Charles Anthony Franco (born 1955) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was a

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest gu ...

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, t ...

for

Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

on the Dona Ana County Magistrate Court, and the First Gentleman of New Mexico.

Early life and education

Franco was born and raised in Las Cruces,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, graduating from

Las Cruces High School Las Cruces High School is a public high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. LCHS opened in 1954 and is the oldest public high school in Las Cruces. As of the 2016–17 school year, it serves 1,661 students from grades 9–12. It is a p ...

and earning a degree in

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. He has an older brother and younger sister.

Personal life

From 1991 to 2019, Franco was married to former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Susana Martínez. Through Franco's job as an undercover investigator, he met Martinez while she was an assistant district attorney. The two married in 1991. Franco has one son, Carlo, who served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Franco is an advocate fo
Horses for Heroes
and th
Youth Diagnostic Development Center in Albuquerque
" Franco is a longtime supporter of th

program of the

Community Capacity Development Office The Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) is an office of the United States Department of Justice and a component of the Office of Justice Programs. The mission is to work within local communities to reduce crime and improve the quality of l ...

. Franco is a hunter and fisherman. In 1995, Martinez and he changed their affiliation from the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

to the Republican Party.

Career

Franco graduated from the

police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or othe ...

in 1978. Franco has been a

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

officer for more than 30 years, and served as the

. Franco began working in law enforcement, starting as a

. In 1996, Franco ran for a position as

Magistrate judge The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

in Doña Ana County. He won, and served for three years. During his career, Franco has worked for "the

Las Cruces Police Department The Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico. LCPD, established in 1928, currently has an authorized strength of 200 officers and 83 civilian positions ...

, the city's Weed and Seed program and th
New Mexico State University Police Department
" Franco was a

police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

when the

Las Cruces Bowling Alley massacre The Las Cruces bowling alley massacre occurred in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States, on February 10, 1990. Seven people were shot, four fatally, by two unidentified robbers at the Las Cruces Bowling Alley at 1201 East Amador Avenue. The gunmen ...

occurred. "As part of the investigation, he had to videotape the scene." In 1992, Martínez was fired by then

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Greg Valdez. Valdez stated that Martínez brought in a case that Franco was working on. "A potential

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

between Martínez and Franco was an issue in the late 1990s, when she first became district attorney. Franco was a magistrate judge, and some cases being prosecuted by the district attorney’s office were assigned to him. Franco was running for re-election in 1996, the same year Martínez first ran for DA. His Democratic opponent and others said there would be a conflict if both were elected. But Franco and Martinez said Franco would

recuse Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Applica ...

himself from all cases involving the DA’s office." Franco's relationship with Martinez was twice raised as a concern when, as District Attorney, "she had to decide whether officer-involved shootings were justified." Franco was a member of Martínez' search team for members of the

New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) is a state agency in New Mexico tasked with managing and protecting the natural and energy resources of New Mexico. The Department is led by the cabinet secretary of energy, ...

. Presently, Franco is a retired career cop. From January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2019, he served in the role of First Gentleman of New Mexico. In October 2018 Franco took a job with the Doña Ana County Assessor's office in Las Cruces.

New Mexico Coalition for Literacy

Adult literacy Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

is one of three main causes to which Franco has decided to dedicate his time
New Mexico Coalition for Literacy
is "a cause close to his heart from his work in Las Cruces under the federally funded Weed and Seed program to help at-risk youths. There he saw firsthand how improving reading skills helped kids succeed in school." Franco stated that "'supporting the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy also complements Gov. Susana Martinez' push to improve K-12 education in the state'" Franco observed, while working with troubled youth, "that their issues ran beyond behavioral problems. Having parents at home who couldn't read was one of them."
/ref>

References

External links

*

Meet the first gentleman, Chuck Franco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Chuck 1955 births Living people American deputy sheriffs First ladies and gentlemen of New Mexico People from Las Cruces, New Mexico New Mexico Democrats New Mexico Republicans New Mexico State University alumni