Who dropped the ball in Valencia County Commission vacancy?

It’s been three months of silence and inaction from the Valencia County Board of County Commissioners and the governor’s office in regards to a vacancy on the county commission.

At the Wednesday, March 20, county commission meeting, Jhonathan Aragon announced his resignation from the District 5 commission seat, effective midnight, Sunday, March 24, to take the deputy county manager position with the county. As per state statute, the governor is the only person with the authority to appoint a replacement to a vacant county commission seat.

After more than a month of waiting and checking the governor’s website for a call for applicants for the vacant seat, the News-Bulletin reached out to New Mexico Director of Boards and Commissions Melissa Salazar — the person who has been the point of contact for appointments in the past — on April 17.

To date, Salazar has not responded to the request for information about a call for letters or an appointment.

On May 21, the News-Bulletin contacted Jodi McGinnis Porter, deputy director of communications for the governor’s office, via email asking when a call for letters of interest or an appointment to the vacancy could be expected.

“To date, our records indicate that we have not officially been notified of the vacancy for the District 5 Commissioner position, nor have we received any recommendations or resumes for consideration,” McGinnis Porter responded.

In an email, she explained the general process for filling a vacancy on a county commission starts with an official notice of vacancy being received. The governor’s office will then post 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.

“At times, the commissions may make recommendations for consideration during this process,” McGinnis Porter wrote. “We will promptly reach out to the commission to check on the status of the vacancy notification and initiate the necessary steps to expedite the appointment process.”

Aragon said to his knowledge, the manager’s office hasn’t had any communication with the governor’s office in regards to the vacancy.

“Also, I haven’t received any receipt of notice from the commission,” Aragon wrote in an email Tuesday morning.

When asked if the county had sent a notification of the vacancy to the governor’s office, Valencia County attorney Dave Pato said the county, “acted in conformity with prior actions,” and declined to clarify further.

Valencia County Manager Danny Monette said to his knowledge, the county has never pro-actively notified the governor’s office of a commission vacancy.

“We never have in the past. I’ve never sent a letter,” said Monette, who has been the county manager since October 2015. “I honestly don’t know how they know (when there’s a vacancy.)”

He went on to say the last two times appointments were made to the commission, the county didn’t notify the governor’s office of the vacancies.

Former Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Jhonathan Aragon to the District 5 seat in 2013, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Tom Mraz to the District 2 seat in 2020.

“Notifying them has not been the process before,” Monette said. “(Lujan Grisham) has taken longer on other appointments. I’ll look into it.”

The last time there was a vacancy on the Valencia County Commission was in early 2020, after District 2 Commissioner David Carlberg announced his resignation from the board, effective Dec. 31, 2019.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham posted a request for applications for the vacancy on her official website in January 2020.

It’s unclear how the governor’s office became aware of the vacancy. A public records request filed by the News-Bulletin with Valencia County, asking for correspondence sent by the county to the governor’s office in the last 10 years in regards to county commission vacancies, yielded no responsive records.

“We did not find anything in the manager’s office or administrative files, but we are sending your request to our IT Department to see if there are any communications that pertain to your request,” was the response received.

The News-Bulletin asked McGinnis Porter to provide previous correspondence from the county in regards to commission vacancies, but received no response. When asked who typically sent the notices of vacancy, she responded it was her understanding it was usually the county manager, but they had not received anything from Valencia County as of June 21.

A formal records request has been filed with the governor’s office for the same information. At the time of publication, the governor’s office still has until July 9 to respond to the request.

When Aragon announced his resignation from the commission, only one candidate had filed to run for the District 5 seat — Republican Dante Berry.

Berry said he has called the governor’s office through it’s main phone line to inquire about when the vacancy would be posted.

“I’ve definitely reached out,” Berry said. “I don’t recall who I spoke to, but they said something should be posted on the boards and commissions page. I believe that’s where you go to submit a letter of interest. I haven’t found anything.”

The vacancy hasn’t been posted to the boards and commissions section of the governor’s official website or under the section for press releases, where such notifications typically appear.

Berry said being appointed to the vacant seat would be “an awesome opportunity. I would appreciate the opportunity to learn before I’m ‘officially’ in office.”

According to 2020 Census data, there are about 15,500 people living in District 5. It is comprised of communities such as the village of Bosque Farms, the town of Peralta, parts of the village of Los Lunas and areas in northern Los Chavez, an unincorporated part of the county.

Along with the vacancy on the Valencia County Commission, there is also a vacancy on the planning and zoning commission when District 5 commissioner Mike Montoya resigned this past spring.

Traditionally, county commissioners have appointed a planning and zoning commissioner for their district. Without a District 5 commissioner, the planning and zoning seat remains vacant.