Former TRD Cabinet Secretary Demesia Padilla NMDP News:
The Democratic Party of New Mexico released the following statement after Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD) Cabinet Secretary Demesia Padilla resigned from her position for an egregious abuse of power.
The resignation comes after New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller conducted investigations into Secretary Padilla’s conduct giving preferential treatment to a client, which resulted in lost revenue for the state.
“This resignation is a signal that Secretary Padilla participated in egregious misconduct that the Martinez administration is known for. This abuse of power cost the state money at a time when we are facing serious budget shortfalls, and I commend Auditor Keller and AG Balderas for doing their due diligence to investigate and ensure New Mexico isn’t cheated out of revenues in the future,” said Chairwoman Debra Haaland of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.
More than a year ago, Haaland called for the Secretary’s resignation when it was revealed that Padilla used her official position to pressure TRD employees to give a sweetheart deal to a taxpayer, and planned to protect herself from the mistakes she made in her previous work as an accountant. Martinez did not call for Padilla’s resignation at that time.
This latest resignation comes in a long line of mismanagement and misconduct by state GOP officials, including an investigation into the Human Services Department for tampering with food assistance applications, news about mismanagement of rape kit backlogs in the state, and the governor’s late night call to State Police after a staff holiday party.
