Once again, 13th Judicial District Attorney Barbara Romo welcomed the community to her office in Bernalillo for a networking event Sept. 10.
The annual business after hours event was presented by the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce and featured a meet and greet with the DA, food, drinks, prizes and, most importantly, community engagement.
“I think it’s just a chance for us to invite the public so they can get a chance to interact with us on a nonlegal basis. Because a lot of times, unless you come in the official way there, as a victim or a criminal, you don’t get to know what we do,” Romo said. “We want people to know that we’re part of the community too. We have a different role but we still are part of the community. I really emphasize that with my staff, to really try to get out and be a part of the community, because you’re working hard to make the community safer.”
The 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office covers Cibola, Valencia and Sandoval counties.
Several vendors had booths at the event, including Haven House, Sandoval County’s only domestic violence shelter. Dozens of people visited with the DA, including Sandoval County Commissioner Katherine Bruch.
Romo was elected DA in 2020 and is running unopposed in November. She has worked in various DA offices since 1996.
Romo was all smiles as she visited with community members outside of her office for over 90 minutes.
“Despite the fact I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years, I still believe that 90% of people are good people,” Romo said. “People make mistakes and some are worse than others but, most of the people I meet, they’re not bad people.”