Swearing-in ceremony welcomes new faces to government

The road ahead will not always be easy. But it is filled with opportunities to make a real difference and to deliver on the hopes of those who voted for you.”

Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin

This story was updated with reporting on U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and his swearing-in.

Fourteen people were sworn in as elected officials at a ceremony on Dec. 30, 2024, at the Doña Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces, marking the start of several new terms for elected officials.  

Most of the officials sworn in were incumbents who’d won re-election. Still, the ceremony also confirmed new faces for 3rd Judicial District Attorney, state House of Representatives District 53, and the Doña Ana Board of Commissioners.  

“This ceremony is not just a formality. It is a reminder of the trust that the people have placed in us,” said County Clerk Amanda López Askin, one of the incumbent officials who won re-election. “Democracy is about representation, making sure every voice is heard, every concern is taken seriously, and every decision is made with the best interest of our community in mind.”  

For an hour, officials and their families filled the commissioners' chambers at the government center for the ceremony. As they took their oaths, many of the officials were surrounded by family and friends as they swore to uphold the laws of the state of New Mexico and the United States.  

“To those being sworn in today, you’ve chosen to lead, to listen, to serve. The road ahead will not always be easy. But it is filled with opportunities to make a real difference and to deliver on the hopes of those who voted for you,” López Askin said.  

Returning congressman Gabe Vasquez was the first to be sworn in. He was followed by state Senator Bill Soules, state Senator Carrie Hamblen, state Representative Micaela Lara Cadena, state Representative Joanne Ferrary, state Representative Sarah Silva, District Attorney Fernando Macias, District Judge James “Jim” Martin, Magistrate Judge Nathan Willam Graff, Clerk López Askin; county commissioners Gloria Gameros, Manuel Sanchez and Susana Chaparro; and County Treasurer Marisol Richardson.  

Other officials not present can be sworn in at later dates, according to the clerk's office.

Heinrich takes on new role 

New Mexico’s senior U.S. Senator, Martin Heinrich, a Democrat who won a third term in this November, was sworn in Jan. 3, and named ranking member for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the 119th Congress. As ranking member, Heinrich is the senior representative of the party holding a minority in the Republican-led Senate. 

Heinrich begins his 13th year on Capitol Hill with the new title and will play a major role in setting national energy policies and managing the U.S.’s public lands within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. The committee also oversees the U.S. Department of Energy and has jurisdiction over nuclear waste policy.  

“As I take on this role, I want to be clear about who I am working for: the electrician looking for a job in her home community, the family trying to make ends meet by lowering their utility bill, the manufacturer looking to expand but needing a strong electric grid, and those just looking to clear their mind or fill their freezer on public lands nearby,” Heinrich said in a news release.   

The news release also noted that Heinrich is following former U.S. Senators from New Mexico – Democrats Jeff Bingaman, Clinton Anderson and Carl Hatch as well as Republican Pete Domenici – in taking a role on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.   

“The reality is that all of us will need steadfast leadership to deliver water security for communities and farmers and to slow and mitigate the effects of climate change as the unnatural disasters it is causing continue to wreak havoc— from New Mexico to North Carolina. I will work every day to deliver that leadership,” Heinrich said.   

New Mexico’s entire delegation to Congress consists of Democrats. Senators Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and House of Representatives members Vasquez, Melanie Stansbury and Teresa Leger Fernandez, all returned to Washington last week for the opening of the new Congress.