One-on-One with Julie Morgas Baca

Julie Morgas Baca is ready for a vacation.

Morgas Baca is the recently retired Bernalillo County manager — her last day was Friday.

She led New Mexico’s most populous county since Oct. 2015.

There’s been some challenges during her tenure, and plenty of successes. Under her watch, the county has moved to the verge of completing the requirements of a decades-old lawsuit over jail conditions at the Bernalillo County jail; the county furloughed employees; and there was a global pandemic, which required the county to organize vaccine clinics and expand Wi-Fi access to places in unincorporated areas where residents can lack services.

The county also moved its operations into a redesigned building in Downtown and launched methadone and suboxone treatments for inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Morgas Baca has also cared for her mother, who lives with Morgas Baca and her family.

“I haven’t traveled as much as I’d like to, but I do like to travel,” she said. “I love to do road trips.”

So, a break is in order, Morgas Baca said. But we probably haven’t seen the last of her.

“I’d like to take a break for a little while, but I don’t feel like I’m done yet,” she said. “I want to still be able to make a difference in our community, the community that I really love. I don’t know what it’s going to look like but I’m going to sort of leave my options open.”

What were the biggest challenges you faced as manager?

“We survived the pandemic, we survived a cyberattack. When I first became county manager, we were experiencing a budget shortfall, and having to furlough our staff was probably one of the biggest challenges. But I do want to say that during that time, nobody lost their jobs. And during the pandemic, nobody lost their jobs. And during the pandemic, it was just sort of learning how to navigate and to continue to operate and to continue to provide the services to our constituents uninterrupted.”

The Metropolitan Detention Center got close to completing a decades-long reform lawsuit during your tenure.

“What we’ve done is reached a settlement agreement, which basically creates a path to actually settling McClendon (class action lawsuit over jail conditions) and that took a while. ... One of the biggest accomplishments at the jail was bringing in University of Mexico Hospital to be the medical contractor to oversee medical, dental and mental health. Since they started, it’ll be a year July 26, the deaths at the MDC have decreased. And we’ve expanded that now so that they administer suboxone and methadone.”

What are your hobbies outside of work?

“I do like to travel. I love to do road trips. I like to hike, I like to go to the bosque and walk my dogs. I love music. I love to dance. I like to entertain with my family and with my friends. Pretty simple stuff.”

You mentioned like hiking. As county manager, do you know of a hidden gem of Bernalillo County that you would recommend?

“There absolutely is. They took a picture of me this morning because I’m going to send a farewell message to our staff. We could have a glamour shot or whatever. I thought, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ So I had them take a picture of me with my dog at the Bachechi Open Space. That’s my hidden gem and that’s kind of my therapy. I get up every morning at 5:30, I get on the bike trail for an hour and a half, go on a five mile walk with my dog. It’s a beautiful open space area.”

What’s something difficult in your life that you’ve had to overcome?

“Not taking things too personal ... when dealing with a lot of conflict. Don’t get me wrong, I can face conflict head on. I do it every day all day. And I do it when I need to do something and I need to make a hard decision. When there’s conflict. I don’t avoid it. I always face it head on. But is it difficult? Yes. It’s very difficult. ... I like to say, ‘sleep on it.’ I think that’s really, really important. When I have to make a big decision, I always sleep on it. And that’s served me very well.”

Who was your mentor?

“Edward Lujan has been my mentor. He is a pillar of integrity and wisdom. His advice and guidance have helped me navigate through some of my greatest challenges. His moral and political insights have guided me in making some tough decisions.”

What would be your advice for a first-time manager?

“When you come into an organization, such as Bernalillo County, come in with humility. Know what you don’t know. Surround yourself with good people. Trust them. Support them. Lead by example and have a vision. You have to have a vision.”