GOP pushes probes of former secretary of state

Republicans have requested two additional probes of a $3 million shortfall in the secretary of state’s office.

There were already several probes of an apparent $3 million shortfall in the secretary of state’s office that resulted from debt that accumulated last year during the tenure of former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. The money was spent on the switch to paper ballots, and has led to an emergency request to lawmakers to fund that office’s operations for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Senate Republican leaders sent letters Monday to the U.S. attorney and the Legislative Finance Committee asking them to look into the situation. That’s in addition to a legal opinion they sought last week from Attorney General Gary King, an audit Gov. Bill Richardson ordered by the Department of Finance and Administration and a federal review of the spending of a $9 million grant to Vigil-Giron’s office.

The new letters were sent Monday by Senate Republican leaders. In the letter to the LFC, they questioned why $2 million was spent on media advertising. Vigil-Giron appeared in television commercials countless times last year to talk about election-related issues.

They requested that U.S. Attorney David Iglesias look into the spending of $9 million in federal funds.

“We are requesting that your office investigate the administration of this grant because we are concerned that these funds may not have been expended in accordance with federal law,” the senators wrote.

They asked for a “timely investigation,” according to a news release, in case “there is necessary corrective action to be taken during the legislative session.”

Vigil-Giron left office at the end of 2006, and Richardson announced last week that he was appointing her to head the New Mexico Film Office. Following outcry over the $3 million shortfall, Richardson put the appointment on hold until the issues with the secretary of state’s office are resolved.

Vigil-Giron contends that there are unpaid expenses because lawmakers, rather than funding the switch to paper ballots during last year’s session, told her to come back with a supplemental request this year, which is what she did.