(NM) BCSO Sheriff says he's 'very serious' about potential mayoral run

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales says he’s planning on running for mayor of Albuquerque. KOAT spoke to Gonzales after he returned home from the White House Thursday and asked about his plans to run for mayor.

“Absolutely, that’s my plan. I can only tell you that I’m very serious about it,” he responded. Gonzales was in DC to talk to President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General William Barr about the administration's plans to send federal resources to Albuquerque as part of Operation Legend.

Gonzales has come under fire in recent years for his staunch opposition to the use of body cameras by his department, even in the wake of several deadly shootings involving BCSO deputies. Although after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed a bill requiring all New Mexico law enforcement to wear body cameras while on duty – Gonzales announced an alternative proposal using smartphones. The possible mayoral candidate says he is not quarantining after his trip to DC, per the current public health order, because he doesn't have to.

“I’m very inspired by the people and this is where I really get my sense of the opportunity I have in front of me it’s not so much me aspiring to that but being inspired by the people who asked me to do that and I told them for as long as they want me to serve I will be there so I’m just looking for the opportunity, maybe it can’t come fast enough we have a lot of work ahead of us and I’m gonna stay focused on the crime problem for now. When that time comes, I will make it official. When that time comes I’m sure a lot of things will change for me,” Gonzales told KOAT’s Nancy Laflin.

https://www.koat.com/article/bcso-sheriff-says-hes-very-serious-about-potential-mayoral-run/33418746