{"id":99381,"date":"2015-11-10T09:29:27","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T16:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=99381"},"modified":"2015-11-10T09:30:58","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T16:30:58","slug":"new-mexico-gets-d-grade-in-2015-state-integrity-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2015\/11\/new-mexico-gets-d-grade-in-2015-state-integrity-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico gets D- grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>

Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p>

A statue outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2010 Dianna Duran ran for secretary of state as a reform candidate who would clean things up in the wake of scandals that had plagued the office\u2019s two previous occupants. As a county clerk in rural Otero County and later a state senator, Duran had earned a reputation for cool-headed competence. She was endorsed by most of the state\u2019s newspapers and even the left-leaning editorial board at\u00a0The Santa Fe New Mexican\u00a0gave her a thumbs up<\/a>, citing a \u201csolid record of integrity.\u201d When she won, Duran became the first Republican to hold the secretary of state\u2019s office in 80 years.<\/p>\n

That was then. In late October, just a year into her second term, Duran, the state official in charge of overseeing elections, campaign finance and ethics, resigned and\u00a0pleaded guilty<\/a>\u00a0to felony embezzlement charges related to personal use of campaign funds. After the hearing, Duran told reporters that some of her decisions \u201cwere not healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n