Two New Mexico universities are helping foot the bill of Gov. Bill Richardson appointees, and the arrangement has some concerned about potential conflicts of interest.
The University of New Mexico will pay nearly $100,000 a year toward Higher Education Secretary Reed Dasenbrock’s $257,250 salary and $60,000 a year toward Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil’s $175,000 salary. New Mexico State University, meanwhile, is paying William Flores his $220,000 provost salary while he serves as deputy secretary of higher education.
Sen. Kent Cravens, R-Albuquerque, expressed skepticism about the arrangement in a copyright story in Thursday’s Albuquerque Journal. “There’s no question that in order to attract qualified people, you have to pony up,” Cravens said. “But putting it in a situation where one institution might have a political advantage over another seems like a stretch. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it.”
A spokesman for Richardson, Allan Oliver, said the governor doesn’t see a conflict of interest. “This is an opportunity to bring New Mexico’s best and brightest to the senior levels of policymaking for the benefit of all New Mexicans,” he said. The idea is not a new one. Leslie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said the medical school helps pay the salaries for Arkansas’ chief health officer and for the director of the state’s department of health and human services.
In the three years the university has been doing so, no conflict of interest issues have arisen, she said. Dasenbrock said he believes his appointment has been well-received by the higher education community. “My sense is that in time, people will understand that I am working on behalf of all New Mexicans and all New Mexico higher education institutions, and if there is skepticism, of that, come back in a few months and let’s see where we are,” he said.
But Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said he’s not convinced no conflicts will arise. “The way the system is set up, there are systems of checks and balances,” he said. “When the checks and balances go away, then what do we do?” Flores remains on staff at NMSU and part of his responsibility is dealing with the Higher Education Department. An agreement between Dasenbrock and UNM states that the university is paying Dasenbrock the amount he’s owed for an unused yearlong sabbatical.
The state’s former Higher Education Secretary, Beverlee McClure, was paid $157,000 a year. Vigil’s salary is $57,000 more than what former Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham, who wasn’t a physician, was earning. Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said the increases pose a problem, given that the Legislature tries to pay its employees comparable salaries to what the administration is providing.
“When we get into a spiral like this, that the Legislature did not start, who’s going to pay?” Jennings asked. He also said the agreement between the state and the universities has some serious ethical problems. “Everybody’s worried about our ethics in our Legislature, but nobody is looking at theirs,” he said.
