State Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, contends the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners didn’t have the authority to censure the treasurer earlier this month, and is apparently threatening that he won’t seek capital outlay funds for the county unless it rescinds the vote.
Rawson made the comments to Republican Commissioner Kent Evans and the Las Cruces Sun-News.
The county says Rawson is wrong, but the senator, according to the newspaper, cites a 1987 attorney general opinion that says county commissioners don’t have general oversight of the county’s other elected officials, with a few exceptions.
Rawson said since the commission doesn’t have authority to censure, the act is “a malicious attack.”
County Attorney John Caldwell told the newspaper that he is familiar with the attorney general opinion and said Rawson is misinterpreting it, the newspaper reported. He said a censure is simply the commission expressing its displeasure, and is not an act of oversight.
Rawson cautioned that he isn’t taking a position on whether Schoonover did anything wrong.
Evans told the Sun-News that Rawson threatened to not seek funding for the county in the current legislative session unless the censure is rescinded. Evans said he thinks it is wrong of Rawson to do that.
Rawson wouldn’t confirm for the newspaper that he specifically made a threat, but said he mistrusts the commission because of the censure and the problems it’s had in the past with spending appropriated money correctly.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have complained about that in the past. It’s something the county has worked hard in the past couple of years to improve.
It’s also notable that Gov. Bill Richardson vetoed many of Rawson’s capital outlay appropriations for the county last year.
Evans told the newspaper he might ask for a new attorney general opinion on whether the commission had the authority to issue the censure.