New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission CONTACT:  Carmen Rodriguez, Administrative Office of the Courts (505) 827-7967; Patti Watson, CWA Strategic Communications(505) 245-3134; (505) 269-9691;

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — April 14, 2020

SANTA FE—The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (NMJPEC) has appointed Frank K. Wilson, a retired judge in Alamogordo, and Jeannie Watson, a long-term care executive in Carlsbad, as new members.

Wilson served as a District Judge for the 12th Judicial District, which includes Otero and Lincoln counties, for 14 years until his retirement in 2009. He is currently a mediator, settlement facilitator and special master in various disputes. His prior experience includes serving as District Attorney for the 12th Judicial District, as Alamogordo City Attorney and in private practice as an attorney at law.

Wilson was a member of the New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission for eight years. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He is a past president and Paul Harris Fellow of the White Sands Rotary Club, and a past president of the Otero County Opportunity Center, the Otero County Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the White Sands Soaring Association.

Watson worked in legal administration for many years in Carlsbad and Las Vegas, Nevada, before beginning her current career as a sales and marketing executive in the long-term care industry. Her experience includes working with lawyers involved in criminal defense, business and general law. She also worked closely with the juvenile public defender's office in Carlsbad. In the private sector, she founded and served as principal of a real estate development company in Las Vegas prior to returning to her hometown in New Mexico.

Watson is a former member of the New Mexico Legal Secretary Association, volunteers on the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Retirement Council and is active in the nonprofit organization, Creative Housing Solutions, as well as the Giving Tuesday global generosity campaign.

NMJPEC was established by the Supreme Court of New Mexico in 1997 as a volunteer, nonpartisan commission to improve the performance of New Mexico’s judges and provide useful, credible information to voters on judges standing for retention in general elections. Under state law, judges standing for retention must receive 57 percent voter approval to remain on the bench.

The Commission is comprised of 15 individuals – seven lawyers and eight non-lawyers – who are appointed by the Supreme Court to staggered terms. Members are selected from nominations made by the Governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Speaker of the House, Senate President Pro Tempore, House Minority Leader, Senate Minority Leader and President of the State Bar.

For more information visit the Commission’s website at www.nmjpec.org.