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Meeting held for residents concerned about crime
By Jimmy Currier
Observer staff writer
Published on Sunday, September 13, 2009 12:14 AM MDT
More than 20 concerned Rio Rancho residents came to a neighborhood meeting hosted by District
5 City Councilor Larry Naranjo last Tuesday at Meadowlark Senior Center.
Joining Naranjo were Rio Rancho Police Department Chief Bob Boone, Sgt. Monte Jones and Officer Josh
Seda.
Naranjo and Boone spoke of the importance of community policing in keeping the community safe as well as a lack
of funding for the police department.
“When I grew up as a kid, everybody knew who I was and watched what I was doing,”
Naranjo said. “If I was doing ‘mal,’ (Spanish for bad) they called my dad or mom and I got it when I went
home.”
Naranjo said several residents had contacted him about some recent crime in the neighborhood and he thought
it would be a good idea to host a meeting. The crime that really sparked interest was when two men who claimed to be Rio Rancho
police officers burst into a man’s house on the 1400 block of Wilkes. The two men didn’t take anything but are
still at-large.
“I got some calls about that and it seemed to me that we take the time to give the residents
an opportunity to see what type of services law enforcement offers and what they can do to protect the community,” Naranjo
said.
Naranjo defined what community policing meant to him.
“It means neighbors getting together policing,”
he said. “It means keeping an eye out and reporting back to authorities anything suspicious. But, just because something
is suspicious doesn’t mean it’s criminal. That’s why we put our faith in law enforcement.”
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Naranjo leaves council
By Christopher Ortiz
Observer staff writer
Published on Sunday, February 28, 2010 10:38 AM MST
For at least one city councilor, last Wednesday was officially his last meeting.
District
5 city councilor Larry Naranjo said goodbye as a city servant but isn’t planning on exiting
public life. Naranjo
said he plans to run for David Bency’s Sandoval County Commission District 3 seat. Current state term limit laws prevent
Bency for running for a third term but there is pending legislation that would cap county officials’ terms to three,
allowing Bency the option of seeking another term. Naranjo said regardless of the rule change, he plans to run for the seat.
Naranjo
was elected to the District 5 seat in March of 2006, defeating incumbent Arturo Boniello.
Still, Naranjo said if he had it his way, he would stay as a city councilor. Naranjo said
in order to retire from his state job, he had to leave the council because the position still classified him as a public employee,
preventing him from retiring completely.
“If I could, I would be on the ballot on Tuesday, but I can’t,”
he said. “I had the greatest time listening to people tell me about the world from their perspective because every single
issue is that; I loved helping when I could.”
Politics seems to be in Naranjo’s blood. He is the son of
the late Emilio Naranjo, a famous
and influential politician in New Mexico history. The elder Naranjo served as a state
senator from Espaņola, was a sheriff in Rio Arriba County and the head of the county’s Democrat Party.
Seeking
the county commissioner seat, Naranjo said, “I’m convinced I can help.
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