On Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced yet another departure from her ever-changing administration, full of scandal and controversy. This time, the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) secretary Brian Blalock announced he was jumping ship from the Lujan Grisham regime to “support his wife’s pursuit of new work opportunities in California.”
In his place, Lujan Grisham appointed former associate justice to the New Mexico Supreme Court Barbara J. Vigil to be acting secretary.
“We are lucky to have her, and I’m very grateful to her for her willingness to step back into the arena and take on a challenging opportunity for the benefit of children and families of New Mexico,” said Lujan Grisham.
Republican House Leader responded to the latest departure, writing, “In order for any management system to work, you need consistency and the only thing consistent about [Gov. Lujan Grisham]’s management is that she is constantly replacing staff. I sure hope that the many new cabinet secretaries are able to hold steadfast and not get sucked into the fourth floor’s revolving door.”
Blalock is known for implementing the Gov. Lujan Grisham regime’s data deletion policy, where public records were deleted from the communication application “Signal.”
Once two officials at CYFD tried to bring the policy’s security and transparency concerns to the attention of Blalock, they were fired, in what they contend was retaliation.
Now, it is clear that a similar public records deletion policy exists across the administration, with the “Microsoft Teams” application auto-deleting public documents, in direct violation of the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).
Blalock’s sudden departure comes after other cabinet secretaries and staffers have left abruptly, including former staffer to Lujan Grisham who allegedly tried to silence the governor’s sexual accuser Dominic Gabello.
Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) Secretary Bill McCamley quit after revelations that DWS was missing $250 million due to “fraudulent claims and human error”
In July, the Governor’s Department of Health and Department of Information Technology (DIT) secretaries left following multiple scandals, including the data deletion issue overseen ad implemented by DIT.
I’m curious if retired Justice Vigil now gets to double dip off of the few taxpayers left, and if so how “New Mexico” is THAT!
How obvious does it get that deleting public information is a cover up for criminal behavior. This administration is one of the most devious and corrupt that has existed . And in NM that’s saying a lot. The revolving door is only a subterfuge to fool the public. Out of sight, out of mind. And the games continue.