Commissioners duel over how to pick the next county leader

On the table at Tuesday’s Bernalillo County Commission meeting are two choices for how to go about picking the next county manager, as Julie Morgas-Baca will retire at the end of June.

Last time

At the March 19 meeting, Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada proposed a selection process that would include securing a professional recruitment firm by the end of March, conducting a series of town hall meetings in each district to gather input and establishing an online stakeholder survey through April. He proposed that all information be presented to the commissioners, so they can then select and interview finalists with the intent to announce a new county manager by June 14. Quezada says this process was based on what Albuquerque Public Schools did for its superintendent search. 

However, Commission Chair Barbara Baca asked for a deferral saying there was no need to rush and Commissioner Eric Olivas said there was not enough time to review the proposal. Quezada’s proposal was deferred on a 3 to 2 vote. 

Now, Quezada and Commissioner Walt Benson have brought an updated proposal back to the table for reconsideration at Tuesday’s meeting. This compromise proposal allows each commissioner to appoint his or her own member to the search committee.

This time

Meanwhile, Chair Baca put up her version of a selection process that includes a national search, establishing a local search committee and public engagement. Baca said in a press release that Juan Vigil, former Bernalillo and Sandoval county manager, will serve as the search committee chair alongside Tim Cummins, Maggie Hart-Stebbins, Yolanda Cordova-Montoya and Venice Caballos. 

Two advertised public meetings would be held to get the public’s input. All qualified candidates’ resumes and names would be posted on the county website by May 31.

Both propositions will be on the table for commissioners to debate and decide.

What’s the problem?

City Desk ABQ sat down with Quezada last week to find out why he is so angry at some of his fellow commissioners.

“When it comes to bringing somebody in, I take it very, very seriously,” he said. “The county manager to me is as important as the mayor. Because that’s basically what that position is right, it’s an unelected mayor. It’s an appointed mayor.” 

Quezada said that he and Benson were left out of the process by Chair Baca to form a selection policy and procedures and a local search committee. In fact, he said, Commissioners Baca, Olivas and Adriann Barboa left him and Benson out of this important county decision. 

“They didn’t ask Commissioner Benson if you had any advice on who to put on the panel, and they definitely didn’t ask me about who they were gonna put on the panel,” he said. “When they talk, it’s lip service, when they say, oh, we wanna work together as a team and we want transparency and all that, I’m sitting there knowing that it is not.”

Commission Chair Baca said in a press release that she sought input from her colleagues. 

“Much of the input I received from fellow commissioners has been incorporated into this proposed search process and the associated desired skills and abilities for our next County Manager,” she said.

Quezada went on to say that the three commissioners also have a habit of contacting the county’s staff directly instead of following the county’s protocol and going through the county manager to the staff.

“If you look at the county manager’s contract, we’re not allowed to surpass her. We’re not allowed to go over her head and go right to the staff and say I wanna do this and I wanna do that,” he said.

City Desk ABQ obtained a copy of Morgas-Baca’s current employment agreement which says, “The Board sets the policy and direction of the County through ordinances and regulations and the Board recognizes and agrees that Baca (the county manager) has full authority over the day-to-day operations of the County.”

Quezada said other important county department heads have left because of the interference by some commissioners. He gave one instance where one deputy county manager who should have been in line to take Morgas-Baca’s job left due to the interference of some commissioners. 

According to the county’s charter, county commissioners have no individual administrative authority and shall not issue managerial directives, give orders to, or demand services from the county manager or any of his or her subordinates either publicly or privately. The county manager and his or her subordinates have full discretion on whether to implement any action recommended by a commissioner.