Re-Elect

Mary Herrera For Secretary of State

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mary Herrera Campaign (505) 877-0789

Mary Herrera Responds to Unsubstantiated Accusations

SANTA FE - I will respond to the unsubstantiated accusations I have seen in media reports made by
some former disgruntled employees.
 Porn on the computer –My laptop was running slow, so I had my IT staff diagnose the problem.
A malware intrusion was discovered. The IT staff wiped the laptop clean and reinstalled the
operating system and software. From this, a disgruntled employee spread the rumor about porn
being discovered on my laptop and allegedly reported this to the FBI. After investigations, we
discovered this same employee was the first to have a malware intrusion on his desktop, which
could have infected other computers.

 Having employees campaign or prepare for social functions during state time –That is strictly
forbi
dd en.Ie xpe c
te ache mploy eet opu tinaf ullda y’swor
kbe forer eceivingtheirp ayc he ck
funded by taxpayers. Leave must be pre-approved for employees requesting time off for non-
work related purposes and our office records prove this.

 “Payt opl ay ”or“s hakingdo wnf i

rms ”–My staff looked into having vendors provide
refreshments for a county clerk training session, which had been done for decades. (Less than
$500 for drinks and snacks.) Legal counsel assured us, this practice was not illegal, but advised us
to seek sponsorships from multiple vendors. Instead, I immediately put a stop to it. Is this pay to
play? It is common practice for government groups such as legislative committees, professional
org aniza t
ionsa nda ss
oc i
ationsofg overnme nto ffic
ialstoh ave“ privat
elys pon sored”di nne rsa nd
receptions. Most sponsored events cost significantly more than $500. A TV news report about a
mon tha gode s
cri
be da“ privatelys po nsored ”me et
ingofg overnme ntoffici
a lsa tac ostof
$200,000.

 Another allegation was that I requested employees to get 1,000 petition signatures for me to
qualify for the ballot in the primary election –It was not required that any of my employees
collect petition signatures. If some were collected, I appreciated the assistance. I submitted over
10,000 signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Who got the signatures? I collected
approximately 7,000 myself –I ’
mat irelesswor ker .Ther estc amef romf amily ,g oodfriendsa nd
supporters and I am grateful to them for their assistance and continued support.

Credibility of Unsubstantiated Allegations by Disgruntled Employees

Do disgruntled employees have the credibility to discredit the reputation of an elected public official,
without providing any evidence to their allegations? Should their continued antics and staged incidences
be prominently reported by the press? Has anyone noticed the numerous incestuous associations between
thi
sg roupa ndmyop pone nt’ss uppor t
e rs,wor k i
ngf uriouslyt oda ma g emyr eputation?
The media has an obligation to establish the credibility of individuals making such allegations; assure
that their allegations are supported by solid evidence; and, provide fair and balanced reporting to the
public. Have reporters established the credibility of these allegations based on solid evidence? If reporters
have n ’
tdon ethe i
rh ome wor ktode t
ermi net hec redibili
tyofa llegations by disgruntled employees, they
have contributed to the unfair character assassination of a dedicated public servant.
“
At l
-Wil
”Emp
loy
ees
Did I fire Whistleblowers? No, that’sagains tstat
el aw.Il etg otwo“ a t-will
”e mp loy ees ,whowe re
exempt f romt hec las
s if
iedpersonn elsystem.The“ at-will
”e mpl oye esIh i
rea remyc o rema nageme nt
team, expected to be hard-working, loyal, support the goals and initiatives of my administration and set
the standards for other employees. They are paid well. Each elected official hires a certain number of at-
will employees.
In general, at-will employees can be terminated at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all. If an
at-will employee is disloyal, not accomplishing assigned tasks, is absent without approved leave,
unproductive toward my goals and initiatives, creates a hostile work environment affecting other
employees, snoops within agency records to obtain confidential information, disseminates false and
misleading rumors internally or external to the agency to undermine my administration, I would consider
terminating them. Conversely, if an employee dislikes working in my office, they have the freedom to
leave.
Personal Character
I am proud of my accomplishments and I am confident that my leadership of the office has been carried
out with honesty and integrity to benefit the citizens of New Mexico. It is a great honor and privilege to
serve as New Mexico Secretary of State and I ask for your support to bestow this honor on me once again.

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