Joseph Maestas (born 1960/1961) is an American politician and engineer who is a member of the

New Mexico Public Regulation Commission The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission RCis a regulatory authority in New Mexico charged with the responsibility of seeing that utility customers have "fair and reasonable rates, and to assure reasonable and adequate services to the public as ...

. Elected in 2020, he assumed office on January 1, 2021, succeeding

Valerie Espinoza Valerie Espinoza is an American politician from New Mexico. She was a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from the 3rd district, covering all of Los Alamos and Taos Counties, and parts of Bernalillo, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Mig ...

. He announced on July 19, 2021 he is a candidate for New Mexico State Auditor.

Early life and education

Maestas was born in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

and raised on a farm in

Santa Cruz, New Mexico Santa Cruz is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 423 at the 2000 census. History Overview The area that was late ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and a Master of Science from Arizona State University, Tempe, both in civil engineering.

Career

For over 30 years, Maestas has worked as an engineer and government regulator. In 2014, he was elected to serve as a member of the Santa Fe City Council for the second district. From 2006 to 2010, he was the mayor of

Española, New Mexico Española is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Founded as a railroad village some distance from the old Indian town of San Juan de lo ...

. Maestas was also a candidate for mayor of Santa Fe in 2018, losing to

Alan Webber Alan M. Webber (born September 18, 1948) is an American entrepreneur, author, publisher, and politician serving as the 43rd mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico, since 2018. Webber succeeded Javier Gonzales. Considered a progressive Democrat, he suppo ...

. In the 2020 election, Maestas was a candidate for the third district on the

. He defeated Brian Harris in the Democratic primary and Libertarian nominee Chris Luchini in the November general election. He assumed office on January 1, 2021. In 2022, he was elected New Mexico atate auditor. He started his four-year term on January 1, 2023.

References

21st-century American politicians American civil engineers Engineers from New Mexico Living people Mayors of places in New Mexico New Mexico city council members New Mexico Democrats People from Española, New Mexico People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Politicians from Santa Fe, New Mexico State auditors of New Mexico University of New Mexico alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{NewMexico-politician-stub