MLG interviews one; county in the dark

Editor’s note: At the Wednesday, July 3, Valencia County Commission meeting, the commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a resolution recommending Dante Berry be appointed to the vacant District 5 commission seat.

Berry, a Republican, is the only candidate running for the seat and will take the seat starting Jan. 1, 2025.

“I am greatly honored for the recommendation,” Berry told the commissioners. “I am very excited to get started.”

The approved resolution and Berry’s letter of interest will be submitted to the governor’s office as soon as possible. Under state law, only the governor can fill a vacancy on a county commission.

It’s not clear how, but it seems the governor was aware of a vacancy on the Valencia County Commission and interviewed a potential appointee a month ago.

Last week, the News-Bulletin published an article laying out the three-month waiting game that has ensued since Jhonathan Aragon resigned from the District 5 seat to take the deputy county manager position.

The situation boiled down to finger-pointing between the county administration and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office.

The governor’s communication people told the News-Bulletin they needed to receive a formal notification of vacancy before a search could be initiated. County Manager Danny Monette said the county has never notified the state of a vacancy in the past.

The newspaper attempted to determine whether the county political parties were in the loop by reaching out to Republican Party of Valencia County Chairman John R. Brenna Jr. and Summer Ludwig, the Democratic Party of Valencia County chairwoman.

Prior to last week’s article, Brenna said no one had contacted him about the vacancy, noting, “It’s usually the county commission that handles it and they are the ones to make contact with the governor.”

On the day of publication, Thursday, June 27, Ludwig responded to a VCNB email saying the Democratic Party was also concerned about the “lateness of the vacancy announcement from the Governor ... We had {one} candidate (that I know of) who was interested in the position. He submitted his letters of interest and support independently.”

That candidate was town of Peralta resident and former councilor Christian Garcia.

“I had an appointment with the governor and her people in Santa Fe probably close to a month ago,” Garcia said last Friday during phone interview with the News-Bulletin. “I went and talked to her. She asked me some questions and talked to me about what the biggest problems are in Valencia County.”

Garcia said it was his understanding that people with Lujan Grisham’s office reached out to former state senator Michael Sanchez asking for recommendations for the vacant seat.

“Michael said I would be good, so they asked me to send my resume and a letter,” Garcia said. “I haven’t been notified of anything yet. Let’s see what happens.”

Sanchez didn’t return calls seeking comment on the situation.

In light of Garcia’s interview, the News-Bulletin asked the governor’s communications staff for clarification, asking how the governor’s office learned about the District 5 vacancy and who sent the official notice of vacancy; why the candidate selection process explained by Jodi McGinnis Porter, deputy director of communications for the governor’s office, wasn’t used and why a public call for applicants wasn’t made, as well as how Garcia was selected for an interview.

Lauren Dodd Thorp, the communications assistant for the office of the governor, responded that she could confirm there is one candidate currently under consideration for the vacancy, saying she would send answers to the other questions as soon as she received them.

In a May 21 email McGinnis Porter explained the general process for filling a vacancy on a county commission starts with an official notice of vacancy being received. Then the governor’s office posts an announcement inviting interested people to apply, interviews are conducted and a selection is made. Once that person passes a background check, the appointment is finalized, she wrote.

Under state law, it is the responsibility of the governor to fill the vacancy by appointment, said Melanie Majors, executive director New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.

“I am not aware of any provision in state law that requires notification of the vacancy either from the county manager, who is the agent of the commission, or the county clerk. I can only speculate as to why this position is (still) vacant, leaving the people of District 5 with no representation for three months,” Majors said via email. “And based on the information you have obtained about the situation, it seems that transparency and accountability are not a priority.”

When asked, Monette and deputy manager Johnathan Aragon said they hadn’t heard anything about Garcia’s interview with the governor. Valencia County Commission Chairman Gerard Saiz also said he had not heard about Garcia being under consideration for the seat.

VCNB editor/publisher Clara Garcia said the lack of communication and disclosure about a potential appointee by the governor’s office was “extremely frustrating and a disappointment. Our reporter asked repeatedly for information about the status of an appointment and was only told they were waiting on notification from the county.

“To then find out a candidate had been interviewed a month ago is a disservice to the residents of District 5 and Valencia County as a whole. The lack of transparency on such an important issue is ridiculous.”