Santa Fe fills two council liaison jobs

One hire listed city councilors as references; other qualified under tweaked requirements

Nearly a year after the administration of Mayor Alan Webber created two new Santa Fe City Council liaison positions to help elected officials resolve constituents’ concerns, among other duties, the city has finally filled the jobs.

One of the new hires listed two city councilors as references, and the other landed the job after the city scaled down the minimum education requirements originally required to qualify for the job.

Kristine Mihelcic, Constituent and Council Services Division director, said the city hired Jeremy Perea and Isabella Sharpe on their merits, including their experience and strong work ethic, not because of politics.

“I think that the city is really lucky to have both of them,” she said Friday. “They’re really strong.”

Perea, a Capital High School graduate with a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico, left a higher-paying job as assistant executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Fe to work at City Hall.

Perea, who earned $28.63 an hour at the Boys & Girls Clubs, is getting paid $25 an hour at the city, or about $52,000 a year, according to documents obtained under a public records request.

Perea listed City Councilors Roman “Tiger” Abeyta and Chris Rivera among his professional references.

Perea worked under Abeyta at the Boys & Girls Clubs, where Abeyta is chief professional officer. Rivera supervised Perea when Perea worked as an orthopedic assistant and Rivera managed the orthopedics department at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

“When Ms. Mihelcic called me as a reference check, I just listed what I knew about his work activities when I supervised him at the hospital,” said Rivera, who is now manager of the urology clinic. “That’s really all we spoke about.”

The other council liaison, Sharpe, was already employed by the city, working as a constituent services representative under the City Manager’s Office making $18.72 an hour. She is now making $22 an hour, or about $45,750 a year. The city posted the jobs twice. Mihelcic said the first job posting drew about 11 applicants, only three of whom qualified for the job. Mihelcic said she wanted a wider pool of candidates to pick from, so the city readvertised the job.

“Just basically made the decision that I thought it would be in everyone’s best interest to open up the application process one more time,” she said.

The city also changed the job description. Instead of requiring a master’s degree, the revamped minimum qualifications called for a degree or equivalent experience.

“That was one of the key elements changed in the job description,” said Mihelcic, adding that it was difficult to attract candidates with a master’s degree when the pay range started at $17 an hour.

The city, however, was unable to provide a copy of the new job posting with the reduced requirements Friday.

In her résumé, Sharpe wrote that she is attending Santa Fe Community College and hopes to eventually obtain a bachelor’s in psychology.

Mihelcic said Sharpe, who has worked for the city in different jobs since 2012, brings a strong customer service background, in addition to a strong work ethics and knowledge of city ordinances and resolutions.

“I was very impressed with her desire to just really jump in and work,” she said.

Perea “brings an extensive amount of experience in community development, organizational operations and legislation,” in addition to a desire to help his community and improve the way residents view city government, Mihelcic said.

Mihelcic said she thought the pair would make a good team.

Their hiring, she said, also gave her an opportunity to hire two locals “who are familiar with this community and who are committed to this community.”