The Senate Chambers inside the Roundhouse on Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM)
Among the first items on the New Mexico Senate’s agenda when the Legislature meets in the new year will be choosing whether to confirm the governor’s picks to lead state agencies.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, will likely see her nominees approved because her party holds a majority in the Senate.
Lujan Grisham has designated five people since the last legislative session to serve in her Cabinet:
- Manny Barreras is the secretary-designee for the Department of Information Technology.
- Rob Black is the secretary-designee for the Economic Development Department.
- Emily Kaltenbach is the secretary-designee for the Aging and Long-Term Services Department.
- Melanie Kenderdine is the secretary-designee for the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
- Mariana Padilla is the secretary-designee for the Public Education Department.
Two additional agency leaders are in acting roles, but Lujan Grisham has not officially nominated them to the Cabinet:
- Gina DeBlassie is the acting secretary for the Department of Health. She replaced former secretary Patrick Allen last month.
- Anna Silva is the acting secretary for the General Services Department. She will replace outgoing secretary Robert Doucette, who steps down at the end of the year.
Three other high-ranking state official appointments that are not Cabinet positions are also in the queue for Senate confirmation: Heather Jordan is the director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration, Chris Hefner is the state mine inspector and Elizabeth Anderson is the state engineer.
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In total, there are 27 positions in the governor’s Cabinet.
Cabinet secretaries are considered for confirmation by the nine-member Senate Rules Committee, and if they get voted in, their nominations go to the full Senate for a vote.
The Rules Committee’s staff initiates background checks for all appointments, said Chris Nordstrum, a spokesperson for the Senate majority.
A private vendor will verify the nominees’ identity, credit and loan information, liens and judgements, court records and property ownership, Nordstrum said
The New Mexico Department of Justice checks for criminal records, he said.
Of the 42 members of the Senate, 16 will be newly elected. That means all of the legislative committees in the upper chamber are expected to change membership, Nordstrum said.
Committee assignments will be announced as soon as the Committees’ Committee meets and then the full Senate approves their decisions, Nordstrum said. The Committees’ Committee is an administrative panel that picks the leadership and members of all committees in the Senate.
That typically occurs on the session’s first day, Jan. 21.
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