Fernando Macias seeks the DA's office

Fernando Macias has held over a dozen government leadership positions during his career. 

Most recently, he ended his second stint as Doña Ana County's manager. Before that, he was a judge. He’s also been a District public defender, executive director of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance and manager of a North American Free Trade Agreement institution. He’s also been a state senator and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

"In high school, I was even student council president,” Macias said. “At NMSU, where I graduated from, I was president of the Associated Students.”

Now, Macias is looking to add the 3rd judicial District Attorney to that long resume. 

“It isn't that often that you see someone who's actually been a judge come back and be a district attorney,” he said. 

Macias, a University of New Mexico law school graduate, is one of five candidates running to be district attorney for the 3rd Judicial District. Anxiety around crime concerns about dismissals, releases, and repeat offenders, combined with questions about the fair execution of justice, make this race the most competitive of the 2024 primary season. 

Six lawyers, including the incumbent, chose to run. After a judge disqualified one for petition problems, the field shrank to four Democrats, including Macias, vying to take on Republican Michael Cain in November. 

During an interview with the Las Cruces Bulletin, Macias made the case for why he deserved the job above his colleagues. In fact, it’s that long resume that Macias feels elevates him above his competitors. 

“I want them to feel comfortable that I understand and have the experience to go into this setting and change the culture of the office and make it far more effective than it has been functioning over the course of the last decade or so,” Macias said. 

Does the district attorney’s office have the power to affect societal issues?

Macias said the focus of the office should be on prosecuting criminal cases. That said, Macias acknowledged that the office can also be a forum for change in criminal justice.  

“The office can have a very strong voice in terms of how to improve the operations of the criminal justice system,” Macias said. “To try to go outside of that framework would be very difficult.”

The district attorney's office has struggled to retain attorneys in recent years. How would you address this problem?

Macias said he’d first look to ensure attorneys were being well compensated. Then he’d turn his attention to the atmosphere in the office. 

“The office, for several district attorneys, has struggled internally. There's been quite a bit of conflict within the office,” Macias said. “Conflict among the attorneys, conflict among the staff.”

Macias said the office culture should facilitate an environment where people feel safe, understand the mission of the office and feel that their work is appreciated. 

Other candidates have said they’d pursue attorneys who have left the DA’s office but stayed in the community. Macias has called this strategy folly. 

“Many times, they come back with a chip on their shoulder, with a bad attitude. And so, a leader has to be able to say, how am I going to integrate people who left with a negative attitude about the office?” Macias said. 

To fill the ranks, Macias said he’d recruit aggressively. He’d immediately target lawyers with experience – not those fresh out of law school.  

“I would be looking to recruit individuals who are seasoned prosecutors in order to have the greatest immediate impact,” he said. “I think that we have a number of young attorneys that are working in the office now who need more mentorship, who need greater guidance, who need good examples of effective prosecutors.”

He said his experience as county manager would help him build a team of experienced and younger prosecutors. 

Would you advocate for changes in the law at the State Legislature?

Macias again reiterated his experience—this time as a state senator. That knowledge would be useful, particularly when it came to securing funding. But Macias also said that the role of the DA is not to influence other legislators from other parts of the state. 

“I think that anybody who thinks that they'll do that is a little bit of an overstatement,” he said. 

Instead, Macias said he’d focus on lobbying local legislators. 

“I wouldn't even have to go to Santa Fe. They're here in the community,” he said. 

Macias also said he’d be willing to use the office to educate legislators who aren’t well-versed in criminal justice. 

“There are fewer and fewer attorneys in the legislature. So you're really working with people that come out of non-legal environments, about difficulties in the legal process,” he said. 

What role would your district attorney's office play in addressing homelessness in Las Cruces?

Macias said his office would play a critical role. 

He outlined two proposals. First, he said he’d work closely with judges who oversee release decisions. His office would prepare robust arguments and information regarding repeat offenders. 

As Macias outlined, the process is not as easy as some suspect. To detain someone before trial, prosecutors have to convince a judge of two things. First, the person must be found dangerous to the public. Second, prosecutors must prove that no conditions of release—such as an ankle monitor or cash bond—can ensure their compliance with court orders. 

The vast majority of defendants are not held in jail. 

“Most of these individuals, once they're out of jail, there is no one place they're at. So the whole system has to get bogged down with trying to find these individuals and bring them back to court,” Macias said. “And it's almost inadvertent. You just kind of run across them. Law enforcement runs across them, checks their background and sees that there was an outstanding warrant because they didn't show up in court.”

Macias said that keeping these people in jail longer would positively impact the system. The jail, which Macias oversaw as county manager, could provide them with services. 

“I don't think the community really understands the detention center has a full-time psychiatrist working there. It has a full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner. It has staff that is trained in mental health issues. There are medications involved,” he said. 

While many advocates argue that keeping people in jail hurts someone’s mental health, Macias countered by saying he believes repeated arrests are worse. 

Would you appear in court to personally prosecute cases? Why or why not?

Macias said he enjoys being in the courtroom and would take on some caseloads as DA. He said many district attorneys spend their day handling administrative tasks, which prevents them from prosecuting cases. 

“But because of my background, I'm not going to have to spend a lot of time on the administrative issues, because I know how to address them,” he said. 

He said it was important to be involved in every aspect and to lead by example. 

How would you maintain contact with your constituents during your term?

Macias said he’d attend public meetings regularly to ensure the office's presence at community gatherings. But he also said that community engagement is inherent in the process of holding the office. 

“My role has been to find the opportunities that you can go out there and engage with the broader community through all its social organizations,” he said.