OPINION: A few lawmakers challenge New Mexico's secret society

Jun. 25—Most New Mexico legislators still haven't seen the findings of a publicly financed investigation of state administrative employee Rachel Gudgel. A few lawmakers upset by the secrecy are pressing for sunlight, though resistance is heavy.

Gudgel makes about $129,000 per year as director of the Legislative Education Study Committee, an agency that analyzes policy questions and is overseen by state lawmakers.

Members of Gudgel's staff accused her of often denigrating Native Americans, bullying her own employees and performing poorly in her administrative duties. Harassment allegations reached a critical mass, causing leaders in the state Senate and House of Representatives to hire a $260-an-hour contract attorney to investigate Gudgel.

I recently wrote a column about the Legislature's leaders and council service sealing all the documents, emails and complaints about Gudgel, as well as the investigator's findings.

Employees who worked under Gudgel said she was suspended for two weeks after the investigation concluded last year. State taxpayers also were billed for "a leadership coach" to help Gudgel improve in her job.

The coach's contract is among the items state lawyers and the executive of the Legislative Council Service say are private records. They maintain anything related to the investigation of Gudgel is a personnel matter and cannot be made public.

Gudgel herself didn't respond to my requests for comment.

Even legislators in key positions on the committee that are supposed to supervise Gudgel have not seen the investigator's report.

Lawmakers, Gudgel and members of her staff met for three days this week in Hobbs on a variety of topics. The report about Gudgel was not one of them, but the meeting opened the door for some legislators to try to pry free the details.

"We are pushing for an open meeting in Shiprock," said Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque, a member of the committee.

The panel's chairman, Democratic Sen. Bill Soules of Las Cruces, instead wants a closed and restrictive meeting on Gudgel.

"It will probably be next week on Zoom as an executive meeting for voting members only," Soules wrote to me in a text message.

Thirty-two legislators are members of the committee that supervises Gudgel. Ten are voting members, meaning Soules would bar most lawmakers who serve on the committee from attending the meeting.

Trujillo and Rep. Derrick Lente, D-Sandia Pueblo, challenged Soules' authority to exclude committee members from a meeting.

Soules didn't respond to their objections. Instead, he moved ahead with the agenda.

One item before legislators was a proposed 1.5 percent raise for the committee's staff. Trujillo asked if the pay increase would apply to Gudgel.

Soules said the raise was for everyone. Trujillo countered that Gudgel shouldn't be included until lawmakers know the sentiments of the personnel committee that might at last be privy to the report on Gudgel's conduct.

Trujillo called for a vote on the pay raise. She and Rep. G. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque, objected to including Gudgel at this stage.

They lost. Republican committee members sided with Soules and Sen. Harold Pope, D-Albuquerque, deciding Gudgel should receive the raise, just like everyone else.

Three other Democrats, including Lente, were absent when that vote occurred. Another Democrat who missed the vote was Mimi Stewart, president pro tem of the Senate and a powerful supporter of Gudgel.

Trujillo doesn't consider all the decisions to be final. She said she will try to overturn Soules' plan to stop nonvoting members of the committee from participating in meetings about Gudgel.

Since my first column about Gudgel, several of her former staff members have contacted me. Like those of us in the news business, they want the state investigator's findings about Gudgel to be unsealed.

One wrote: "Each day was like walking into a war zone, having to shield the staff members from her abusive management style. Ultimately, the majority of staff left within a short period of time of her appointment."

Another said this: "Rachel is why I left my position at LESC, a position I really enjoyed but found the atmosphere to be toxic and very hostile. I did not file any grievance and after reading your story, I now wish I had."

And a third: "I was incredibly traumatized by my time spent as an intern at LESC. ... Thank you for providing a digestible story for the public to understand how astray leadership in LESC has veered."

There are more, all in the same vein.

The public should know what Gudgel said about Native Americans. It needs to see the complaints about her management of a state agency and the results of any plan for improvement.

All 112 state legislators claim they work for the people. Yet many are content to bottle up matters of public concern.

Trujillo, Lente and Romero are three legislators on the right path. They shouldn't have to debate or battle other lawmakers on this issue.

Gudgel is a well-paid state employee. The public should know what it's getting for its money.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.