they would improve response time and public safety within the county.
Garrison stated community policing is key to both.
“I think that getting our officers to a certain area is important and difficult,” he said. “We have close to 4,000 square miles of county, and we have a substation in Hatch that we utilize with
the Hatch Police Department and we used to have a substation in Chaparral.”
Garrison highlighted the importance of having officers in Chaparral in the southeastern part of the county.
“One of the things I will work for is having our positions filled so we have enough officers to respond to different things going on in the county,” he said. “But I also think it’s important to have the same officers in the same area to address their needs and issues.”
He said policing areas with the same staff creates a better relationship between community members and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office. He’d like to work with the public to see what fits their needs.
Ordoñez highlighted her previous work ethic when asked how she’d deal with response times and improve public safety.
“I would get with the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority and assess what our response call time was, high-priority calls or low-priority calls,” she said. “It’s important to use those tools and have mutual aid agreements with local law enforcement entities so if we need assistance with priority calls, they would be able to help us.”
She believes having more deputies in high call-volume areas would be best to address response times in areas that are critical.
Building trust in communities
Both candidates were asked how they would build trust in their communities, while holding deputies and employees accountable.
Ordoñez said transparency is key.
“I think it starts with being willing to listen and being held accountable for the decisions that we make at the sheriff’s office,” she said. “So as a sheriff, I would maintain an open-door approach to the community. and really create meaningful opportunities for residents to communicate directly with the sheriff’s office. And by that, I would go to them. I would support regular community meetings in their areas, accessible communication channels and timely responses to, you know, any of the constituents’ concerns.”
Ordoñez noted there’s a need for a public information officer for the department. She said a media relations officer would help relay messages in a timely manner, while also being the sheriff’s right hand with community transparency.
“I think that would help have a social media presence,” she said. “It will help with better communication, that way the public sees what the deputies are doing – good, bad, indifferent. And then, of course, you know if it relates to misconduct.”
Garrison believes the rapport between the sheriff's office and community is well established and hopes to grow from the current foundation.
“What I have seen is that law enforcement is very good at holding their officers accountable on the, for the most part. You know, I mean, I mean, We deal with the issues when they come up, we are good at policing ourselves, and you know, it’s like everything else, though. The public doesn’t hear everything that happens or everything that’s going on. At police officers like everyone else have certain rights and we have to protect those rights, just like we have to protect people’s rights.”
Garrison said accountability is key.
“And I think that accountability starts at the top and it works its way down through the ranks and when people know that they’re being held accountable,” he said. “We are public servants. We’re there to do a certain job. And we need to be held accountable for it. I think transparency is very important. I think sharing as much information with the public as possible is very important. Yet we can’t expose everything because it is law enforcement issues and there, some things do have a private nature.”
On mental health and juvenile crime
One topic at the forefront of many New Mexicans minds is a recent spurt of juvenile crime from the Young Park shooting in 2025 to cases of young teenagers shooting a friend with a family gun. Both candidates were asked how they would address this issue and that of mental health.
Garrison said he understands the issue of juvenile crime but would appreciate a stronger relationship between court and law enforcement to prevent “catch-and-release” patterns.
“We understand and know where the youth are causing problems and creating issues,” he said. “And, you know, once again, it just comes back to that accountability aspect. It has been my experience over 40 years that law enforcement does a very good job of law enforcement. We catch criminals. We arrest them. We put them in jail. They are charged, but then it is left up to the courts and and juvenile probation and probation officers to hold those people accountable for what they have been charged with.”
Continued Garrison: “So, I think we have to have a better working relationship with our judges, we have to have a better work in relationship with our, our state lawmakers, and, you know, if
there’s no accountability, then all we have is a catch-and-release program, and every catch-and-release program I‘ve ever seen allows what you release to get bigger, and the crimes get worse and worse until they, you know, until something really, really bad happens.”
Ordoñez said she believes strongly in rehabilitation programs, such as diversion programs and activities with the education system.
“Should we get into office and, I believe, juvenile crime requires more than simply responding after a crime occurs,” she said. “We need to have prevention. We need to have collaboration and. As a sheriff, we need to strengthen the partnerships between the sheriff’s office, the schools, the courts, and even our elected officials and other youth organizations that can help with diversion programs.
She continued: “You know, we have to give juveniles the opportunity to change their direction and improve their quality of life. I am a really big advocate for that versus incarcerating them because I feel if they are incarcerated – I mean, don’t get me wrong, they have to be held accountable in certain situations, especially when it involves, violent crime, repeat offenses, then the juveniles should be … held accountable. However, I also believe in diversion programs and an opportunity to rehabilitate outside of those facilities.”
Lastly, both candidates were asked what they’d like to relay to the residents of the
county or highlight something that has not been addressed in other interviews.
Said Ordoñez: “I want people to know that I’m going to work very hard for them. I’m going to
be a voice for everybody. It doesn’t matter where people come from. I believe this. Everybody deserves to feel safe in our community, regardless of what party you are with, regardless of where you come from, what your ethnicity is, like none of that matters when it comes to public safety. Everybody deserves to feel safe in our communities and I am the candidate who wants to make Doña Ana County the safest county to live in the state, the way that we made Anthony, the safest city to live.
Meanwhile, Garrison said: “I think that the office of sheriff is one of the most important political offices … in our country. I really do. I believe that having a law enforcement officer elected by the people in the county is important, and then, allowing that sheriff to be able to do his job, he answers to the people in the community. I … have over 31 plus years of law enforcement experience working with multiple agencies, and, you know, as sheriff, I believe that I have the qualities and the experience that it takes to do a good job in this county. It would be an honor to come back to work and to serve the community of Doña Ana as their sheriff. And I would ask for their vote on Nov. 3.”
The winner of the race will serve a four-year term in office, starting Jan. 1.
Election Day is Nov. 3. Voting takes place at more than 40 polling places across Doña Ana County.