The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by cjc4454/flickr.com)
The state finance and personnel departments, like the governor’s office, say they have no information about the 59 political appointees who are losing their jobs Friday.
After Gov. Bill Richardson’s office claimed in December that it had no records about the political appointees who are losing their jobs — except e-mails from reporters asking questions about the terminations — I filed the a records request with the State Personnel Office seeking the information from that department. On Dec. 21, I received this response:
“The State Personnel Office and its Rules and Regulations govern all positions in the executive branch of state government which are not exempt by law, known as the classified service,” Board Administrator Sheila Zamora wrote in an e-mail. “Therefore, the State Personnel Office would not have any information regarding exempt positions. I will forward your request to the Department of Finance and Administration.”
The finance department had until the end of Tuesday to respond. It did respond – at 11:19 p.m. Tuesday night.
“At this time DFA has no records responsive to your request. It is our understanding that this request is closed. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me,” Nicole Gillespie, the department’s records custodian, wrote in an e-mail.
Heath Haussamen
If the governor’s office, personnel office and finance department have no information about who is losing their jobs on Friday, who does? I’ve asked that question of all three departments in an e-mail. I’ll let you know if I get a response.
Of course, many journalists (including me) and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government have expressed skepticism about the claim that the governor’s office has no documentation about who’s being laid off.
“It’s hard to imagine they didn’t write this down somewhere,” FOG’s executive director, Sarah Welsh, told The Santa Fe New Mexican last month. “Did they memorize the 59 names and then call them?”
I asked for “any information available (such as, but not limited to, a list) about which 59 exempt employees are having their positions eliminated on Jan. 8, which departments they work in and what salaries they were being paid before their positions were eliminated.”
The claim by these three offices is that they have no documentation about the layoffs. No lists. No plans drafted by cabinet secretaries who were considering who would lose jobs. No letters, e-mails or faxes to those losing their jobs. No salary information about those losing their jobs.
And they’re claiming that they have not communicated in any way that creates a record (memo, e-mail, voice mail, fax, etc.) with any other state department about the employees who are losing their jobs.
Right…