Secretary of State Mary Herrera
Another news organization has gotten its hands on a copy of former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar’s resignation letter, but the newspaper didn’t make the full letter public, and the Secretary of State’s Office still hasn’t released it.
Still, in its Friday report on the letter, the Rio Grande Sun included details that hadn’t previously been released publicly. The newspaper said it was quoting from an “un-edited and un-redacted” copy, though it didn’t say how it obtained it.
The letter alleges, according to the Sun, that Secretary of State Mary Herrera:
“• ordered exempt employees at a meeting held during work hours to obtain 1,000 petition signatures each for her re-election bid ‘in violation of election laws,’
“• protected a politically connected IT employee from termination who allegedly hacked into the office’s network,
“• failed to properly store voting machines to be used in the upcoming election, and
“• pulled back legislation that would have brought transparency to the office’s Confidential Address Program.”
The article states that Salazar also “implicated Deputy Secretary Don Francisco Trujillo in some of these activities and accused him of undercutting Salazar’s authority by creating a contradictory chain of command within the Office.”
E-mails back up one allegation
The Sun also obtained e-mails that appear to up Salazar’s claim about Herrera asking an employee to solicit sponsorships from private companies. That action drew an “admonition” from an assistant AG, the Sun article states. It quotes from the Feb. 10 letter from the assistant AG to Herrera, Trujillo and another secretary of state employee:
“Please be aware that solicitations from contractors who have been awarded contracts with the SOS, or who may bid on SOS contract, may create the impression that undue influence or improper associations are tied to such solicitations/donations. This is especially important for the Secretary of State Office because this office is charged with responsibility for enforcing the Governmental Conduct Act in the first instance.”
“…While solicitations for donations for the conference are not requests for money for the employees, themselves, requests made specifically of contractors who bid or receive SOS contracts can create the appearance of entanglement or influence that the Governmental Conduct Act seeks to avoid.”
Here’s Herrera’s response to the assistant AG, according to the Sun:
“Thank you for this information, yes these vendors are being asked to sponsor a break session for the election school. If this is not allowed, I will stop it immediately. They are sponsoring a break for the County Clerks.”
The Albuquerque Journal was the first to report on Salazar’s allegation that Herrera runs “a crooked organization.” Salazar, the Journal reported, has turned over his allegations to the AG for investigation.
Request requires ‘additional legal review’
Trujillo, who last week refused to release Salazar’s letter in response to a records request, sent this reporter a letter today stating that the request requires “additional legal review.”
“We will reply within fifteen days and notify you when the document is available along with the associated costs,” Trujillo wrote.