Ray Tavizon, a long-time resident of Grant County and 21-year veteran of the Grant County Sheriff Department, is running for sheriff.
SILVER CITY - Ray Tavizon, a long-time resident of Grant County and 21-year veteran of the Grant County Sheriff Department, is running for sheriff.
Tavizon was educated in Silver Consolidated Schools and graduated from Western New Mexico's Police Academy in 1986.
In 1985 at age 22, Tavizon began his law enforcement career in Lordsburg with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department. When the Lordsburg Police Department was established in 1987, he was hired as a patrolman and a few months later promoted to assistant chief of police as lieutenant. He ran the Lordsburg Police Department for 12 years. In 1997, while still serving as the assistant chief of police, he was honored as the Officer of the Year.
Tavizon and his family made the decision to move back to Grant County in 1997. He has a total of 33 years of law enforcement experience including supervision of 12 officers in Hidalgo county for 12 years, with other responsibilities including budgeting, scheduling, grant writing, serving as a detention officer, as well as a dispatcher, a K-9 officer, narcotics officer, undercover officer, deputy, patrolman, and criminal investigator. He is currently a New Mexico Department of Public Safety high risk firearms instructor, as well as a general instructor.
His said his goal is to have a strong working relationship within the department.
Tavizon is going up against Wayne Olver in the Republican primary. Robert Tovar, Lonnie Alexander Sandoval and Frank L. Gomez are seeking the Democratic nod for sheriff.