Los Alamos County Elections Manager Steve Fresquez

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

The Los Alamos County Clerk’s Office wished longtime elections manager Gloria Maestas a happy retirement last month and welcomed Steve Fresquez in that role.

Fresquez joined the clerk’s team Nov. 30.

“When I found out Gloria was retiring it seemed like a great opportunity for me,” he said. “I like elections and I’ve worked with Los Alamos in the past … it just seemed like a great opportunity.”

Fresquez said he also appreciates his new co-workers.

“Clerk Maestas and her staff – they’re awesome,” he said. “I felt welcomed coming here. They are assisting me in the transition. They’re just wonderful people.”

Los Alamos County Clerk Naomi Maestas said the clerk’s office is happy to have Fresquez join the team.

“We are very fortunate and excited to have Steve onboard with our department,” she said. “I know he is going to do great things here with the unique skill set that he brings to our team. His level of experience and knowledge of the election process will be a great benefit to our office and the community.”

Before working in Los Alamos, Fresquez was the Chief Deputy for the Santa Fe County Clerk Bureau of Elections for five years. Additionally, he has more than 21 years of experience in state, local and tribal elections.

As the elections manager in Los Alamos, he said he will assist in recruiting workers to facilitate voting at the different polling stations. Additionally, Fresquez said he prepares and certifies the voting tabulators to make sure they are working properly before the elections start. He also deals with voter registration and absentee ballots.

“We assist the voters with any problems they have so they can vote,” Fresquez said.

Other duties include trouble shooting at the different voting sites and working with the Secretary of State, he said.

While it is a lot of work, Fresquez said he really enjoys helping facilitate elections.

“Every election is a challenge,” he said. “I enjoy the people, the voters, the poll workers – they are all great people to work with. They are all friendly …we deal with a lot of people.”

“Elections can be stressful, but I enjoy the work itself,” Fresquez added. “It is very fast paced. I like it when it has a good outcome. Los Alamos has a tradition of successful elections and my goal is to continue the successful elections … I do enjoy assisting people in my knowledge and experience to ensure that their vote in counted. When people are able to cast their vote, the majority of them leave with a feeling of accomplishment and that feels really good to be a part of that.”

This year’s election was particularly challenging between the pandemic and new election laws but Fresquez said he believes it was successful here in New Mexico.

“I was working in Santa Fe County for the most recent election,” he said. “It was very challenging, but the staff was also really great, really professional. We overcame a lot of challenges in the pandemic and the new laws … but we believe we did really well. From what I’ve seen in the state, New Mexico did very well in this election.”

When not working, Fresquez said he enjoys being outside hiking and fishing. He lives in Santa Fe and has three children.