URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/north/535537north_news02-10-07.htm
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Inquiry Targets Vigil-Giron
By Trip Jennings
Journal Capitol Bureau
Gov. Bill Richardson put the brakes on a new state job for former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron on Friday, pending a financial review at her old agency.
She was scheduled to start an $85,000-a-year job running the New Mexico Film Museum on Monday.
Vigil-Giron, who served until the end of last year as the state's chief election official, accepted the development, which came after days of controversy.
"I'm fine with this," she said.
The financial review ordered by the governor will seek to determine how Vigil-Giron spent state and possibly federal money, but it was unclear how far back the review would go, according to Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.
Senate Republicans on Friday asked that Attorney General Gary King open an investigation into the agency.
"I know he'll take a look at it," King spokesman Phil Sisneros said of the request for an investigation. "The determination will be made after some study."
The state Department of Finance and Administration, which will conduct the governor-ordered audit, confirmed Thursday that the secretary of state's office budget for the current fiscal year is short by $2.5 million to $3 million, and that the deficit could grow.
There are unresolved questions about more than $700,000 in federal election money spent by the Secretary of State's office last year.
A federal audit has already started at the agency to determine how $9 million in federal election money was spent during Vigil-Giron's tenure.
Vigil-Giron most recently served as secretary of state from 1999-2006. She served a previous term from 1987-1990.
Vigil-Giron said Friday the audits will show she did nothing wrong.
"There are all of these allegations that I've done something wrong, and I didn't," she said in a phone interview Friday.
Richardson said Friday he decided to delay the appointment after he learned of the magnitude of potential problems, although his decision also came after a month of media reports about the agency's potential financial problems.
"I was not aware of the size of this," Richardson said. "When I learned that it was $3 million, I think it is important to get all the facts and to make sure a proper audit is done."
Still, Richardson defended his selection of Vigil-Giron to the new state job, saying her experience in public service made her a good fit at the New Mexico Film Museum.
"She has contributed to state government in New Mexico and I believe she deserves an opportunity to stay in state government," the governor said.
Heading up the film museum doesn't require an extensive background in film, Richardson said.
"You are out promoting the film museum; it's not a recruitment job," Richardson said. "It's not a job that relates to bringing films to the state. It's mainly a strong public relations job, and she is good at that."
Richardson's only response, when asked if she had applied for the job or whether he had sought her out was, "All right, I got to go."
Asked the same question, Vigil-Giron, said, "I have been his supporter for a long time. This is something he thought I'd be great at."
The Associated Press broke the news of Vigil-Giron's new job this week. It came as the Legislature was being asked to approve an additional $3 million to keep the Secretary of State's Office financially afloat through the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Most of the deficit is related to expenses from last year's general election, including costs associated with New Mexico's conversion to a new paper-ballot voting system.
Vigil-Giron said the problem arose from state lawmakers mandating a conversion to an all-paper-ballot voting system but not funding it properly.
"You told me to have an all-paper-ballot election, and you took the money away," she said, referring to legislators. "Now it's up to you to give money to the agency."
Budget officials at the Capitol have known of the deficit at the Secretary of State's Office for a while.
In a supplemental budget request last year, Vigil-Giron requested the $3 million in additional funding to keep the agency afloat through June 30.
According to Vigil-Giron's budget request, unpaid expenses included: $1.3 million to print ballots; $560,000 for media ads; $225,000 for supplies; and $88,000 to print constitutional amendments and bond issue questions.
There was also an $800,000 request for state money to pay an invoice from Nebraska-based ES&S because New Mexico ran out of the federal money for election costs, according to an Oct. 13 supplemental budget request.
"It's a little disheartening when one is mixing with the other," said Vigil-Giron. "My appointment does not have anything to do with my supplemental request for the money that was not given to my agency."