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Friday, March 19, 2010
UPDATED: Top N.M. Elections Official Addresses Ethics Claims
By Susan Montoya Bryan
Associated Press
SANTA FE — Allegations of ethics violations by Secretary of State Mary Herrera have been swirling for more than two weeks after a scathing resignation letter by a former elections director was leaked and eventually posted online.
Herrera's office fired back on Friday by releasing a redacted version of A.J. Salazar's letter in response to several public records requests and addressing his allegations in a written statement.
"Upon inspection, the points made in Mr. Salazar's letter have no validity at all," said Herrera, New Mexico's No. 3 official. "Our office has been held to a very strict standard. Mr. Salazar may have had his own reasons for resigning, but the points in his resignation letter turn out to have no basis in fact."
Salazar, who resigned in February, accused Herrera of violating the state Governmental Conduct Act by insisting that her employees solicit "sponsorships or donations" from businesses that contract with the state to support elections training seminars for county clerk staff.
He also accused Herrera of ordering exempt employees — political hires who are not in the state's classified civil service pay system — to gather 1,000 signatures each for her re-election campaign.
His resignation letter also raised concerns about computer security and a lax chain of custody for voting machines. The letter states that he tried to meet with the secretary numerous times but his efforts were ignored.
Herrera, known as Madame Secretary, disputed the claims. The statement issued by her office said she never ordered employees to gather signatures, her office has accounted for every voting machine and it completed a personnel investigation regarding the computer issues.
"If at times Mr. Salazar's suggestions were not followed, it was because Secretary of State Mary Herrera decided that getting the job done was the most important priority. However, the secretary weighed his concerns against her concerns for a proper and efficient election. Ms. Herrera's many years experience at running elections required that she overrule his requests at times," the statement reads.
The statement went on to defend Herrera, saying a successful 2008 election cycle is "proof that the office is run well."
Salazar told The Associated Press on Friday he stands by what he wrote in the letter. He declined to comment further.
Salazar, an attorney from northern New Mexico, was appointed elections director in April 2009. The post had been vacant since late 2008, when Gerald Gonzalez resigned after three months. Herrera's first elections director, Daniel Ivey-Soto, stepped down three months before the June 2008 primary.
On Friday, Herrera appointed her deputy secretary, Don Francisco Trujillo II, to serve as elections director.
Salazar's resignation letter said he enjoyed serving New Mexicans but could no longer work for the secretary of state.
"The bureau itself cannot be effective when we have such cronyism, insubordination and undermining behavior taking place by its employees, to include management," he wrote.
Attorney General Gary King has said his office is reviewing Salazar's letter and its allegations.
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