Herrera finally hires an elections director

A Santa Fe attorney who has held various government jobs is the state’s new elections director.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera hired Gerald Gonzalez, 65, who is expected to begin the job next week, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting.

Gonzalez takes a job that has been vacant for months. Earlier this month, Judicial Standards Commission Director Jim Noel declined the job after criticism mounted because he is the son-in-law of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall and his wife, in addition to being Udall’s daughter, is Udall’s campaign manager.

Gonzalez has worked as an attorney for local governments in Santa Fe. In recent months, he has been the media representative for Democrats in the New Mexico Legislature. And he was Udall’s chief of staff in his Washington congressional office from 1998 to 2000, The New Mexican reported.