El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles will not seek reelection in 2024

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times

March 8, 2023 at 2:54 PM·4 min read

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles announced on Tuesday that he will retire when his current term finishes at the end of 2024.

Wiles has been sheriff since 2009. He was elected after retiring as El Paso police chief in 2007. He will have almost 43 years working in law enforcement when he retires on Dec. 31, 2024.

"It has been an honor to have had the privilege to serve the El Paso Community both in the El Paso Police Department, as well as the El Paso County Sheriff's Office," Wiles said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

Wiles continued: "As an elected official, I think it is important to continually evaluate our organizations and ensure they are meeting the needs of the community well into the future. I am very proud of the work of all the employees of the Sheriff's Office and feel we have made great progress during the time of my administration.

"Not only have we made improvements in technology, equipment, and training, but we have reduced wasteful spending while improving our service and continually reducing the crime rate. Additionally, my staff and I are strong believers in succession planning and have been actively preparing our employees to take over key positions when vacancies occur."

Background:El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles answers questions before 2020 election

Wiles added that he was "extremely pleased" by the current status of the Sheriff's Office. He said he plans to stay in El Paso and spend more time with his family.

Wiles' announcement took place as candidates are starting to contemplate and emerge for the 2024 election. El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal announced earlier this year that she will not seek reelection when her term finishes at the end of 2024.

El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles, left, talks with El Paso police Chief Greg Allen during a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony in 2018 at Fire Station 18. Allen died Jan. 17.

More:'Forged in El Paso': Police Chief Greg Allen remembered for dedication to city

El Paso County Sheriff's Office has had long stretches of continuity, with only three sheriffs leading the department in nearly 40 years.

Wiles became the first newly elected sheriff in El Paso County since Leo Samaniego first won in 1984. Sheriff Jimmy Apodaca served the rest of Samaniego's term when Samaniego died in office.

"I want to thank my family, friends, coworkers, and residents of El Paso for their support over the years and for assisting me in my endeavors," Wiles wrote. "The best part of my career has been meeting and developing relationships with such great people."

El Paso County sheriff candidates emerge

Multiple candidates will often run for an elected office when an incumbent doesn't seek reelection. Candidates and potential candidates for sheriff are already emerging.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Ryan Urrutia is running for sheriff with the blessing of Wiles, who is listed as his campaign treasurer on promotional materials. Urrutia was set to formally announce his candidacy Wednesday evening.

El Paso County sheriff's Cmdr. Ryan Urrutia is running for sheriff since Sheriff Richard Wiles announced he will retire at the end of 2024.

Urrutia heads the sheriff's patrol bureau and in the past few years has increasingly represented the department at government meetings, events and news conferences.

El Paso County Constable Oscar Ugarte was publicly encouraged to run for sheriff by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, along with state Reps. Joe Moody and Lina Ortega in a letter to the community issued Tuesday after Wiles announced he won't seek reelection.

"Constable Ugarte is an experienced community leader who has shown an admirable dedication to public safety and earned the trust of El Pasoans, which are the pillars of policing that we believe will best serve El Paso County," stated the letter.

Ugarte is constable for Precinct 1, which covers parts of West and Central El Paso. He has not made a formal announcement whether he will run for sheriff.

The Escobar letter also thanked Wiles for "his dedicated public service to El Paso" as police chief and sheriff and helping make El Paso among the safest large cities in the nation.

In other races, Assistant County Attorney Christina Sanchez will kick off her campaign for county attorney on March 14, according to the Eastside Democrats email newsletter.

The contests will be on the ballot along with the presidential race next year. The primary election will be March 5, 2024, with the general election set for Nov. 4, 2024.

El Paso law enforcement leadership influx

Sheriff Wiles' retirement announcement is part of a wave of leadership changes at the very top of law enforcement in El Paso in recent months.

In December, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks was appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following the resignation of District Attorney Yvonne Rosales after her short, controversial tenure.

Newsmaker of 2022:El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales suffered rapid downfall

After longtime El Paso police Chief Greg Allen died on Jan. 17, the El Paso Police Department is currently lead by Peter Pacillas, an assistant police chief who was named interim police chief. A permanent new chief has not been selected.

There also will be a new county attorney when Bernal's term comes to a finish at the end of 2024. The county attorney represents county government, including in civil rights litigation and the prosecution of juvenile crime.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles will not seek 2024 reelection

AFP
Stock markets diverge as traders weigh future Fed cuts
Stock markets diverged on Thursday as investors digested US inflation data that supported the case for another interest rate cut next month, while worries over Donald Trump's presidency clouded optimism.US inflation data showed that consumer prices rose in line with forecasts, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month.
AFP
Israel warfare methods 'consistent with genocide': UN committee
Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", said the committee, which has for decades been investigating Israeli practices affecting rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Associated Press
Lawmakers stage Māori protest in New Zealand's parliament during fraught race relations debate
A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers ejected on Thursday when dramatic political theater erupted over a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown. Under the principles laid out in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which guide the relationship between the government and Māori, tribes were promised broad rights to retain their lands and protect their interests in return for ceding governance to the British. The bill would specify that those rights should apply to all New Zealanders.
Yahoo Finance
Disney earnings beat as streaming profit tops estimates
Disney reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines as its streaming business swung to a profit.
Associated Press
UK set to create new pension megafunds with aim of unlocking $100 billion for investment
British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to announce plans later Thursday to merge dozens of pension funds with the aim of unlocking tens of billions of pounds for investment and boosting the U.K.'s sub-par economic growth. In comments released by the Treasury ahead of her speech to finance leaders in central London, Reeves will say that the creation of so-called “megafunds” will represent the “biggest pension reform in decades.” In her first so-called Mansion House speech, an annual ritual for British chancellors of the exchequer, Reeves will say that the changes could help unlock 80 billion pounds ($100 billion) for investment.
Reuters
Qatari Emir arrives in Turkey to meet Erdogan, discuss cooperation
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani arrived in Ankara on Thursday to chair a Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan, after which the sides are expected to sign off on investment-related accords. Turkey, which fiercely criticised Israel over its offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon, does not deem the Palestinian militant group Hamas a terrorist group, and some of its political officials regularly visit Turkey. Erdogan and al Thani will hold a bilateral meeting and then will chair the tenth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee.
Reuters
Futures muted ahead of economic data, Powell speech
The producer price index (PPI) reading for October and weekly jobless claims data are expected at 8:30 a.m. ET. "These numbers (PPI) better reflect corporate pricing power than the consumer price data, the tone should be consistent with a December rate cut," said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. Traders are broadly pricing in an 82.3% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut at the Fed's December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.
Associated Press
Mastermind of foiled Hong Kong bomb plot to target police is jailed for nearly 24 years
The mastermind behind a foiled bomb plot during anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019 has been jailed for nearly 24 years in the city's first case brought under an anti-terrorism law. Ng Chi-hung, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the bombing of prescribed objects under the anti-terror law and possession of arms or ammunition with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months by a Hong Kong court on Thursday. Judge Judianna Barnes said the plan was vicious and was a declaration of war on society.
Reuters
Biden to bid farewell at APEC and G20 under Trump's shadow
President Joe Biden heads to South America on Thursday for a curtain call with global leaders after over 50 years in U.S. politics, but the man he tried and failed to keep from returning to power is likely to be the focus of many meetings: incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Biden will hold private meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the heads of Japan, South Korea and Brazil during the summits of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, in Peru and the Group of 20 leading economies, or G20, in Brazil. The meetings over six days are not expected to yield any major new agreements, senior Biden administration officials said, even as they are likely to touch on trade, security and global alliances.
AFP
Russia shuts Moscow's famed gulag museum
Russian authorities ordered the closure from Thursday of Moscow's award-winning Gulag History Museum, dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression.In 2021, authorities ordered the liquidation of Memorial, the Nobel Prize-winning NGO that records victims of both Soviet repression and allegations of human rights violations by the current regime.
Reuters
Analysis-Crypto industry pushes for policy sea change after Trump victory
The crypto industry is pushing for an ambitious raft of policies that would promote the widespread adoption of digital assets and considering who best to promote them, as they anticipate a cryptocurrency-friendly regime under President-elect Donald Trump. While crypto companies were already anticipating a lighter touch with a new administration, Donald Trump's decisive victory and a projected Republican sweep of Congress pave the way for a dramatic and lasting crypto policy overhaul. Trump courted crypto cash with promises to be a "crypto president," and industry executives say he now has a strong mandate to deliver.
AFP
London mayor says Trump attacks due to his ethnicity and religion
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accused Donald Trump of repeatedly criticising him because of his "ethnicity" and Muslim faith, in comments likely to renew his long-running feud with the US president-elect.Trump then accused Khan -- the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when he was first elected in 2016 -- of doing a "very bad job on terrorism" and called him a "stone cold loser" and "very dumb".
CNN
Trump’s Pentagon pick aims for clash with top military leadership
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth has railed against women in combat, voiced support for troops accused and in some instances, convicted of war crimes, and advocated for the firing of the military’s most senior officers accused of supporting so-called “woke” policies.
CNN
Lavish gold-domed penthouse in New York city on sale for $25 million
The gold dome atop 170 Fifth Avenue is actually a two-story apartment — and now it’s up for sale
Yahoo Finance
The 'DOGE' jokes are easy, but Musk's new side hustle is Tesla's biggest advantage yet: Morning Brief
Taking Musk's government efficiency department as a joke underestimates what he might do with this newfound power.
AFP
Iran tells UN nuclear chief it won't negotiate under 'intimidation'
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Iran will not negotiate under "intimidation" as he held crunch talks with the UN nuclear chief weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.The IAEA chief described his meeting with Araghchi as "indispensable" in a post on X. Araghchi was Iran's chief negotiator in talks that led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, abandoned three years later by Trump.
Associated Press
A Russian man stands treason trial on charges he filmed military equipment for Ukraine
A Russian man faced trial on Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he had allegedly sent to Ukraine's security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases amid the fighting in Ukraine. The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3.5-year sentence for publicly burning a Quran in front of a mosque. The new charges against Zhuravel are based on allegations that he filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of Ukraine’s security agency.
AFP
Uganda TikToker convicted for insulting president
A Ugandan court has convicted a 21-year-old content creator for calling for the public flogging of President Yoweri Museveni on video-sharing platform TikTok, a state prosecutor said on Thursday. In July, another 21-year-old TikToker was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since he toppled president Milton Obote in 1986.
Reuters
EU lawmakers seek change to deforestation law and back delay
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Parliament sought on Thursday to water down a ban on the import of commodities such as beef and soy linked to deforestation, and backed a one year delay to the new rule, in a fresh push-back against the EU's environmental agenda. The European Commission proposed a 12-month delay until Dec 2025 last month after complaints from a group of 20 EU countries, some companies and countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. The parliament's vote for changes adds to uncertainty over the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) as lawmakers will now have to enter negotiations with EU governments to find a compromise.
CNN
Thousands evacuated as parts of Spain hit with nearly a month’s rainfall in one hour
Severe thunderstorms and torrential rain have once again battered coastal Spain, causing flooding and evacuations just two weeks after the country experienced deadly flooding in Valencia and other nearby communities.

El Paso County sheriff candidates emerge

El Paso law enforcement leadership influx

Latest Stories