EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Doña Ana County has a new assistant county manager, who is quite familiar with the County’s operations.
Doña Ana County named Stephen Lopez as its newest assistant county manager, effective Jan. 26, the County said in a news release on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Lopez had served as interim county manager and worked with new County Manager Scott Andrews during the transition. He is also the former police chief at New Mexico State University.
Lopez was selected unanimously after a competitive hiring process that included external candidates and panelists from the City of Las Cruces and current and former county assistant county managers.
Andrews excused himself from the selection process to prevent the appearance of any favoritism toward Lopez, the County said.
“I am glad that the panel saw the value of Stephen’s familiarity with the region, historical reference to the work of Doña Ana County, and the importance of someone whose career has been dedicated to making life safer and better for our residents,” Andrews said. “Stephen brings a vast amount of regional and local government leadership experience to this role. He is a perfect fit for the culture we are working to establish with his positive attitude, fantastic consensus-building skills, and outstanding track record of problem-solving.”
Having a third assistant county manager is a new structure for Doña Ana County.
“However, it brings the County in line with the best practices for jurisdictions of similar sizes,” the County said.
Lopez joins Deborah Weir and Jonathan Macias as assistant county managers who will focus on implementing components of the County’s five-year Strategic Plan, the County said in its announcement.
“We are working diligently to modernize our organization and seek efficiencies that improve service levels for our community,” Andrews said. “Stephen and our other talented team leaders will help us lead this charge.”
Most recently, Lopez served as manager of the Office of Emergency Management since January 2021. He began his career in law enforcement at New Mexico State University in 1987. He worked there for 33 years, with the last eight years as chief of police before joining Doña Ana County.
With Lopez’s promotion, Deputy Emergency Manager Amanda Bowen will serve as interim emergency manager, the position she held during Lopez’s stint as interim county manager, until the position is permanently filled.
For more information about the 2024 Strategic Plan, visit: Doña Ana County Strategic Plan.
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