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STATE

Valencia County sheriff candidate admits he had been terminated

Published

A candidate for Valencia County sheriff is admitting he “misspoke” when he said he had never been fired from a job.

During a May candidate forum sponsored by the Valencia County ϼ-Bulletin and the Valencia County Republican and Democratic parties, a panelist asked candidates whether they had ever been fired and, if so, to explain the circumstances. The question came from an audience member.

Alan F. Montano

Of the candidates who participated, only Kevin Vega acknowledged being fired. Vega said he was terminated by the Albuquerque Police Department for running for sheriff in Valencia County.

The other candidates — Republicans Joseph Rowland and Preston Smith and Democrat Alan Montano — said they had not been fired. Gabriel Trujillo, who was running as a Democrat but is a registered Republican, did not attend.

Montano, a probation officer with the Los Lunas DWI Magistrate Court, sent a statement to the ϼ-Bulletin acknowledging that he had not answered the question truthfully.

In a phone interview last week, Montano said he had read last week’s ϼ-Bulletin story about Magistrate Court candidate Eric Montano and decided he “had to come clean.”

An ethics complaint has been filed against Eric Montano, who is not related to Alan Montano, alleging he lied about past criminal charges and previous employment.

“Yes, I didn’t answer the question truthfully. I didn’t think about it; I just answered,” Alan Montano said. “I thought before I get dragged through the mud, I needed to clarify it so no one could use it against me.”

In his statement, Montano said he was terminated from the Isleta Police Department more than six years ago after an incident involving a pair of scissors.

While in the radio room with a dispatcher and another officer, Montano said the dispatcher mentioned paying $100 for a haircut. He said he jokingly offered to do it for less and made a cutting gesture with scissors, accidentally snipping a small amount of hair.

“I immediately apologized, and she assured me it was no big deal and that it had not altered her hairstyle in any way,” Montano wrote.

Montano said another officer with whom he had a prior disagreement reported the incident to the police chief. A formal investigation followed, he said.

According to Montano, the department determined the incident was accidental and not intentional. However, he said his at-will employment agreement with Isleta Pueblo allowed him to be terminated at any time, with or without cause. He had worked for the department for two years.

“I sincerely apologize for the misrepresentation of my past employment history at the candidate forum,” Montano wrote. “I believe that honesty and accountability are the foundation of the trust between a sheriff and the community they serve.”

Montano faces Rowland in the November general election.

The ϼ-Bulletin is a sister newspaper of the Journal.