Ms. Archuleta goes to Washington

Ok, so she’s not going to Congress, like the cinematically famous Mr. Smith. But having served on the Obama transition team earlier this year, Deanna Archuleta is now set to take a high-ranking position in the U.S. Interior Department.

First day on the job: Monday.

The new position is only two steps away from U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, an ex-Colorado senator.

Archuleta, a twice-elected Bernalillo County commissioner, will be the Interior Department’s new deputy assistant secretary for water and science.

If you’re curious what exactly Archuleta will be doing on the all-important water front and the relatedly-all-important science front, be sure to watch the video to the left from New Mexico In Focus. (And/or check out the full broadcast tonight at 7 p.m. on KNME Channel 5.)

In the Obama Interior Department, with many other top appointed positions going to Coloradans and New Mexicans, Archuleta will help supervise several significant federal agencies. They include the Bureau of Reclamation (overseeing the country’s dams), the U.S. Geological Survey (conducting research all over the world) and something called the Central Utah Project Completion Act Office.

CUPCAO — love the acronym — is the chief administrative body in divvying up the the H2O the flows from the regionally crucial Colorado River. If you drink tap water in Albuquerque, CUPCAO affects you!

The woman who many speculated would opt to run for mayor of Albuquerque this year is instead, I imagine, furiously packing her bags for Washington right about now.

And to replace her on the Bernalillo County Commission? The job of appointing her successor belongs to Gov. Bill Richardson, and NMI has learned that said governor interviewed five candidates today.

They are — flood control board member Danny Hernandez, ex-county commissioner Lenton Malry, two-time state cabinet secretary Judith Espinoza, ex-state senator Tom Rutherford and land grant community leader Arturo Archuleta.

In the interview, Deanna Archuleta seemed awfully determined to give no indication about which candidate she’d favor.

A formal announcement by Richardson is expected within days.