{"id":365,"date":"2006-07-12T15:16:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-12T21:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/07\/aragon-mess-proves-that-university-president-positions-should-not-be-political-appointments\/"},"modified":"2006-07-12T15:16:00","modified_gmt":"2006-07-12T21:16:00","slug":"aragon-mess-proves-that-university-president-positions-should-not-be-political-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/07\/aragon-mess-proves-that-university-president-positions-should-not-be-political-appointments\/","title":{"rendered":"Aragon mess proves that university president positions should not be political appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Manny Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> is proving why university president positions should not be political appointments. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As one of the most powerful legislative leaders in state history, the political mastermind left the Senate a couple of years ago to take the job as president of New Mexico<\/st1:placename> Highlands<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. It\u2019s been a disaster.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The professors don\u2019t like him. He\u2019s been at odds with the regents, who are attempting to fire him. And the Albuquerque Journal<\/a> reported Wednesday about his ties to former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, which in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> today might be the kiss of death.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Some student leaders and the League of United Latin American Citizens have come to Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s defense, with LULAC playing the race card.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> needs\u2026 more Latinos in leadership positions that adequately reflect our demographics,\u201d state LULAC Director Paul A. Martinez said. \u201cWe would take exception to anyone targeting our leadership and\/or encroaching on our advancement as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This is why Gov. Bill Richardson shouldn\u2019t play politics with presidential positions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s exactly what he did. He appoints the Highlands regents and orchestrated Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s hiring. Now, as the regents try to fire Aragon<\/st1:country-region>, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> is silent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The exact reasons for the termination aren\u2019t known.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Apparently, Vigil solicited donations for the university\u2019s \u201cpresident\u2019s fund\u201d that Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> controlled. Using treasurer\u2019s letterhead, he sent eight letters to firms doing business with the state, asking them to give money to Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s fund. You can read one of the letters via the Albuquerque Journal by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

During Vigil\u2019s recent federal extortion trial, a treasurer\u2019s employee testified that Vigil directed her to make calls on state time to ask companies that do business with the state to help pay for Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>\u2019s inauguration as president, the Journal reported.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The trial ended with a hung jury. A second trial is set for September.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The letter isn\u2019t clear on which \u201cpresident\u2019s fund\u201d Vigil was seeking donations for, but there were two: one Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> used for university-related expenses, and another fund that paid for his inauguration.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That fund is one of the gripes the regents have with Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Sources say the FBI investigation that had led to the indictments of former state treasurers Vigil and Michael Montoya is now focused on other individuals, including Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What qualifications did Aragon<\/st1:country-region> have for the Highlands<\/st1:place> job? Well, it depends on your take, but he\u2019s a lawyer and politico, not an educator.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

At the same time, what politico wouldn\u2019t want the job of a university president, when they\u2019re paid so well these days? Aragon<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place>\u2019s contract this year was for $165,000, plus a fat bonus.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Aragon<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> is a powerful and brilliant politico. This one isn\u2019t over yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manny Aragon is proving why university president positions should not be political appointments. As one of the most powerful legislative leaders in state history, the political mastermind left the Senate a couple of years ago to take the job as president of New Mexico Highlands University. It\u2019s been a disaster. The professors don\u2019t like him. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}