Romero’s comments on Bull Ring bill differ from earlier statements
The most recent explanation by the former executive director of the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities about who picked up a nearly $300 tab for a highly publicized late-evening dinner with drinks at The Bull Ring steakhouse last year conflicts with her previous statements about the charge.
Andrea Romero, a legislative candidate who has been under fire over thousands of dollars in improper reimbursements during her time at the coalition, told the Los Alamos Daily Post earlier this week that she split the $286 bill with Harris Walker, director of intergovernmental and stakeholder engagement at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
“The intention was for me to cover food and he to cover anything else,” Romero is quoted as saying.
Romero’s assertion that Walker paid for alcohol included on the tab at the downtown Santa Fe restaurant and bar, or at least a portion of it, is the first time she has said so publicly. She previously had said she paid The Bull Ring bill and similar charges and was later reimbursed.
Such expenditures have become a major issue for Romero,
who served as the coalition’s executive director from 2015 to February, as she campaigns for a seat in the state House of Representatives. The coalition’s spending resulted in two audits and an independent investigation and sparked calls by some Democratic Party leaders for Romero to step down. Others have called for a criminal investigation.
In her interview with the Daily Post, Romero said Walker didn’t pay for the alcohol in his official role as a federal employee but that “he is joining with us in his unofficial capacity when he’s putting his credit card down.”
Walker did not return multiple messages seeking comment. But a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said Walker did nothing wrong.
“While NNSA was not asked to provide any information for this audit, we did an internal review of the dinner referenced in the report and our employee’s participation did not violate any legal or ethical regulations,” the spokeswoman, Lindsey Geisler, said in a statement.
According to records, Romero sought — and received — reimbursement for the entire $286 bill, not just the food portion.
Asked about the discrepancy, Romero’s campaign manager, Neri Holguin, pointed to the Aug. 11, 2017, receipt from The Bull Ring and said it had been split in half. The bill states “Reprint #2.”
“Andrea fronted and paid the $286 bill,” Holguin said in an email.
Holguin also wrote that Los Alamos County, which acts as the coalition’s fiscal agent, reviewed the bill and that Santa Fe County Commissioner Henry Roybal, then the coalition’s treasurer, approved the reimbursement.
Romero has said she was following established protocols and didn’t know she was violating a coalition policy that prohibited reimbursement for the purchase of alcohol. In addition, she has pointed out that others, including Los Alamos County and Roybal, reviewed and signed off on the reimbursement requests.
“To remind you, because the Bull Ring meal included alcohol, it was included in what Andrea paid back to the Coalition months ago,” Holguin wrote.
Asked by The New Mexican this week why she would seek reimbursement for the entire $286 bill if Walker had paid for the alcohol, which included martinis, wine and vodka, Romero said she essentially paid the bill without looking at it.
“Here’s what I remember from a year ago: we said we’d share the bill,” Romero said in an email.
“When the waiter gave me my bill, I paid $286.78 which is what I submitted for reimbursement. I did not look at the bill that Harris received, and why would I have? I paid the bill in front of me, which I assumed was for half or some portion of the meal,” she wrote. “I first saw the itemized bill earlier this year.”
Romero also told the Daily Post that expenses incurred on official
coalition business were reimbursable but that “100 percent anything improper,” such as alcohol, “was not to be expended.” Romero has maintained that she was unaware that reimbursements for alcohol were prohibited.
The New Mexican requested a telephone or face-to-face interview with Romero, but she responded only via email.
“I’ve been on the record many times saying it was poor judgment to not know that alcohol was not allowed for Regional Coalition Board convening meetings,” she wrote in a follow-up email. “Again, had I known, I would not have submitted reimbursements for it. What I was trying to explain is that Harris, as a federal employee, knew he could not accept meals, or alcohol, etc, and would have to pay his share. I recall a casual conversation where he said he would pick up a part of the check, the alcohol, and put it on his personal credit card.”
The Bull Ring bill is among dozens that two separate audits and an independent investigation identified as improper reimbursements.
A special audit by the New Mexico State Auditor’s Office found more than $51,500 in “improper expenditure payments” from July 2014 through June 2018, including $26,862 to Andrea Romero Consulting Inc., a Santa Fe-based consulting firm owned by Romero.
The Bull Ring receipt, which is time-stamped 10:45 p.m., shows the purchase of 10 alcoholic beverages, four beef tenderloins at $24 apiece and two orders of french fries, each $9. According to coalition records, Romero and Walker took part in the dinner along with former Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales and former Los Alamos County Councilor Kristin Henderson, both of whom used to serve on the coalition board.
The coalition, which comprises nine cities, towns, counties and pueblos near Los Alamos National Laboratory, describes itself as a conduit for Northern New Mexico communities to have a say in government decision-making concerning regional economic development and nuclear cleanup at the lab.