Former fire chief, assistant city manager announces candidacy for mayor

EDITOR’S NOTE: A more in-depth article will appear in the Friday, August 11, print edition of the Bulletin.

“That’s one of my strengths – a proven leader that knows how to collaborate with others,” former Las Cruces Assistant City Manager and Fire Chief Eric Enriquez said Monday morning, Aug. 7, as he announced his candidacy for mayor of Las Cruces.

Listening to people is also “a big part of leadership,” Enriquez said, then implementing, acting and following through on those issues.”

A native of Las Cruces, Enriquez graduated from Mayfield High School and earned a degree in business administration and finance from New Mexico State University. He worked at his parents’ tortilla factory and restaurant, Jose Maria, in Alamogordo before being recruited by former Las Cruces Fire Marshal Adolf Zubia to join the Las Cruces Fire Department.

Enriquez graduated from the fire academy in 1997 and from the Las Cruces Police Academy in 2003 with accreditation as an arson investigator. He served with the Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD) until February 2009 when he moved to Hobbs to serve as fire marshal/deputy fire chief and community services director. He rose to fire chief in Hobbs, before returning to Las Cruces in May 2016 to become LCFD chief.

He was named assistant city manager in November 2020 and retired in December 2022.

Enriquez and his wife, Yvette, have three children, Audrey, Zach and Ivan, and six grandchildren: five boys and one girl, ranging in age from four months to six years. They have another grandchild on the way.

Why run for mayor?

“Simply stated, I love Las Cruces and care about our future,” Enriquez said. “My family was established here in the late 1800s. Growing up here and having the distinct opportunity to serve as the fire chief for almost five years and assistant city manager for two years as well, has prepared me to give back to Las Cruces in a meaningful way and to lead our city through these changing times.  Faith, family and a passionate desire to serve are the keys in my decision.”

If elected mayor, Enriquez said his plan for Las Cruces “includes enhancing public safety, revitalizing our infrastructure, supporting our first responders and investing in economic development that creates jobs in a clean environment, access to quality education and healthcare and assessment of other needs that we face today.”

“Las Cruces is a city with a friendly hospitality rich in a diverse culture that makes it so attractive and a great city to live,” Enriquez said, “a city that with its communities has a driving ambition to be better.”