Early voting is underway and the race for New Mexico’s next auditor is now between former Española mayor and a complete newcomer to the world of politics.
The state auditor conducts regular financial reviews of state and local public entities and can step in to audit an agency if there are suspicions of mismanagement.
Source NM’s Patrick Lohmann reports, current State Auditor Brian Colón is leaving the office to run for New Mexico attorney general, an office currently held by a previous state auditor, Hector Balderas. Another previous auditor, Tim Keller, is now mayor of the city of Albuquerque. So the office offers the potential to leverage the experience into other political roles. Republicans have held the office only three times since 1931, and two of those were appointed by governors, according to Wikipedia.
In this election, former Española mayor Joseph Maestas, a Democrat, is running against Libertarian Travis Steven Sanchez.
There is no Republican in the auditor race.
Maestas, also a former city councilor for Santa Fe, sits on the Public Regulation Commission. He says he would build effective financial management in public agencies and also increase the authority of his office to crack down on adult guardianships that exploit vulnerable people.
Sanchez has been a small business owner since 2016 who works in medical device sales in Rio Rancho. He told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he’s not a politician and has no political aspirations. He says wants to see our elected officials held accountable.
