Mayor hires city attorney from health agency

Mayor Alan Webber on Thursday hired the top lawyer of the state Department of Health as the city attorney.

Erin McSherry, 37, a University of New Mexico Law School graduate, has led the legal staffs of three state departments.

She began as general counsel of the Department of Tourism in 2012, then moved to the Department of Cultural Affairs and finally the Department of Health, the largest state agency.

Before that, McSherry clerked for the state Supreme Court, serving under then-Justice Richard C. Bosson. She also worked as an analyst for the state Legislative Finance Committee and was editor in chief of the New Mexico Law Review at UNM, where she received her law degree with honors in 2010.

“I’m ready to contribute to this team’s efforts to better serve city residents, grow sustainably and support Santa Fe’s families,” McSherry said in a statement.

Her appointment marks the first of the “big three” hires Webber will make under the city’s new management system, in which the mayor has hiring and firing authority over the city manager, city clerk and attorney.

Each appointee will require the approval of the City Council. McSherry’s appointment will be taken up by councilors on Wednesday, a city spokesman said.

Each person hired so far for a management position in Webber’s administration is a woman.

McSherry joins new Finance Director Mary McCoy, Public Works Director Regina Wheeler, Human Resources Director Bernadette Salazar and Webber’s chief of staff, Jarel Lapan Hill.

“Erin is an accomplished attorney with a public policy perspective honed at the highest levels of government in our state,” Webber said in a statement. “A good city attorney has to run a small law firm and at the same time serve effectively as a public policy adviser — not just to me but to our entire administration and the City Council.”

McSherry will oversee an office of at least six assistant city attorneys and as many as nine other staff members. The department’s annual budget is $1.7 million.

The City Attorney’s Office defends the city in legal proceedings, prosecutes code violators in Municipal Court and provides guidance to the City Council, committees and staff.

Formerly the president of the First Judicial District Bar Association, McSherry succeeds Kelley Brennan, who was appointed city attorney in 2014 by former Mayor Javier Gonzales and was paid more than $118,000 annually. The city did not disclose McSherry’s salary Thursday.

Geno Zamora, himself a former city attorney, has been serving as interim city attorney since Brennan retired this year.

“[McSherry] has a great reputation as a rising star in the legal community and the department is in good hands,” Zamora said in a statement.

The city can terminate its contract with Zamora with 10 days’ written notice. His contract was to expire July 15.

McSherry was a commissioner on the redistricting panel that redrew City Council boundary lines in 2015.

Other senior staff hires still to be made by the Webber administration include city manager; city clerk; police chief; airport manager; and directors of land use, community services, and parks and recreation.