Doña Ana County Elections Bureau Supervisor Mari Langford has been removed from her position and placed on paid administrative leave.
“Doña Ana County has informed Mari Langford-Pavão that she has been relieved of her duties as Doña Ana County’s supervisor of elections and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a personnel matter,” County spokesman Jess Williams said. “Because it is a personnel matter,
The action was taken Monday morning. By 2 p.m., Langford’s county issued cellular telephone and e-mail address had been taken out of service, indicating that this is probably more than a suspension. When county employs are given notice of termination, they have two weeks to appeal.
Langford could not be reached for comment.
For now, Chief Deputy Clerk Cecilia Madrid is in charge of the elections bureau, Williams said.
The county clerk’s office has been under fire since the primary election earlier this month. Though there were fewer problems than in past elections, there were still issues with polling places and workers, prompting commissioners to issue harsh criticism of the clerk’s office and form a task force to study the election and make recommended changes for future elections.
The commission is set to appoint members to that task force at Tuesday’s meeting.
This is the second personnel issue involving Langford in recent months. She was one of six employees given notice on Oct. 14 of last year of the county’s intent to fire them on allegations that they lied to gain health insurance for ineligible dependents.
In Langford’s case, the allegation was that she claimed her partner as a spouse though the two were not married. Langford provided proof of her marriage and kept her job.
An earlier version of this posting incorrectly stated that Langford appealed the October notice of intent to fire. Because she provided proof of marriage, she did not have to appeal.