New auditor
Gov. Susana Martinez will appoint a replacement for Tim Keller
SANTA FE — Tim Keller’s victory in Albuquerque’s mayoral runoff election this week will soon leave a vacancy in the state Auditor’s Office — a position Keller has held for almost three years.
Keller and staffers indicated Wednesday he intends to step down as auditor on Nov. 30, before he’s sworn in as mayor.
“I think it would just be great for the city and the Auditor’s Office to have a simultaneous clean break,” Keller told reporters during a luncheon with outgoing Mayor Richard Berry. “So, that’s certainly the goal.”
Gov. Susana Martinez will have the authority to fill the position once Keller steps down, and a spokesman said she intends to accept applications from those interested in the job.
“From those applications, she will appoint a new state auditor who adheres to high ethical standards and is committed to rooting out fraud, waste and abuse,” Martinez spokesman Joseph Cueto said.
Regardless of who is selected for the post, the allure of an open seat could set off a political scramble for 2018. That’s when the seat, and other statewide offices, will be up for election.
Three-term state Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Las Cruces, announced his bid for state auditor Wednesday morning, just hours after Keller’s victory, saying he would continue some of Keller’s initiatives while also emphasizing job creation, ethics and scrutiny of state tax breaks.
“As someone who is concerned about public policy and New Mexico, the auditor seems like a natural fit to me,” McCamley told the Journal.
McCamley is currently chairman of the House Labor and Economic Development Committee. He would have to give up his House seat to run for state auditor next year, and he said he’s prepared to do that.
However, McCamley said he doesn’t plan to apply for the job in the coming weeks, citing a promise made to constituents to complete the two-year House term he was elected to in 2016.
Per the state Constitution, the governor has the authority to appoint anyone she chooses, regardless of party, to complete Keller’s four-year term as auditor.
Whoever is selected would likely hold the office for at least a year, through next year’s election cycle. One potential candidate could be Robert Aragon, a Republican who was defeated by Keller in the 2014 race for auditor. Aragon lost a race for an open Albuquerque City Council seat in Tuesday’s runoff election. He did not immediately respond to questions about his potential interest in the job.