This is an open letter to incoming 2023 Sheriff Steve Miera.  We the undersigned are writing to oppose the appointment of Jerry Hogrefe as Undersheriff.  Many of us have firsthand experience of Sheriff Hogrefe’s use of his position as Sheriff to harass and intimidate citizens, to selectively ignore state health orders, to retaliate against those who asked for enforcement, or otherwise put our safety at risk. We respectfully but urgently ask incoming Sheriff Miera to:

• Rescind the offer of the Undersheriff position to outgoing Sheriff Hogrefe immediately.
• Pledge that Jerry Hogrefe will not be given any position within the Sheriff's department.

The issue: Within minutes of being declared the winner of Taos County’s primary for Sheriff, current Undersheriff Steve Miera announced that he would be appointing his outgoing boss, Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe, as Undersheriff.  The Undersheriff is the number two position in the Sheriff’s department, and has full power in the event that the elected Sheriff cannot fulfill his duties. Although it appears that Miera and Hogrefe planned this hire long before the election, the plan was not shared with most voters.  Hogrefe’s rehire was a betrayal of those who believed Miera’s campaign promises of an ethical department.

 
A lack of transparency: In his last term in office Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe became one of the least popular Sheriffs in Taos County history.  If candidate Miera had been transparent and upfront about his intent to appoint Hogrefe before Taos County voted, Miera most certainly would have lost the election. The decision to announce Hogrefe’s rehiring AFTER the election when citizens can no longer use voting power to avoid it thus seems intentional and in bad faith.  It suggests that the new Sheriff knew that voters would not support such a hire, so decided to force it on the public.  Voters who sincerely believed Miera’s campaign promise to run an ethical, transparent Sheriff’s department now feel duped.  Voters who voted for his opponent are shaking their heads that their worst fears were confirmed.  Beyond this, the appointment of Jerry Hogrefe to the highest non-elected position in the Sheriff’s office - after he already served the maximum terms in office - undermines the ethical intentions behind term limits placed on Sheriffs in our NM Constitution.   These term limits are in place to prevent corruption of the Sheriff’s department.  Going around these limits by appointing a former sheriff as undersheriff is not a good look.

A history of misconduct: Mr Miera has promised voters that he would run his own department, but Mr Hogrefe’s history of misconduct in the Sheriff’s office gives us little hope that Miera can put a check on his former boss’s power. Hogrefe has had a disturbing history of misusing his office to encourage harassment, division and fear.  He has done this openly in social media posts and comments, as well as in his actions as Sheriff.  He has, among other things: selectively disregarded, or undermined the state’s Public Health Orders during the Covid pandemic; endangered citizens by openly harassing (and encouraged others to harass) Taos County residents who he suspected had reported violations of the Public Health Orders during the pandemic; publicly ridiculed community members who peacefully protested officer killings of black citizens, creating an atmosphere of fear to hold future protests in Taos; used his "Back the Blue" rally to promote an “us versus them” culture that divides our community and makes questioning law enforcement akin to treason; promoted some of the most destructive agendas of the Trump regime, including welcoming the domestic terrorists Cowboys4Trump to be part of a pro-law enforcement rally.  

Sheriff Hogrefe’s actions have had a chilling and divisive effect on our community, and have put the safety of our citizens at risk.  Because of his harassment, many Taos citizens do not feel they can even call the Sheriff's office in case of emergency. Unlike a Chief of Police who must answer to higher-ups, Sheriff Hogrefe has operated the Sheriffs office as his personal fiefdom, without checks and balances.  Taos County residents' only real limits on that power are a Sheriff’s term limits: Sheriffs may not hold office for more than two four year periods, after which they must not occupy any elected county office for two years. By rehiring a boss who does not respect the chain of command to such a high position, after Hogrefe has “termed out”, Miera undermined the only checks that the public has on a Sheriff’s power.  In addition, the way the rehire was planned and announced damaged our new Sheriff's credibility. Hogrefe’s rehire looks a lot like a plan intentionally kept from voters until Miera’s primary win was assured.  These actions have dealt a blow to public trust in the new Sheriff, as well in his campaign promise to run a transparent and ethical department.  This must be addressed.  We, the undersigned, therefore urge incoming Sheriff Steven Miera to immediately undo the appointment of Hogrefe as Undersheriff, and pledge to not rehire his former boss into any position within the Sheriff's department.  At stake is our community's faith in law enforcement, and in our new Sheriff to break with past corruption.
#NoWayHogrefe