Kim Stewart will be first openly gay sheriff in New Mexico history

[RandySF]

LAS CRUCES – Kim Stewart came out as gay in 1989 and has been with her partner, now her wife, for even longer, so she doesn’t think often about her sexuality.

“I am who I am,” she said. “Because that’s my life, because it’s been my existence for so many years, it’s not a big deal to me.”

But Stewart, 65, achieved two important historical milestones in her election on Tuesday as Doña Ana County’s next sheriff, so her gender and sexual orientation are once again in the spotlight.

In handily defeating Todd Garrison for sheriff, Stewart will become the first openly gay sheriff in the history of New Mexico. She will also be the first woman sheriff in Doña Ana County history. All previous 32 sheriffs since 1854 have been men.

She will replace Sheriff Enrique “Kiki” Vigil, who served one term and lost in the Democratic primary.

Stewart, who was winning Tuesday’s general election by an 8 percent margin, laughed off the historical nature of her victory.

“To me, it’s a head-scratcher,” she said Wednesday. “I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know if it’s a big deal. Does it inform how I do the law? Not really. It doesn’t inform my attitudes about policing other than that I believe that people deserve equal levels of protection and service.”


https://www.abqjournal.com/1244465/kim-stewart-will-be-first-openly-gay-sheriff-in-nm-history.html

[ProudLib72]

1. I know this is a big deal, but I don't think it should be

I share her feelings on the matter. If the person is qualified, who the hell cares about his/her sexual orientation? It's just depressing that this is what the press calls attention to while ignoring the things that should matter, like "How are you going to handle the gang problem? The drug problem? The drunk driving problem?" I feel like we are so far behind the rest of the world in our views on nearly everything.