Commissioner Leticia Duarte-Benavidez
Doña Ana County Commissioners opted on Tuesday to delay a vote on whether to censure Commissioner Leticia Duarte-Benavidez, saying they need to hear more from employees who accuse her of interfering in county personnel matters involving a family member and her campaign treasurer.
The Las Cruces Sun-News has the story:
“The commission, in a 5-0 vote, decided instead to ask county management to create a more-detailed, written report that includes testimony from the employees who made the allegations, as well as a response from Duarte-Benavidez. The document will then be sent to the commission before it again takes up the proposed censure.”
As I reported last week, county management already detailed the allegations in the censure resolution, but the names of employees making the accusations – and those Duarte-Benavidez was allegedly trying to help – were left out.
Duarte-Benavidez denied the allegations against her at Tuesday’s meeting.
“I deny, deny, deny, and there are people who are willing to testify on my behalf, regarding these allegations,” the Sun-News quoted her as saying.
Commissioners did not make clear when they will consider the proposed censure again.