ABOUT DAMIAN

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • Bernalillo County Assessor 2023 -current

  • Deputy Director Economic Development Department, City of Albuquerque, 2021-2022

  • Managing Attorney, Calderon Law Firm 2017-2020

  • Deputy Assessor, Bernalillo County 2013 – 2017

  • Lead Staff Attorney, Legislative Council Service, New Mexico Legislature 2008- 2013

  • Staff Attorney, Enlace Comunitario 2007-2008

  • Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives 2001 - 2003

COMMUNITY SERVICE

  • Democratic Party of New Mexico; 16A Ward Chair, State Central Committee Member 2019 – Current

  • ACLU of New Mexico 2019 Attorney of the Year

  • International Association of Assessing Officers – IAAO Board of Directors 2026- Current

  • National Association of Counties – NACo Environment, Energy & Land Use Policy Steering Committee; Chair, Land Use Subcommittee 2025-Current

  • New Mexico Counties Association – NMC Board of Directors – Treasurer  2024- Current

  • NMC Assessors’ Affiliate Chair 2023-2024; Vice Chair 2025 - Current

EDUCATION

  • New Mexico State Certified Appraiser, New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department; April 2015

  • Juris Doctorate, University of New Mexico School of Law; May 2007

  • Bachelor of Arts, Brown University; Double Major: Political Science & Philosophy; May 2001

PERSONAL

  • Married to Iris Calderon, an Albuquerque immigrants’ rights attorney. Their rescue dogs are Greñas, Xika Koko, and Nairobi.

Damian R. Lara is the Bernalillo County Assessor, the elected official responsible for determining the taxable value of every property in New Mexico’s most populous county. He took office in January 2023 and has focused on making the Assessor’s Office more fair, transparent, and accessible for taxpayers.

Damian came to New Mexico from Mexico at age six. His family settled in Melrose, a small farming community in eastern New Mexico, where they worked in the potato and onion fields as migrant farmworkers. That experience shaped his commitment to fairness, working families, and public service.

He earned degrees in political science and philosophy from Brown University and a law degree from the University of New Mexico. His career includes working on tax policy in Congress, drafting property tax legislation at the New Mexico Legislature, serving as a deputy assessor, and representing immigrant survivors of domestic violence in private practice. He also served as president of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association.

In 2026, Damian was sworn onto the Executive Board of Directors of the International Association of Assessing Officers, bringing a New Mexico perspective to national conversations about fair and accurate property assessment.

Damian’s guiding principle is simple: when everyone pays their fair share, the burden is shared—not shifted.