SANTA FE – New Mexico’s top finance official is leaving the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as the state confronts a looming budget crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.
Finance and Administration Secretary Olivia Padilla-Jackson told agency staff members Tuesday that she will leave her position at the end of May for a job closer to family in Albuquerque. It was unclear who will serve as her immediate successor.
Appointed last year as Lujan Grisham took the reins of state government, Padilla-Jackson previously served stints in high-level finance posts at with the city of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and the state Board of Finance. She also has served as a staff economist and analyst at the nonpartisan budget accountability office for the Legislature.
Padilla-Jackson oversaw state finances as record breaking oil production boosted state income to unprecedented levels, allowing new multibillion-dollar investments in public education, health care and infrastructure.
Under her tenure, the state sped up and improved its core financial reporting procedures and set aside at least $1.3 billion in financial reserves.
The coronavirus is likely to open a major deficit in the state budget. Lujan Grisham expects to call a special session in June before the start of a new fiscal year on July 1.
