Eric Rodriguez, who was elected Doña Ana County treasurer in the Nov. 8 election, was sworn in early on Monday after outgoing treasurer David Gutierrez was removed from office.
Courtesy photo
Eric Rodriguez
Gutierrez, a Democrat, was stripped of his office last week after a jury found him guilty in a civil trial of public corruption or gross immorality by public official. That happened because in 2014 Gutierrez, 61, offered a female employee in his office money for sex.
Just before the election, a judge dismissed criminal charges against Gutierrez, but the civil trial on whether to remove him from office continued.
Gutierrez was term-limited from running for treasurer again, and his removal came a month before he was set to leave office. Rodriguez, a Democrat and Gutierrez’s chief deputy, had pledged to not hire Gutierrez as his chief deputy once he became treasurer.
At a special meeting Monday, members of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to install Rodriguez as treasurer a few weeks early. Immediately after that vote, Third Judicial District Chief Judge Fernando Macias swore in Rodriguez, according to a news release from the county.