Heath Haussamen
I can come up with two possible explanations for why Doña Ana County Commissioner Leticia Duarte-Benavidez thought it was appropriate to vote Tuesday to delay consideration of a proposed censure of herself.
Either she was flagrantly disregarding ethical behavior or she showed a stunning lack of sense about what’s appropriate and what isn’t.
County management has accused Duarte-Benavidez of interfering in personnel matters involving a family member and her campaign treasurer. On Tuesday, commissioners considered the resolution to censure her.
Commissioners ultimately decided they need to hear more from the employees making the allegations. So there was a motion to delay a vote on the proposed censure until that happens.
All five commissioners – including Duarte-Benavidez – voted to delay the decision on the proposed censure.
Duarte-Benavidez has a personal and political interest in avoiding censure, and her vote to delay things creates the appearance that she’s using her position to protect herself. She should recuse herself from any votes related to this issue.
Instead, by voting, Duarte-Benavidez sent a message to the county employees making the allegations against her that she has a great deal of influence in the process they’ve initiated. Maybe she even plans to vote on the proposed censure when it comes up again.
The situation could make county employees less likely to report possible misdeeds by commissioners in the future.
Regardless of whether Duarte-Benavidez has no regard for ethics or simply didn’t understand that she should never vote on an issue when she has a conflict, her vote on Tuesday casts the allegations that she inappropriately interfered in personnel matters in an entirely new light.