Gov. Bill Richardson’s chief of staff, James Jimenez, is leaving to take another job and will be replaced by the governor’s deputy chief of staff, Brian Condit.
A news release from the governor’s office said of Jimenez’s departure only that he is leaving at the end of August to take another job.
Two Rio Rancho news sources — The Observer and The Sandoval County Online Reporting Enterprise — are reporting that Jimenez is the leading candidate for the open city manager job in the state’s third largest city. Gallegos said Jimenez is not available for comment today because he is “tied up all day with negotiations.”
Jimenez served as governor’s secretary of the Department of Finance & Administration from 2003 to 2006, when he was appointed as the governor’s chief of staff. Before that, Jimenez worked in Rio Rancho for eight years as the finance director and later as the city administrator.
“James has been a loyal and steady hand — both as finance secretary and as my chief of staff — who helped guide my administration through the most productive years in
Condit, a former union president, has been
“Brian has traveled the state with me, worked with legislators and constituents and has successfully managed the state bureaucracy,”
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that Condit had been