Controversy after new members of Rio Arriba commission axe county manager, install successor

Feb. 13—A divided Rio Arriba County Commission fired county manager Lucía Sánchez following a closed door session late last week, replacing her on the same day with Jeremy Maestas, president of the Española school board.

Maestas, a former city clerk and Community Services Department director in Española, began work Monday, three days after the commission's newly elected members — chairman Alex Naranjo and Brandon Bustos — voted to terminate Sánchez. Longtime commissioner Moises Morales dissented in the 2-1 vote.

After the commissioners emerged from a three-hour closed session Friday, Bustos moved to immediately terminate Sánchez's contract and appoint Maestas as the new county manager, according to unofficial minutes from the meeting.

Naranjo and Bustos had expressed concerns about Sánchez's work since each took office in January, including her handling of a staffing crisis at the Rio Arriba County jail.

Morales criticized the move, contending it was motivated by "political power" that lacked proper due process.

"We lost somebody that really cared about the county and did her homework," Morales said of Sánchez in an interview Monday with The New Mexican. "We were in trouble when she came in, and she got us out of the red and into the black."

During a phone call Monday, Sánchez declined to comment on her termination.

After a December 2022 pay raise granted by former commissioners, Sánchez's annual salary was more than $130,000. According to a severance clause in her employment contract, she will receive a lump sum equal to six months' pay.

Sánchez was appointed as county manager in May 2021 in a similar controversial move by commissioners, who terminated the contract of longtime County Manager Tomás Campos.

State Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, had criticized the former commissioners' actions in 2021 in a letter to the Rio Grande Sun newspaper, decrying what she called "old political movidas with no notice, back room deals and no transparency."

When she heard about Sánchez's termination, Herrera said she was concerned for the county.

"I hope that we can all work toward stability in the future because we have big problems in this county and we're going to need it," Herrera said. "County managers are critical to communities. When you have turnover after turnover, the county takes a hit."

But former County Commissioner Christine Bustos said she was pleased with the commission's decision.

"I've long had problems with former County Manager Sánchez and the way she handled things," Bustos said. "She always took it upon herself to take action before consulting commissioners."

Bustos said Sánchez's approach to dealing with recent problems with jail staffing and a trash collection agency without gaining commission approval was a recurring theme of her time as county manager.

But Bustos said she disagreed with the appointment of Maestas without a transparent hiring process.

"My stance has always been that all the positions should be advertised and candidates should be interviewed for transparency," she said, "but it is within the commission's power to appoint a manager."

During an interview Monday, Naranjo cited several reasons for voting to fire Sánchez, including input from county staff members, who he said were "disillusioned and disappointed" by her leadership.

"Most of our top administrators have left because they were unhappy," he said. "It scares me ... she was a hard-working lady, and the potential was there, but when you don't have top administrators working with you ... "

In January, commissioners grilled Sánchez during a special meeting over administration of the jail in Tierra Amarilla, which was staffed with 14 guards for 78 inmates at the time. Bustos and Naranjo rebuked Sánchez for a recent decision to accept only county inmates to the facility, a policy she implemented without warning and delivered to officials in Española and several pueblos via letters.

Naranjo said he had growing concerns about the staffing crisis at the jail as well as the spiraling finances and operations of the regional trash collection agency. He added the county also hadn't made enough progress on constructing a planned nursing home and medical facility, projects for which voters approved millions in bonds years ago.

"I've been in different offices and held different positions, and it wasn't easy to do," Naranjo said. "But I have to do what's best for the county. Sometimes, you just have to take bold action and let it fall where it falls."