Jimenez to be Ellins' chief deputy clerk

Posted 11/10/2008 11:32:00 PM

Doña Ana County Clerk-elect Lynn Ellins has announced that when he takes office on Jan. 1, he will appoint Mario Jimenez as his chief deputy clerk.

Jimenez has worked as a lead document technician in the Bureau of Elections since September 2004, and he ran the primary and general elections this year because Ellins, who currently heads the elections bureau, was a candidate on the ballot and could not work.

Ellins said in a news release from the county that he chose Jimenez because of his extensive working knowledge of the elections bureau and his ability to work well with the Secretary of State’s Office and with both major political parties and their representatives. In addition, Ellins said Jimenez has strong knowledge of system software, running elections, registering voters, record maintenance and the training of employees and poll workers.

“Mario has demonstrated time and again that he is dedicated to improving operations where needed,” Ellins said in the release. “He is respected by his coworkers and by the public regarding his insistence on providing high-quality customer service.”

Ellins, a Democrat, is taking over the clerk’s office from Rita Torres, who he beat in the primary. Ellins defeated Republican Sid Goddard in last week’s general election.