SW New Mexico News

From December 28, 2022

Commissioner Lynn Ellins first joined Doña Ana County in August 2006, as a Supervisor of the Bureau of Elections. In 2008, he was elected as County Clerk and served two terms in that role through 2016. He briefly returned to the Clerk’s Office as Chief Deputy Clerk in 2018 until he was elected as Commissioner for District 1 in 2019, where he served one full term and chaired the board for the first two years of his tenure. 

District 1 includes Picacho Hills, La Mesa, Mesquite, San Miguel, parts of western and downtown Las Cruces and the Town of Mesilla, plus other communities in the south valley between Mesilla Park and Vado.

Ellins has lived in Picacho Hills for the past 20 years and practiced law in New York and Colorado, after serving as an officer in the United States Navy.  Prior to his public service at Doña Ana County, Ellins was legal counsel to a committee of the New York State Senate, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents and served as Deputy Secretary of State in Colorado.

Proud of his collegiality, Ellins ran issues-focused campaigns throughout his career.  Among his accomplishments as county commissioner are: supporting noise limits on short-term rental properties; facilitating assistance to businesses and renters during the pandemic; attracting and retaining volunteer and full-time county firefighters; support for investing millions in road repairs and more recently, the opening of the Crisis Triage Center.

Ellins garnered national attention in 2013 when he issued more than 900 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, challenging state law. Soon, several other county clerks began issuing licenses, too and four months later, same-sex marriage became legally recognized in the state of New Mexico.

The current Board of County Commissioners Chair, District 5 Commissioner Manuel Sanchez said that he admired Ellins’s “courage to show Doña Ana County’s inclusiveness by being among the first to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.  While many people recognize him for that, Sanchez always appreciated his sharp wit, which could cut straight through to the point he was trying to make or could make you laugh. He was also someone that I could learn from while he was Chairman of the BOCC and I was Vice-Chair. He was a steady hand, unflappable and someone that you could count on to have a good perspective on all things from an agenda item to any current event(s),” Sanchez said.

Please join us in wishing Commissioner Ellins well in his retirement and a smooth transition to Colorado, where he will return to join his family. Thank you for your dedicated service to the residents of Doña Ana County, Commissioner Ellins! 

Watch the presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/live/_6Au2aDicCk?feature=share... 

#DACbocc #HRproud #DACfamily #retirement #publicservice #electedofficials

Original source can be found here.