Candidate forum for Grant County District 1 – April 28, 2026

By Lynn Janes

On April 28, 2026, they had the candidate forum for the Grant County District 1 primary election to happen on June 2, 2026. It took place at the WNMU Besse Forward Global Resource center. The forum had Jenny N. Ferranti, Andres T. Gomez, Lonnie A. Sandoval, Simon Sotelo III and Patrick Snedeker facing off.

Nick Seibel, Silver City Daily Press publisher, moderated the forum. The candidates received questions from the attending audience, online audience, and the Press writer Jo Lutz. Each would answer the same question and had two minutes.

They started out with each giving a three-minute opening statement.

Ferranti said she had been born and raised in a little adobe house on Chihuahua Hill. She has worked since she was fifteen years old and has been on her own. "I have life experience." Her work started with Burger King and then with people with developmental disabilities. While working with people with developmental disabilities she had worked her way up to the director of the southwest New Mexico region. Ferranti worked as a corrections officer for four years and worked with the union. In her current role she works as the director of a home visiting program working with parents of prenatal to five years of age children. With this she has a lot of fiscal responsibility.

Ferranti wanted to say she supports responsible mining but also supports stewardship of the land and water. "I believe in balance, and I think we can do both. Balance is a strength and not a weakness."

Gomez said everyone knows him as Andy. "I am proud to be a fifth-generation lifelong resident born and raised here." As a local business owner, community leader and team player he will be the right man for the job. His goal will be to bring prosperity and security to the community working with fellow commissioners, state legislators and local leaders.

Gomez will do this through the realization of projects such as economic development, reinforcing support the local economy and promoting industries like mining and ranching and the private sector businesses with responsibility and safe practices in mind. It will also include supporting law enforcement, firefighters, emergency responders, medical facilities, correction facilities, supporting area seniors. Most importantly, supporting cherished veterans and communities for the youth also. If elected as the next county commissioner, he wants to be part of projects that leave a lasting impact and effect positive changes in the community. "I'll always work with the county to move Grant County forward in a positive direction."

Sandoval thanked the university for allowing them to have the event and included the Silver City Daily Press for hosting it. He said he had roots in Grant County, and his wife had been born and raised here. They had been married 26 years and attended school in Silver City. He attended Western New Mexico University (WNMU) in the 1980s and has a 37-year career in public service. Sandoval started with the Socorro Sheriff's Department and then New Mexico State Police (stationed in Grant County). He retired as a sergeant in 2010 and has been the chief of police in Santa Clara since 2011. "I want to improve the quality of life for everyone in Grant County, no matter the party or district." He felt his experience and leadership skills would help accomplish this. Sandoval's priority will be healthcare and public safety. He will work with Gila Regional Medical Center to help bring in more providers. The seniors need to be addressed and not left behind or overlooked. He added the rural areas need a better response time. The community needed youth programs especially in the summertime. Life skills need to be implemented back in the schools because not everyone goes to college. Sandoval has been involved with youth sports coaching and umpiring.

Sotelo said he has been working at the university and Mimbres Region Arts Counsil. He has also served on several boards particularly Outdoor Equity Fund through the New Mexico Department of Outdoor Recreation and on the Youth Mural Program as an advisory member.

In the past he had run the Gospel Mission, worked in the Cultural Affairs Department at WNMU and on the Wild and Scenic legislation. His family had lived the Mimbres Valley for well over 100 years. Many family members had been in law enforcement, as well as miners and ranchers. "I think we need to create a sustainable community moving forward so that Silver City continues to be here."

A big question he hears, "Do you support mining". He answered, "I do support responsible mining." He wanted people to know that, yes, I understand and appreciate the value that the mines bring to this community but also can understand the need to have responsible mining and that the mining companies need to be held accountable to the communities in which they operate.

Snedeker said he is a native of Grant County and grew up in Silver City. His education has all been local, Silver High School and WNMU. He had a bachelor's degree in social science and master's in administration and supervision. He taught school in Douglas, Arizona and Silver City. After that he had a 31-year career in corrections and criminal justice. Snedeker continued with a number of other positions he had held in the correctional areas.

An audience question. What is the role of a county commissioner and why do you want to serve in this capacity?

Snedeker: He has been in public service all of his life and wanted to be a liaison between the citizens and county government. The role of a county commissioner will be to continuously engage in constituent services and to provide consistent delivery and resolution to citizen concerns.

Sotelo said the role of a county commissioner will be to serve as a go between for the municipalities within the county. Each commissioner is in charge of a district and as the commissioner, he will have the requirement to represent the residents within that district. The commissioner must address infrastructure, budgetary needs of which the detention center and hospital will be the most important. He had chosen to run because the last 26 years of his adult life he had been in service in some way, but he wanted to continue the work in a larger capacity.

Sandoval believed the role of the county commissioner will be to give a voice to the people not only in his district but everyone. Also, the commissioners oversee everything the county will be doing and need to pay close attention to the hospital and not have a private company come in and change everything that the county has worked hard to accomplish. He wanted to do this because of 37 years of public service to continue and felt he could be an asset.

Gomez has always enjoyed being part of the community and part of the team. He has been a coach and first responder. At 16 years old, he became a volunteer firefighter and had done that for many years. "I enjoy working with the public." The role will be as the others had said watch over budgets and county issues. "You have to be able to solve problems, work as a team to make the community prosper more."

Ferranti said the biggest role would be to advocate for the community and collaborate. The hospital has been a huge fiscal responsibility. Right now, they have had the best commission they have had in a long time. "I want to work with the commission and community as a whole. We are creating resolution with the legislature." The commission brings people together to find the best way to support the community. She wanted to do this because she has been a leader all her life and she knew the needs of her community because she had sat and listened to them.

Audience question. What are some things as a county commissioner you cannot do? What things are out of your purview?

Sandoval responded that they could not fire anyone. They may advocate for other people. They may try and obtain grants to help the county. Also, by working with the legislators, mining company and ranchers working together to solve problems.

Snedeker said they had the responsibility of acting at the administrative level within county government but can't do anything to violate policy, procedures, ordinances, standards or state law. They may not interfere with daily operations or divert money. The New Mexico Association of Counties provides basic training for county commissioners covering responsibilities and obligations in great detail.

"You cannot micromanage." Gomez continued that ech commission has to let the administration and departments do their jobs. Another would be to fail the county by using them for personal gains. The people of the county need to come first.

Ferranti felt that being a county commissioner required them to be at a higher ethical standard. One would be not doing any personal favors or violate any state or federal law.

"We definitely must continue to collaborate with the county manager." Sotelo continued that they could not interfere with other elected officials' decisions for their municipalities.

Audience question. What one thing makes you unique and the best person to represent District 1?

Sotelo responded, "This is not an I thing but a we thing." The county had gained some forward momentum in the right direction to cover things lacking in the community. What makes him unique is he has experience drafting legislation and working with different organizations. Another thing, "What makes me super unique is the fact that I am all about the downtown area. I understand that we have to kind of fill this gap of corporate needs and wants and extractive industry, along with our local businesses and our local organizations."

Gomez felt what made him unique would be being a business owner of more than one business. He had also started multiple businesses and sold them. Currently he has G Boyz Beef Jerky. Having these businesses he has learned how to be financially stable. He had also served as a municipal judge in Santa Clara and had learned to listen to people. "You have to understand what is going on before you can solve a problem."

As being the longest reigning police chief in the mining district Sandoval said that showed dedication and perseverance—a good quality for a commissioner.

Snedeker said he would not be unique and would be like everyone else. "All people are created equal." What did makes him unique would be his pledge to commitment to the very best essential services.

Ferranti felt she had a lot of unique things to be the best person to represent the district. She will be a good listener and listen to everyone before making a decision and would also call in experts to make that decision. Ferranti added, "I do not do things alone, I collaborate and work as a team." She has worked on boards that required her to work with grants and legislators at the state level but that would not make her unique but another thing that made her unique would be she was there to serve Grant County families. "I'm a collaborator and team player."

The next question came from Jo Lutz, the reporter for the Grant County Commission meetings. What are the top one or two concerns for the constituents in District 1 and how would you address those concerns as county commissioner?

Gomez had talked with people and their top concerns have been the homeless and tax increases. At this time, he didn't know how to solve the homeless, but as a commissioner he would do the study and research to find that answer and not be afraid to sit down and talk to the people. As far as the taxes sometimes they would be inevitable, but the commission needed to do their best to keep then down.

Ferranti said in talking to the constituents it had been the mining near Pinos Altos which she was very against. The other thing they have expressed concern about would be fires. She went over some of the things they could do to help ensure the most vulnerable would be protected. Defensible lines will be important and those families that can't afford or have the ability provide that help for them.

Sotelo had heard mental health and water sustainability. With mental health the county had been facing a lot of homelessness and the effect it has had on the detention center. On the water sustainability they know the mines have been using quite a bit of water as part of the operation. The people on the edge of the water table will be the first to suffer the loss of water. "It is super important that we address the situation through responsible mining." A third one he wanted to mention would be the hospital that consumes a large part of the budget for the county. He referred part of the cost being not in compliance with Medicare and Medicaid and being fined.

Sandoval had heard from the people by going door to door—mental health and law enforcement. They don't have the mental health providers needed and to obtain an evaluation they must be taken to Las Cruces and that took a lot of time. They must have a way to do evaluations locally. With law enforcement, they have lost so many deputies, it has been a big concern.

Snedeker said speaking to people it had been public safety and infrastructure. He added these have been things causing problems in many places. Public safety would not only include law enforcement but detention. Resources needed to be provided. In terms of infrastructure Grant County must maintain around 700 miles of roads. Everything begins and ends with roads.

Audience question. How to balance the need for the mines with the environmental issues that come with them?

Sotelo made a simple phrase: "Balancing the things that we need with the things that we love. It goes back to responsible mining." He made the statement that it would not be anti-mining to follow best practices and be conscious of the environment. "Looking at the needs of the community in which the extractionary industry operates and balancing that with the needs of the extractionary industry itself. There are the things that we as a community will allow, and there are the things that we won't."

Snedeker said he had been proud to grow up in Grant County. "I support mining, I support miners, and it is that plain and simple." He had attended a meeting as required at the New Mexico Environment Department with Freeport McMoRan (FMI). Grant County has some of the strictest mining and environmental controls in the country. The county benefits from the mining with about $200 million a year.

Sandoval supports the mines and believes them to be very important to the county. Eighty percent of the employees come from Grant County. They operate within their boundaries and have been a huge contributor to the county and community. "Without them Silver City would be a ghost town."

Gomez had once been an employee of FMI for about six years, and they had to do a lot of training having to do with environmental standards and being good stewards. They work hard at handling everything properly and working closely with state officials. Personally, he had seen them be good stewards.

Ferranti wanted to acknowledge what FMI does for the community. They provide a lot of jobs and sponsorships. Much of their sponsorships help the youth. It has been a misunderstanding the mine opposes everything and felt they do what needs to be done to ensure they meet regulations. "We have some of the strictest mining regulations in the nation." However, holding FMI accountable would not be a bad thing but you must acknowledge what they do for the community. "That is what balance is about."

Online audience question. New Mexico property tax largely funds school districts and county government. The mining industry has a different property tax structure. They pay on production of the land and not the land. It's called Copper Ad Valorem Tax Act. Would you change this if you were allowed to?

Snedeker would have been next but had not been familiar with the tax structure, but Sotelo explained.

Sotelo said rather than being taxed on the value of the property they have been taxed on what metals they produce from that land. It does have a cap of 3 percent. That means the lower their production the less property tax they pay. He saw it to be unfair because if they didn't produce, they don't pay but a person with a home must pay no matter what. The county commission cannot change this, and it comes from the legislative level and been happening for 30 years. He continued with how it could be done.

Snedeker thanked Sotelo and said property tax has been one of the most significant generators of revenue, but he would not change this and, as pointed out ,the commission cannot do this anyway.

Sandoval had not been aware and after Sotelo's explanation he would not change it. He pointed out that FMI donates millions to the community over and above the taxes they pay.

Ferranti said they did not have the ability to change that as county commissioners. She felt the question implied a desire to see taxes increased on the mine. If taxes increase the sponsorships and donations to the community decrease or do not happen. They have been sponsoring most things in the county such as Tour of the Gila. "We need to look at how much they give the community." She stressed the need to look at the positive and not always focusing on the negative

Gomez agreed with Ferranti. Rasing taxes on the mine would be ridiculous because of how much they donate to the community. "Why punish them even more?" He would not raise them.

As a commissioner how do you plan to bring more providers to Gila Regional Medical Center to better serve the community? This hospital is the only county owned hospital left in the state of New Mexico.

Ferranti pointed out the hospital has been bringing in providers since Robert Whitaker, CEO, had taken over and has done an amazing job with fiscal responsibility. Currently the hospital has over 200 days of cash on hand which had not happened before and needs to be acknowledged. They continue to work hard at recruiting and have been very innovative. She continued with a long list of what had been done to improve service and the new providers added. At this moment she felt they needed to let the board of trustees to their job along with the CEO.

Gomez would look at the leadership and ask what help they needed because he felt they had been doing their jobs well. It seems they keep bringing in more doctors and employees. They need the hospital no matter what, because everyone will be affected. Whatever they need to do the help the hospital thrive he would be there to do that.

Sandoval thought the CEO had been doing an amazing job. He had great ideas with revamping the hospital and finding funding. He had spoken to him and asked if it would be better to revamp and update or rebuild a new hospital. Whitaker had responded realistically they need to revamp because a new hospital would cost well over $100 million. One of the problems he said they had with bringing in new providers had been housing. Also, many come from the city and living here they don't have as much they can do.

Sotelo said they could acknowledge the good things happening at the hospital while discussing the future and what it looks like. It starts with infrastructure and fiscal responsibility. Not a lot of housing has been available for the providers coming in.

Snedeker complimented the current county commissioners and hospital board for their focus. He pointed out the legislature in the past session had taken a big step by capping the medical malpractice and that will do a lot to encourage providers to come in. Some of the universities will forgive school debt to help bring in providers to small rural communities.

Audience question. The community has a big aging population, many who want to age at home. How do you think services for these citizens can be provided and how do we pay for that?

Sotelo said that was an interesting question. Many moving to the area would be part of the aging population and several programs are in development within the community. He went over those and explained them

Ferranti cited many ways to pay for this. Currently a lot of support would be available and went over some of them and said they have been untapped resources that people don't know about.

Gomez felt helping seniors would be a big thing in the community. However, they should not raise taxes to provide those services because it would be double-edged sword. In helping them you would hurt them with introducing more taxes.

Snedeker went over some of the needs this population will have and the sources they should be looking at like Medicare and Medicaid.

Sandoval thought they had a lot of services for the aging population that wanted to remain at home. Service needs to be created to offer more that they need along with things to have them more involved. "We really have to take care of the elderly that want to stay in their homes because they sometimes become easily forgotten." In his line of work, he sees it often. They don't know a problem exists until a family member asks for a welfare check.

Lutz had a question. She had an assignment for them. They needed to find more revenue or savings for the county. Where do you look? How do you raise revenue? Is there anything you would or would not cut from the budget?

Snedeker pointed out that the county would not be an enterprise fund and exist to provide services to the citizens. It must be done in the most economical way possible with the most comprehensive services. Property tax has been the number one fairly generated money for the county and continued the explanation.

Sotelo responded that it would be a two -ronged approach. They would need to find where they could be more fiscally responsible and what has cost the most. At this point they know it would be the detention center, hospital and amount of electricity used in county buildings. An assessment of how they could save in those areas would be needed. To raise capital, they would need to research funding outlets.

Sandoval said as commissioners they would be reviewing the budget to see where the money has been spent and how they could save. For additional revenue they would need to apply for grants and working with the senators and representatives to bring in funding.

Re-evaluating the budget Gomez cited as first thing. Making sure they spend where they have to and cut where they can. Training employees on how to save on electricity by turning things off. Legislative funds should be looked at and see if anything would be available.

Before cutting the budget,Ferranti wants to put the people first. Leverage funding and looking at grants would be a second thing. Many times, state and federal funding will be available if looked for, the work just needs to be done. Promoting growth and small businesses would help with revenues. Convert underutilized spaces such as old buildings and revamp them to have a business that generates revenue. The treasurer of the county invests funds in a safe way and has helped increase revenues.

Audience question. What role should the county play in addressing housing affordability? What policies would you support or oppose as a member of the county commission?

Sandoval pointed out it would be important for them to oversee the housing authority but keep good communication. The current policies have been working, and he didn't see a reason to change them.

Snedeker referred to Bernalillo County that has not been able to pass any legislation to control rents and thought a more positive approach would be to create affordable housing. He spoke to the housing market and how it rises and falls. Everyone deserves affordable housing, and it could help with the homeless for them to have a home and be employed.

Gomez wanted to look at zoning and permitting to make it easier for developers to come in and create more housing. Currently people have very little housing to choose from. When they have more competition the supply rises and prices will decrease.

Ferranti brought up many organizations that have funding to help and named one in Las Cruces. Grant County has a lot of vacant homes that could be revitalized with grants available to help provide more housing. She said they have a lot of money out there to assist in this problem, and it will just require doing the work to obtain the grants.

Sotelo pointed out that living in the county wasmore expensive than 20 years ago. One of the most important things would be not just acknowledging a housing shortage within the community but also acknowledging that zoning and planning plays a big part of that. The county has a lot of mobile home parks. Unfortunately, the people who own those mobile homes do not own the land. The county has land that mobile homes could be placed and it would generate revenue for the county. They need to work on revitalizing existing homes. He touched on people receiving citations for their yards. "We can generate all the revenue through fines, but if people don't have the money to pay them, we're not getting anywhere."

Lutz had a question. The county has struggled to use code enforcement as a tool to get property owners to clean up hazardous yards. Can this process be improved and how else can the county better support fire risk mitigation?

Gomez's first question would be why have they struggled in working with people? Why had code enforcement not done their job? They can always look to see what help would be available to help people with their yards and find affordable services.

Ferranti said the process could be improved but would be important to acknowledge they only have one code enforcement officer, and he has done what he can. Some of the biggest issues have been to find the owners of the properties. Funding can be found to help these families mitigate and have those defensible lines for fires. A lot will be state funds that would be online and applied for a ong with federal funds. Lincoln County has done this by streamlining the process. She had heard the code enforcement officer say many of the families don't have the funds or they're elderly and can't afford the mitigation.

Sotelo commented that the county only had one code enforcement officer. The system could be improved but they actually needed to evaluate the system first. He felt the fire departments should be involved since they would be the first to these fires.

Sandoval said code enforcement had been doing well and acknowledged how big and vast the county is, and it would be impossible for him to cover it all. They probably need to create another position. He suggested clean up days and provide the bins and that might help. People needed to be educated and remind them they could be liable for damage.

In terms of code enforcement Snedeker thought they needed to prioritize it as a focal point and let people know what they have been trying to accomplish. If people need help, they could find ways to solve the problem. Find out what other counties have been doing.

At every forum Siebel poses a time machine question. He asks if they win and four years from now, they come back to this forum and will be running again for the second term. What is your single biggest accomplishment on the council in your first term? Stressing single accomplishment.

Snedeker simply said to be able to provide the very best essential services to the residents.

Sandoval said he had done what he said he would do.

Sotelo would be proud of what they had done collectively for the county. Some accomplishments being more affordable housing, stable economy and improvement in roads.

Ferranti had a number of accomplishments such as roads, senior citizens, supporting veterans and maybe a new code enforcement officer. She would be most proud of the collaboration with the commission and balance she helped create.

Gomez responded, "I'd be most proud of being a man of my word—I did what I was going to do. Helping the youth, helping the seniors, helping our veterans, helping our community by not raising taxes and just coming through with what I said I would do to the best of my ability."

Siebel had many more questions the audience had submitted and said some had been great questions but could not be fit in the two-hour period of time with so many candidates.

Closing statements.

Snedeker thanked everyone who took the time for the forum. He asked that everyone consider his education, training and expertise. He may be reached at 505-429-4253 and said he would make the effort to answer all calls.

Sotelo said everyone had heard what he had to say and understand how he stands with a lot of things. The county would be worth protecting what they have. He has a Facebook page, Simon Sotelo III for Grant County Commissioner District 1, that has his phone number and email address.

Sandoval wants to support the things that make Grant County a great place to live. He will advocate for families dealing with mental health issues. He will be transparent, accessible and accountable. "I want us to have a stronger partnership between public safety, mental health services, better outreach for the seniors and clear responsible use of taxpayers' dollars. Most importantly, I want the people to feel like their concerns were heard and were acted on. At the end of the day, this isn't about politics." He may be reached at 575-956-5283 and will always return calls.

Gomez said they all will be aiming at one goal if elected to work collectively for the wellbeing of the county and acknowledged that all those that had attended cared. No one person's agenda can take favor. He may be contacted at 575-313-5830 and may be texted also.

Ferranti thanked everyone for attending. Like so many she will be invested in what happens in the community. Her career in corrections has given her a perspective that's grounded in reality. She had not started at the top and has worked her way up, which taught her the value of hard work and respect. What sets her apart will be the ability to build and maintain relationships with all kinds of people, even ones you don't agree with. She may be reached at 575-342-2953 and she has a Facebook page, Jenny Ferranti for Grant County Commissioner District 1.

Siebel said early voting would start May 5, 2026, and primary election day is June 2, 2026.