Governor announces new aging secretary
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday moved to fill one of two openings in her Cabinet, appointing Katrina HotrumLopez to take over the reins of the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department.
Hotrum-Lopez has been Bernalillo County’s director of behavioral health services since 2016 and previously ran the county’s substance abuse programs.
She will succeed Alice Liu McCoy, who was recently hired as executive director of the state Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, as the aging agency’s secretary.
Lujan Grisham, a first-term Democrat, said that HotrumLopez and McCoy will work closely together in their new roles, while also claiming the Aging and Long-Term Services Department had been marginalized under the administration of former Gov.
Susana Martinez.
“We continue to build up our team of devoted advocates in our Cabinet, and New Mexicans will be the beneficiaries of their expertise and passion,” said Lujan Grisham, who previously ran the aging agency under three different governors.
While not a high-profile agency, the Aging and Long-Term Services Department oversees a range of senior services — including transportation, meals and caregiver support — for thousands of elderly New Mexicans.
More than 30% of New Mexicans age 65 and older reported they were in fair to poor health in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. That rate was the highest in the region and above the national average.
Hotrum-Lopez, 49, who is also a former deputy secretary of the state Department of Health, said Friday that improving the Aging and Long-Term Service Department’s services and oversight will be a top priority in her new $150,000-per year job.
Meanwhile, Lujan Grisham could also move soon to address a second vacancy in her Cabinet, after abruptly dismissing Karen Trujillo as the Public Education Department’s secretary last month.
Kara Bobroff is serving as interim PED secretary, and the Lujan Grisham administration has launched a nationwide search to identify a permanent pick for the job.
Although Cabinet turnover is not uncommon during a governor’s tenure, the two departures from Lujan Grisham’s Cabinet came less than seven months after the governor was sworn into office.