Magistrate Court Division I

Democrat

Michael Melendez

Michael Melendez

Age: 63

Occupation: Design and build, solar sales and service/electric vehicle charging service

Education: BA economics, New Mexico State University

Previous elected political offices: N/A

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a DWI or a felony in New Mexico or in another state? N/A

  1. What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified to adjudicate criminal and civil cases?

“My knowledge of the U.S. constitutional rights, amendments where due process of the law and innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. In addition to my work in business and awareness of business law, behavioral health and state statutes and how they apply in court proceedings.”

  1. What forms of alternative sentencing would you consider implementing in your court?

“My court will assess the current community corrections procedure in use and develop policy and procedure aimed at addressing the behavior of the perpetrator and the victim. This would include wrap-around services to include income/employment, living arrangements and supervision/probation. Emphasis on social justice.

  1. Should a magistrate have more flexibility in determining conditions of release? Please explain.

“Conditions of release as they relate to the crime committed. Liberty and justice for all remains the cornerstone of this democracy. Innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt is a determining condition for release depending on the severity of the crime, also known as first, second and third-degree felony.”

Republican

Miles Tafoya (I)

Miles Tafoya (I)

Age: 36

Occupation: Magistrate Judge Division 1

Education:  Bachelor’s in business administration

Previous elected political offices: Magistrate Judge Division 1

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a DWI or a felony in New Mexico or in another state? “Yes, I was convicted of a DWI in 2005. I then enlisted in the U.S. Army and was given the chance to turn my life around. I am proof the court system works.”

  1. What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified to adjudicate criminal and civil cases?

“I have lived in Valencia County my entire life minus four years I served in the Army. I recognize the unique problems in our county where we raise our families. Since being elected as magistrate judge in 2020, I’ve determined civil and criminal cases using, education, problem-solving and team efforts.”

  1. What forms of alternative sentencing would you consider implementing in your court?

“I mandate counseling assessments and mandatory classes for domestic violence and DWI/DUIs. I promote community service and/or donations to local youth programs instead of fines, and impose fair financial compensation for damaged property, all of which helps local interests. I follow the law and ways to help improve our community.”

  1. Should a magistrate have more flexibility in determining conditions of release? Please explain.

“Yes, all counties are similar in some ways and unique in others. For example, we have problems within our county that may not be as significant in another, such as our growing homeless population and property crimes. Having more flexibility would help magistrates influence better outcomes for our community.”


Magistrate Court Division II

Republican

John R. Chavez (I)

John Chavez (I)

Age: 56

Occupation: Magistrate Judge

Education: Master of Human Resource Development, Master of Strategic Science

Previous elected political offices: Incumbent Magistrate Judge

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a DWI or a felony in New Mexico or in another state? “No.”

  1. What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified to adjudicate criminal and civil cases?

“I have adjudicated over 35,000 cases, both criminal and civil. For the third year, I have the highest average case count of any state judge. I serve on the judicial training committee, have served as a mentor to judges and was recently recruited to serve as a coach for judges.”

  1. What forms of alternative sentencing would you consider implementing in your court?

“Alternative sentencing has a record of great outcomes. As the associate judge for the DUI Drug Court, I have witnessed lives changed. Our drug court has a parallel track for veterans, with equally great results. For traffic, I use community service, driver improvement school, and donations in lieu of fines.”

  1. Should a magistrate have more flexibility in determining conditions of release? Please explain.

“Yes. Prescriptive processes create untended consequences as they cannot anticipate every situation. Doing this for over eight years, I welcome additional discretion in setting conditions that ensure compliance and protect the public. That said, I use all of the available tools available to me in accordance with statutes and rules.”

 (Editor’s note: Dell Washington, the Democratic candidate for Valencia County Magistrate Division II, did not respond to the News-Bulletin’s questionnaire.)


Magistrate Court Division III

Democrat

Sabrina L. Rael

Sabrina Rael

Age: 31

Occupation: Classification officer and softball umpire

Education: AA in Criminal Justice; dual BA in criminology and psychology; and MS in leadership

Previous elected political offices: N/A

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a DWI or a felony in New Mexico or in another state? “No.”

  1. What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified to adjudicate criminal and civil cases?

“I have worked in detentions/corrections for nine years and am competent and confident on how to interpret state laws. I have attained several degrees in which I can take several factors into consideration and critically think to make sound decisions. I am also trained as an administrative law judge.”

  1. What forms of alternative sentencing would you consider implementing in your court?

“Probation, community service or rehabilitative programming are good alternatives to serving jail or prison time. My goal is to develop a program to help offenders and other adults become functioning members of society and deter criminal behavior.”

  1. Should a magistrate have more flexibility in determining conditions of release? Please explain.

“There should always be a base standard set of conditions of release but there should be some flexibility in regard to placing a defendant on monitoring systems (SCRAM, GPS, etc.) and levels of supervision. Conditions of release should be adjusted and proportionate to the offenses charged.”

Republican

Deseri Ann Sichler

Deseri Ann Sichler

Age: 49

Occupation:  Valencia County treasurer, and owner of Real Estate Masters

Education: LLHS graduate, studied at UNM-VC, over 300 hours Real Estate license and continuing education.

Previous elected political offices: Valencia County Treasurer

Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a DWI or a felony in New Mexico or in another state? “No.”

  1. What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified to adjudicate criminal and civil cases?

“I have 22 years experience presenting landlord/tenant cases in magistrate court as a property manager. Being self-employed, a business owner and elected official has given me 22 years of experience in making decisions that affect the welfare of others where positive results are paramount to the individuals involved.”

  1. What forms of alternative sentencing would you consider implementing in your court?

“Community service with the purpose of teaching and rehabilitating rather than just punishing. Community service that teaches to offender to give back productively to their community. Probation with set goals, such as obtaining employment, obtaining education and requirements more than the offender staying out of trouble.”

  1. Should a magistrate have more flexibility in determining conditions of release? Please explain.

“Yes. I believe if magistrate judges have more options and flexibility in determining conditions of release that would broaden the availability of finding the correct path of rehabilitation for the offender. A one- or two-sizes-fits-all approach needs to be revised to incorporate other possible rehabilitation avenues.”

VOTER INFORMATION

Early in-person voting

8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Oct. 11-21

Valencia County Administration Offices

444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas


Early voting at alternate sites

10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Oct. 22-Nov. 5

  • Belen Community Center

305 Eagle Lane, Belen

  • Bosque Farms Public Library

1455 W. Bosque Loop, Bosque Farms

  • Valencia County Administration Offices

444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas


Absentee ballots

Absentee ballots will begin going out on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The last day to request an absentee ballot from the Valencia County clerk’s office is Thursday, Nov. 3. Absentee ballots must be returned to the clerk’s office by 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Absentee ballot  drop boxes

  • Valencia County Administration Office

444 Luna Ave., Los Lunas

  • Belen Community Center

305 Eagle Ln., Belen

  • Bosque Farms Public Library

1455 W. Bosque Loop, Bosque Farms

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The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.