I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Governor Bill Richardson appointed Theresa Becenti-Aguilar Friday to the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to replace outgoing commissioner Carol Sloan.
Becenti-Aguilar won the democratic nomination June 1 to replace Sloan. She will run against Republican Gary Montoya in the November election to represent the vast PRC district 4, which covers much of northwestern and northern New Mexico.
The interim appointment and Becenti-Aguilar’s experience as Native American Liasion for the PRC will allow her to “hit the ground running,” Richardson said Friday.
Becenti-Aguilar is likely to defeat Montoya, PRC chairman David King told The Independent Friday.
“Sloan won her election with 85 percent of the vote up there,” King, a Republican, laughed. “It’s pretty tough (for Republicans) in the general election up there.”
Sloan was removed from office by the state Supreme Court after her conviction on two felony charges.
Sloan was sentenced to five years of supervised probation for the crimes, which stemmed from Sloan’s attack on a woman she believed to have been having an affair with her husband.
Convicted felons cannot hold elected office in New Mexico.
Sloan’s office had been emptied Thursday, a PRC employee told The Independent.
Sloan worked hard and called other commissioners frequently to ask for advice on how best to help constituents, King said. “She tried very hard,” he said. “She just got upset and overreacted to this thing with her husband. I thought it was sad.”
The PRC regulates the state’s electrical, natural gas, and water utilities, insurance industry, and administers the state Fire Marshal’s office. The Commission has been beset by numerous recent controversies, including Sloan’s convictions.
Prior to her work with the PRC, Becenti-Aguilar served seven years as a constituent services representative focusing on tribal relations from then U.S. Representative Tom Udall. She also spent eight years as an executive assistant in the litigation division of the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, according to the governor’s office.
