Saturday, March 25, 2023. In the East Torrance Soil and Water Conservation District Complex, The Democratic Party of Torrance County (DPTC) focused on electing the party’s chair and vice chair, but County Commissioner Sam Schropp (District 3 - Democrat) made the bigger news.

Schropp’s big news dealt with access to water in the Estancia Basin and the structure of the Torrance County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Schropp cited the continuing problem some residents of the county - in particular McIntosh and the land grant communities - are having regarding getting enough water. Schropp said that he promised representatives of the land grant communities that the land grant communities would have “autonomy and sovereignty as a precondition to any negotiations about a comprehensive plan for water use in the Estancia Basin. That is written in stone and that’s non-negotiable.”

Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham appointed Schropp to the vacant seat left empty by the passing of County Commissioner LeRoy Candelaria. He assumed office on March 8, 2023.

In order to ensure the autonomy and sovereignty of the land grant communities regarding water, Schropp said, he would work as part of a coalition to expand the County Board of Commissioners from a three-person governing body to a five-person governing body. Schropp discussed his intention to see the land grant communities have the additional seats on the Torrance County Board of County Commissioners. Schropp also pointed out that, when there is a five-person board, there would be less risk of a small group of board members governing without consensus and transparency.

Because of regulations governing ethical conduct by elected county officials, Schropp said that he would have to step back from the campaign, although others would continue it, including obtaining a petition with sufficient signatures to bring before the Rules Committee.

Newly reelected DPTC Chair Dennis Wallin said that he believed no one had attempted to change the structure of the Board of County Commissioners before. Newly elected DPTC Vice Chair, Ann Schropp (Commissioner Schropp’s wife), is expected to be involved in seeking signatures for the petition to change the structure of the Board of County Commissioners.