Union officials question prison leadership.
If it weren't for the Treasurer's Office, the New Mexico Corrections Department could make a legitimate claim as the most troubled agency in the state.
In 2005, a nasty split between the corrections union and administrators over salaries and working conditions left both sides on horrible terms. Last year, four guards were attacked at a facility in Santa Rosa, an incident union leaders blamed on a lack of funding. This past April, the ACLU of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Corrections Department for ignoring overcrowding at a women's prison in Grants.
And the bad news keeps on coming.
On May 29, Gov. Bill Richardson removed Secretary of Corrections Joe Williams from office while investigators look into his use of a state cell phone, a state trip and his personal relationship
***image1***
with an out-of-town prison lobbyist. The temporary sacking came on the heels of a May 28 Albuquerque Journal story that detailed Williams' relationship with Ann Casey, an assistant warden at an Illinois prison and a New Mexico lobbyist in 2005.
The day the governor put Williams on unpaid, administrative leave he also appointed Deputy Secretary of Administration Jolene Gonzales to take over day-to-day operations during the interim.
Now, union officials question Gonzales' appointment.
"We're very concerned because Jolene doesn't have a corrections background. You think that would be a prerequisite to run the entire department," Lee Ortega, president of northern sub-local 3422 in Santa Fe, says. "We don't have a clue why she should be appointed."
Richardson initially tapped Gonzales for the deputy secretary post in August 2004. Prior to that appointment, she worked as a budget analyst for the state's Legislative Finance Committee for nearly 10 years. She was also budget bureau chief for the Corrections Department for approximately five months in 2004.
Union officials say none of those jobs translates into the ability to oversee 10 prison facilities and manage more than 2,000 employees throughout the state.
Both Ortega and Dominic Vigil, the state corrections union president, say Erma Sedillo, deputy secretary of operations, should have been appointed acting secretary. Sedillo has worked in the corrections industry for more than 20 years.
"Jolene has no experience. She's basically a bookkeeper. We have a lot of serious issues we're dealing with right now. And she's not capable of handling them," Vigil says. "Erma should have been put in that position."
In response to questions about why the governor chose Gonzales over Sedillo, Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos sent SFR an e-mail statement:
"Governor Richardson is confident that the entire leadership team at the Corrections Department will do a good job of overseeing the operations during this brief period."
Gallegos also stresses Williams will likely be back on the job after the review is completed June 9.
New Mexico Corrections Department spokeswoman Tia Bland repeatedly told SFR that Gonzales was unavailable for an interview.
Union officials have long had a contentious relationship with Williams and his administration, clashing over wages, staffing and other contractual issues [Outtakes, Aug. 3, 2005:
].
In April 2005, union members gave Williams a vote of no confidence, and Vigil says many issues, such as staffing, remain unresolved. According to Vigil, the Corrections Department is more than 300 officers short.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Williams, conducted by the State Personnel Office, continues. State Personnel Director Sandra Perez says she expects to meet the June 9 deadline set jointly by her office and the governor's office.
Union leaders on June 3 gathered in Las Cruces to discuss Williams' leadership, Gonzales' appointment and other ongoing concerns they have relating to work conditions.
Ortega says the union has decided to hold protests within the next month unless Williams is permanently removed from office and is replaced by someone "we can work with."
The protests won't be the first of their kind. In the spring of 2005, the corrections union held demonstrations outside the Roundhouse to protest the Legislature's failure to grant workers a pay raise and what union leaders perceived as Williams' lack of support.
Says Ortega: "We sit down with [the administration] at least once a month. They say they're taking care of the issues we're concerned about but nothing happens. We're tired of playing their game."
