Sandoval County sheriff candidates debate staffing, patrol coverage at forum

The sharpest divide in Sandoval County’s sheriff race was not over whether staffing is thin. It was over how to cover a county that stretches across 3,714 square miles with just 63 deputies on the books, and what that means for Rio Rancho, Placitas, Bernalillo, Corrales and the county’s rural and unincorporated areas.

At the April 29 forum at Rio Rancho Public Schools Learning Center, the five candidates on stage, John Paul Trujillo, Martin Arellano, Jose Eloy Gonzales Jr., Victor Rodriguez and Alvin Miller, laid out different ways to shrink response gaps. One candidate centered the fix on putting deputies where calls begin, especially in Rio Rancho and Placitas. Another said Sandoval County’s rapid growth demands a continued push for more deputies. A former sheriff said the county should be organized into eight districts so deputies live and work closer to the communities they serve. Another candidate said the staffing problem is not unique to Sandoval County.

The forum, hosted by the Rio Rancho Observer and the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, landed at a moment when the sheriff’s office is already stretched. County figures cited at the event said the office had 63 deputies, with 26 deputies and six sergeants on patrol. Patrol runs three shifts year-round to answer calls, enforce traffic laws, deter crime and assist local agencies, but the numbers underscored how little room there is for extra coverage when a call volume rises or a deputy is pulled elsewhere.

That pressure matters in a county whose population estimates have reached about 161,519 and which has been described in recent coverage as New Mexico’s fastest-growing county. The sheriff’s office began developing an in-house Law Enforcement Cadet Program in early 2025 to recruit, train and prepare qualified candidates for vacant deputy positions, a sign that the staffing problem has become part of the office’s long-term planning rather than a temporary shortage.

The candidates’ differences point to different experiences for voters depending on which plan wins. A call-first approach could bring quicker starts on emergencies in Rio Rancho and Placitas. An eight-district model could make deputies feel more rooted in the far corners of the county. A sustained hiring push could mean more uniform coverage across Bernalillo, Corrales and the rural roads that often depend on the longest drives for help.

The 2024 annual report says the sheriff’s mission is to work in partnership with communities and agencies to provide safety and quality service, and a county labor agreement says staffing should be maintained at appropriate levels insofar as reasonably achievable. Against concerns about emergency communications and rural response times, the race has become a direct test of whether Sandoval County wants a sheriff’s office built first around enforcement, or one organized to put deputies closer to the people who call them.