Acting Gov. Morales appoints Sandy Jones county commissioner

Sandy Jones, a Democratic former member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, has been appointed to a vacant seat on the Sierra County Board of Commissioners.

Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, acting as governor while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attends the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil, announced the appointment Friday but stated the appointment took effect Wednesday.

Jones will complete the remainder of Commissioner Travis Day’s second term representing Sierra County District 2, following Day’s departure to accept a post in the Trump administration.

A resident of the Village of Williamsburg, Jones oversaw highway and infrastructure projects for decades as the owner and operator of Sandy Jones Construction.

In his political career, Jones served two nonconsecutive terms on the PRC when its members were elected. Jones represented the southwestern district on the five-member body and twice served as the commission chairman.

He was elected to the PRC in 2006 and made an unsuccessful run for public lands commissioner in 2010. Reclaiming his seat after the 2014 election, Jones served another four-year term before he was unseated by fellow Democrat Stephen Fischmann. Since 2023, the PRC has been an appointed rather than an elected body.

In local elections on Nov. 5, unofficial results indicated Jones was elected flood director of the recently established Sierra County Arroyo Flood District.

Day announced his resignation as a commissioner in October to accept a post as U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state director. The Republican was elected to his second and final term as commissioner in 2022.

Sierra County is adjacent to Grant and Doña Ana counties to New Mexico’s south, with Truth or Consequences as the county seat. Within the county are two key reservoirs on the lower Rio Grande, at Elephant Butte and Caballo Lake. Spaceport America sits on state trust land within the county.