Lea County Board of County Commissioners

District One covers northern Lea County from Crossroads and going south to northern parts of Lovington.

Commissioner Jackson came to government service by way of the Lea County Fair & Rodeo Board, filling an unexpired term by appointment, and then was reappointed to two more terms. After terming out of the fair board, he was asked to run for Lea County Board of Commissioners and took the opportunity .In the past, he has also served as vice-president of Future Farmers of America.

He notes one of his greatest accomplishments as a commissioner was helping remove the management company Spectra from the Fairgrounds and Event Center and returning county staff to those facilities. He’s also proud to have worked to get more sheriff’s deputies on the street.

One of Commissioner Jackson’s goals is to help the State of New Mexico to understand what a gem Lea County is and to highlight how the county is a major benefactor to the state. His priorities are to run the county conservatively with taxpayers’ money and to keep personal opinion and leadership opinion separate when making decisions on the county’s behalf. He feels that not taking on new burdens at the taxpayers’ expense is important to that conservation.

After graduating from Lovington High School, Dean attended Texas Tech University and returned home to Lovington. Although his boot shop has been open full time since 1980, he also considers ranching to be his second job. Dean describes himself as “Lovington, born and bred,” and as a fourth generation Lea Countian, he plans to always make Lovington his home. He and his beautiful wife, Kirestie (pronounced Kristy), have two sons as well as Fancy the dog. He also wants his constituents to know that they can call him at any time.

Commissioner Long’s district begins at Avenue D in Lovington and continues south to Joe Harvey Boulevard in Hobbs.

Although this is her first publicly elected position, Commissioner Long is no stranger to public service. Past posts include her appointment to the New Mexico State Personnel Board by then-Governor Suzanna Martinez; president of Lea County Women’s Network; president of Lea County Republican Women, and vice-president, president-elect, president and past president of New Mexico Counties. She currently serves on the New Mexico Counties executive board, as a representative for District 6 to the National Association of Counties and on the Environment, Energy and Land Use steering committee.

Being fiscally responsive with and responsible for taxpayers’ money is one of her main priorities as a commissioner. She is especially proud of being able to help the Sheriff’s Department add eighteen positions to the department and a noise ordinance established in District Two. She also believes that it is important to solve existing problems in a timely manner so as not to leave them for the next team of commissioners.

One of her most important goals entails working with other commissioners across the state to forestall upcoming bills in the state legislature that will be financially devastating to all thirty-three counties.

After graduating from Lovington High School, Rebecca attended West Texas State University, but returned home to Lovington to open her insurance agency at the age of nineteen. She relocated her agency to Hobbs a year later and has been a resident there since. She is also a patent-holding inventor. She and her husband, Steve Matlock, are proud grandparents and she enjoys spending time boating, camping and reading the occasional murder mystery. Commissioner Long is appreciative of her constituents for their support and faith in allowing her to be their representative.

District Three covers a majority of north Hobbs, with some sections south of Bender and south of Sanger.

Commissioner Eidson's history of service includes the Lea County Planning & Zoning Board, the University of the Southwest Board of Trustees, and as president of the Hobbs Municipal Schools Board of Education.

Commissioner Eidson has been especially pleased to serve as a liaison for the board of commissioners to the judicial complex building to help move the project forward. He’s also proud to be involved in helping fund the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program facility.

As a commissioner, his priorities are to make sure law enforcement is well-funded and staffed, to get the judicial complex completed and occupied, and to see through the courthouse remodel. In the future, he would also like to see updates to the Lea County Event Center, help form a beneficial partnership between Lea County and CTE program and maintenance of roads.

Gary was born and raised in Hobbs and graduated from Hobbs High School. Following graduation from New Mexico State University with a degree in engineering, he resided in Midland, Texas, for ten years before moving back to Hobbs to become part of John West Engineering. He also owns and sporting goods store that deals in guns, ammunition and custom orders. His is married and has one daughter and one son. Gary is an avid hunter, former avid golfer and enjoys action movies.

Gary wants his constituents to know that he cares about Lea County and would like to be able to make it an enjoyable place for citizens, whether that means offering more recreational opportunities or helping draw businesses to county that would help with that.

District Four includes sections of northwest Hobbs, central Hobbs and eastern Hobbs down to McCasland Road.

Commissioner Sena interest in public service was sparked when his elementary school art teacher encouraged him to send his art project to the White House. The response he received from then-President Reagan laid the foundation for his future. He has served as an intern for Senator Pete Domenici, a travel assistant for Congressman Steve Pearce and worked with New Mexico State Representative Shirley Tyler. In 2008 he was elected to the City of Hobbs District 2 seat where he served three terms. He is currently serving his second term as a Lea County Commissioner.

The Commissioner counts upgrades to the Lea County Regional Airport, advancement of the Career and Technical Education project, funding for a veteran’s memorial, funding for new fencing at Everglade Cemetery, partnering with Carlsbad on a massive road project between Lea and Eddy counties and new playground equipment at Taylor Elementary in Hobbs as some of his notable accomplishments as a county commissioner.

Commissioner Sena especially enjoys working with young people. He notes that while community projects can be challenging to initiative and complete, he is grateful to serve in the multicultural and diverse District 4.

He finds that it’s important to find philosophical common ground with other commissioners to positively move forward as this facilitates leveraging resources further than any one group or entity going it alone.

While he is proud of the completion of the judicial complex, he looks forward to the renovation of the historical courthouse, upgrades and renovations to the Event Center, and continuing to move forward the County’s partnership with Covenant and its clinic on north Dal Paso.

While Jonathan was born in Roswell, he has lived in his self-proclaimed hometown of Hobbs since 1986 and resides with his wife Valeria and their daughter Camila. He graduated from Victory Center Christian Academy, and holds an accounting degree from University of the Southwest and an MBA from Eastern New Mexico University. He has served as a youth pastor for seventeen years.

Jonathan would like his constituents to know that he cares deeply for his district and county. Jonathan is here to listen to make sure their voices are heard.

District Five starts near Highway 62-180 at the Eddy County line and continues to the east until Dal Paso. From there is continues south until it eventually extends to the Texas state-line and continues to the southern county-line where it borders the Texas state-line. The district is populated by small oil towns, and is predominately oilfield service, ranching and agriculture.

Commissioner Sims first came to public service with Lea County by way of the Lea County Housing Board. He was later appointed to the Fair Board and then elected county commissioner.

He has also served in many capacities at Eunice Methodist Church, including lay leader, council chair and as a member of the finance board.

Commissioner Sims is especially proud of being able to play a part in improving entertainment at the Lea County fair during his time on the Fair board. Although he states that the acronyms used in county government sometimes present a challenge, he finds the most fulfilling part of being a commissioner is being able to directly assist citizens with any questions and requests for information in a one-on-one manner.

During his time his tenure, Commissioner Sims intends to practice responsible spending without compromising the maintenance and improvement of county roads and supporting law enforcement and fire entities. Ensuring that water systems are made more dependable and doing everything he can to keep New Mexico as the #2 oil producer in the nation are just two of his goals.

Pat was born and raised in Eunice. After spending six years living in Lubbock, he returned to Eunice and has lived there since. He graduated with honors from South Plains College, earning an associate’s degree in petroleum technology.

His first job was at a hardware store in Eunice. He worked on his family’s ranch for several years until eventually taking on leadership of the ranch. He is also a small oil operator and invests in real estate rental.

Pat’s family includes two sons, girlfriend Tonya, three corgis and a cat. In his down time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, off-road racing and racing trophy trucks in Baja Mexico.

Commissioner Sims shared that he spends quite a bit of time being a politician, more than he realized would be involved when he was first elected. Learning the ins and outs and daily workings of government has inspired him to encourage constituents to register to vote and then follow up at the polls. He believes that the strength of the county rests upon its citizens exercising their voices, regardless of who they cast their ballot for.