City of Deming sued by former spokesperson

The city of Deming’s former public relations officer, Amanda Sanders, claims in a lawsuit that she was effectively pushed out of her job after she filed complaints alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation by City Manager Aaron Sera.

In turn, the city is denying any misconduct or retaliation occurred and suggested issues with Sanders’ job performance preceded her departure last February. Sanders “voluntarily resigned her position,” the city argues, “entitling her to no relief from Defendant.”

Sanders started in the job at the end of 2022. She reported directly to Sera, who has served as the city’s top administrator since 2014.

Sanders’ complaint alleges that Sera propositioned her during a business trip to Santa Fe with other city staff. Two weeks later, city voters elected a new mayor and city council members. The day after that election, Sanders says she spoke with mayor-elect Micki Shillito at a recurring community meeting. In response, Sanders claims Sera forbade her from attending the meetings in the future.

In a response to the lawsuit filed in the state’s 3rd Judicial District, the city denies the claims about Sera’s behavior and suggests it was not even aware of Sanders’ conversation with Shillito, the first woman elected mayor of Deming, who took office at the start of 2024. Shillito told the Journal she did not recall whether she spoke to Sanders at that meeting.

Deming’s city manager is selected by mayoral appointment and reports directly to the mayor and council. 

Sera has worked for the city since 2009, serving as its community services director until he was promoted to the top administrator job by Mayor Benny Jasso, Shillito’s predecessor, five years later.

Sanders alleges that after her contact with the mayor-elect, Sera would not give her direction and that he and other employees shunned her.

Both parties agreed that Sanders filed a personnel complaint at the city accusing Sera of sexual harassment in April 2024, for which he was initially placed on administrative leave while the allegations were investigated and then temporarily worked from home. Later, as confirmed by the city, Sera directed that Sanders report to the city’s community services director rather than him.

Sanders claims that in July 2024, Sera called for a special session of the council to discuss firing her “for having made ‘false allegations.’” The city denies this claim. Public records document the council met in closed session on July 24, 2024, to discuss an item described on the meeting agenda as “Limited Personnel Matters Regarding the City Manager; employment contracts for appointed officials; and the demotion, dismissal, and the investigation of complaints or charges against a public employee.” 

Following that meeting, Sanders alleges the city offered her a severance package allowing her to leave the city without any disciplinary action or termination. Instead, she filed a new complaint alleging retaliation and took her case to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August 2024. The city denied the claim of a severance offer in its response to the lawsuit.

The city admitted that Sanders was presented with a proposed disciplinary action in August of 2024 yet denied how it was characterized in Sanders’ lawsuit. Sanders claimed it followed immediately after she filed her EEOC complaint for sex discrimination and retaliation and accused her of non-cooperation with employees, policy violations and “spreading false rumors.”

Finally, at the end of last February, Sanders states that she resigned “because no reasonable person could work under the conditions that (she) underwent.”

Sanders is seeking lost pay, reinstatement and compensatory damages as well as legal costs and interest under New Mexico’s Human Rights Act.

The city counters in its response that Sanders had not complied with the law’s requirements for making her claim and denies that any retaliation, abusive work environment or adverse employment action took place. The response states that Sanders’ own actions “created legitimate issues regarding her integrity, candor, and truthfulness.”

Sanders is seeking a jury trial. Further proceedings have not yet been scheduled.

Algernon D'Ammassa is the Journal's southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.