Incumbent Eugenia Montoya Ortega will serve as County Assessor for four more years. She defeated 2 challengers in the primary.
Eugenia Montoya Ortega has been serving as County Assessor since 2022. She won this year's primary election with 45% of votes against Ruben Reyes and Shannon Reynolds.
“I’m really excited. I’m glad it’s over. And I’m excited that I get four years to continue and finish what we’ve started,” she said.
She says that her experience and time as Assessor will help projects such as a reappraisal project which hasn't happened since 2008 move smoothly. According to a special audit of Doña Ana County, the county was not using the 1% fund meant for reappraisal projects properly.
The reappraisal project may happen in January as long as the budget is restored and will take about 2 to 4 years to be completed, she said.
Not all property owners have to worry about their tax bills increasing; this reappraisal will detect any additional builds that have not been reported. In 2016, the Assessor's office switched to a new computer aided mass appraisal system, and some information was not carried over, she said.
“We’re looking for stuff that isn't on the books or for whatever reason didn't get added to the books so that everybody pays their fair share,” she said.
She believes the budget correction should be done by the end of June before the county goes into the new budget cycle.
“We’re going to do whatever is best for the taxpayers of Doña Ana County. We are here to serve them and to make sure that they’re paying their fair share, that all taxes should be fair and equitable,” she said.
Montoya Ortega faces no opposition in the general election.