Lujan Grisham reshuffles Cabinet to fill vacancies

Jul. 15—Ricky Serna's flexibility and adaptability is getting a new test in the upper levels of state government.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who had tapped Serna to serve as acting secretary for the troubled Department of Workforce Solutions in 2021, gave him a new assignment Thursday: He will take over the state Department of Transportation on Monday. He succeeds Michael Sandoval, who announced his retirement in late April and had served in the administration since the governor took office.

Serna has a long record in administration: Before heading Workforce Solutions, he also was the acting head of the state Personnel Office and served in a variety of posts in public education and state government.

Lujan Grisham, in a news release, announced that former Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair would assume the helm at Workforce Solutions. Nair held high posts in the state Auditor's Office before joining the city. She will begin Aug. 15.

Marcos Martinez, Workforce Solutions' employee services director, will serve as acting secretary until Nair gets on board.

Lujan Grisham also announced Teresa Padilla will serve as director of the state Personnel Office. She had been its deputy director.

"These individuals are proven leaders who will take an innovative approach to continuing to build up these agencies and improve how they serve the people of New Mexico," Lujan Grisham said in the news release.

Also Thursday, the governor's chief of staff, Matthew L. Garcia, was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a federal judge for the District of New Mexico.

Garcia has served as Lujan Grisham's chief of staff since 2020 and general counsel for the Governor's Office in 2019 and 2020. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico praised Garcia's nomination in a joint statement, noting he had "built an impressive record of public service with a history as one of the state's top civil rights attorneys."