Department veteran appointed sheriff

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Bernalillo County has a new sheriff after county commissioners unanimously voted Capt. Manuel "Manny" Gonzales as the county's new top cop.

While most people probably haven't heard of him, he's well-known within the department.

Gonzales has more than 20 years with the department and has lived in Bernalillo County his whole life.

Commissioners said that experience is what landed him the job.

Gonzales beat out 20 other candidates to take the job. Within minutes of his selection he was sworn in and being congratulated by now-former Sheriff Darren White.

Within half hour later he was getting settled into his new office and having a last chat with his former boss.

“He told me he had a great comfort in me getting the position and said he really believed in me," Gonzales said. "We just kind of had a heart-to-heart.”

White had also left a letter for the new sheriff although Gonzales declined to reveal its contents.

Gonzales takes the position after a varied career with the department.

“I have worked in every division in the sheriff's department," he said.

Hitting the streets is first on his list of things to do as sheriff.

”Really talk to the deputies and get a feeling more of what they are concerned with and the same thing we need to do with the community," Gonzales said. "We need to reach out to them and find out what their needs are.”

The new sheriff, appointed to fill out the last year of White's term, said he plans to run for election to the post next year.

Also nominated for the sheriff's job during Monday's commission meeting were William Kurth and Marie Miranda, both of whom are retired from the Albuquerque Police Department. Gonzales was nominated by Commission Chairman Alan Armijo who later spoke of Gonzales's experience within the department.

“Didn't have to have that learning curve that a new person would have," Armijo told KRQE News 13. "He was already in there, and so that was a final pick for me.”

Armijo said Undersheriff Sal Baragiola also would have been a good pick but came into the process late.

“The undersheriff came in at the last minute, and I didn't have time to meet with him," Armijo continued. "He came in at the last minute at the request of other people.

"Sal Baragiola would have been a good one, but by that time I think it was a little too late.”

Gonzales said he's not sure if he'll keep Baragiola as his undersheriff.

White's resignation became official the moment Gonzales was sworn in this evening. At midnight White becomes the Albuquerque's appointed chief public safety officer when incoming Mayor Richard Berry officially takes over.