Former Secret Service agent tapped as Albuquerque inspector general

The Albuquerque City Council approved the appointment of a new inspector general, city auditor and two members of an ethics board Monday night.

The approvals of key transparency and compliance positions follow a shake-up in the Office of the Inspector General that left the former officeholder, Melissa Santistevan, on administrative leave in the final months of her contract. Santistevan was placed on leave after nine reports were not made public by the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee.

The council selected William David Hoffman for the inspector general position.

Hoffman will manage the Office of Inspector General, responsible for conducting investigations, inspections, evaluations and reviews aimed at fostering accountability, improving the efficiency of government services and ensuring their lawful and effective administration.

According to a résumé included in a council packet, Hoffman is a founder of the San Diego-based Gryphon Workplace Investigations. The firm provides compliance and investigative services.

Hoffman was also the director of investigations and operations at University of California San Diego and a special agent in charge at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General. A former Secret Service agent, Hoffman also holds a Master of Arts in Foreign Policy from Florida State University.

Present via Zoom, Hoffman thanked the council for selecting him and expressed his honor in accepting the position.

For the role of city auditor, a position that oversees the Office of the Internal Auditor and prepares reports aimed at reducing costs, increasing revenues, enhancing effectiveness and efficiency and strengthening internal controls, the council appointed Marisa Vargas.

A University of New Mexico graduate with a master’s in accounting, Vargas has been the city’s interim city auditor since 2023.

Finally, the council also approved two residents to the Board of Ethics.

The council appointed Clayton King, a commercial real estate professional, and Levi Green, an associate director of project management company Cumming Group, to the board. They will serve the remaining terms of Josh Martinez and Jim Collie, who resigned, until July 31, 2027.

The city charter stipulates that the council appoints three members to the ethics board, the mayor appoints three members, and those six members elect a seventh member to serve as the chairperson.

The board’s responsibility is to receive and examine complaints about potential breaches of the Code of Ethics, the Election Code, the Open and Ethical Elections Code and any rules established by the board or the city clerk.