By Justin Garcia
For the Las Cruces Bulletin
Gloria Gameros has as much stake in southern New Mexico as anyone could.
She grew up in Chamberino, attended Gadsden High School, owned a business in Las Cruces and served as an elected trustee of the city of Anthony, N.M., where she’s lived for about 34 years.
In a recent interview, Gameros told the Las Cruces Bulletin that her experience and care for her part of the county drove her to seek a seat on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners.
And now that she’s got it, she’s got big plans.
For her first year, Gameros has two main goals: Clear up lines of communication between southern county residents and their elected officials and reevaluate land use codes that allow residential and industrial development to coexist or overlap in the southern county.
“I’m one of those people who likes to push things,” Gameros said.
Gameros defeated incumbent commissioner Diana Murillo in a June Democratic primary and then prevailed over a Republican challenger to win the seat.
She joins the board at a transitional moment. In 2024, the board parted ways with the former county manager and hired Scott Andrews for the role. The board gave Andrews a mandate to build up the county’s economic development capacity.
Much of that will likely focus on border development in Gameros’ district, which extends to the Luna County line but has its heart in the communities along the Rio Grande from Berino to Anthony. It's also the only district that doesn't include any part of Las Cruces.
Gameros' victory over Murillo, who is also the mayor of Anthony, followed months of criticism and upheaval for the now-former county commissioner. Lawsuits between her and Anthony's trustees and questions about transparency and the use of city resources have plagued Murillo’s term.
Gameros also said that communication has been lacking. She described constituents telling her that officials repeatedly failed to field their concerns and calls.
“That's all I kept hearing; nobody hears, and nobody cares about what we have to say. And this is in our rural areas,” Gameros said.
Gameros said she plans to host regular meetings in her district and attend local community meetings to remediate this. She also wants to start a newsletter in English and Spanish to reach her constituents.
“I came (into the office) in the first place because I wanted to represent the people that didn't have a voice – the underdogs, as I call them,” Gameros said.
Another goal for her first year is to examine land use codes in the southern part of the county. Too often, Gameros said, industrial areas abut rural residential areas, leading to health impacts.
“We have too many residential areas near industrial areas or near animal manufacturing or landfills,” she said. “That's a little hazardous to the community.”
At the same time, Gameros said that improving infrastructure and allowing the county to provide more services—especially improved road maintenance—is a key priority. She’s joined by planning documents and statements from other commissioners who have also called for infrastructure improvements to southern Doña Ana County.
But for now, it’s all in the future, and Gameros acknowledged that her priorities may change as time passes.
“As I'm learning and getting an idea of what I can and can't do and can create and can solve, it will probably help me to change and evolve what I'm going to do next year,” she said.
Gameros was sworn in on Dec. 30, 2024. Her first county meeting takes place on Jan. 14.
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