Quezada complains again against fellow commissioner, who throws some shade his way

May 20—Bernalillo County District 2 Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada submitted an informal ethics complaint with the State Ethics Commission centering on District 3 Commissioner Adriann Barboa's work as a lobbyist. Quezada is also asking the County Compliance Office to investigate a set of allegations focused on how commissioners communicate with county staff.

Informal ethics complaint

Barboa works for Forward Together, a reproductive justice organization, and for years has lobbied on behalf of Forward Together at the state Legislature.

Lobbyists have to register or renew their registration with the Secretary of State's Office prior to lobbying.

Quezada's complaint alleges that Barboa began lobbying for Forward Together in January before registering as a lobbyist in February. The complaint also alleges that "Barboa may have violated the Governmental Conduct Act by leveraging her position as a Bernalillo County Commissioner to advocate for interests aligned with her employer, Forward Together, without clear authorization or alignment with Bernalillo County's priorities," and claims she hindered the county's legislative advocacy efforts.

" Steven Michael Quezada's latest ethics complaint against me deserves the same eye roll and groan that his jokes get," Barboa said in a statement. "While he's been wasting time and taxpayer dollars filing four politically motivated ethics complaints against me, I've been busy working hard for my constituents."

Along with being a county commissioner, Quezada is also a stand-up comedian and actor.

Quezada has a history of filing ethics complaints against his fellow commissioners with the Bernalillo County Compliance Office. Some have resulted in findings, and others have been dismissed.

In 2023, Quezada filed an ethics complaint with the Bernalillo County Compliance Office alleging that Barboa violated the county code of conduct by not disclosing her role as a registered lobbyist and not recusing herself from a vote on filling a state House seat. The Bernalillo County Code of Conduct Review Board dismissed that complaint.

Compliance Office concerns

In April, Bernalillo County's Chief Compliance Officer Rocky Gutierrez asked the Bernalillo County Commissioners to withdraw the resolution outlining the county manager hiring process. The commission did not.

Gutierrez's letter said that the Compliance Office had received anonymous and informal complaints related to: alleged retaliation in the form of alteration of job roles; allegedly directing staff to override the will of the Board of County Commission outside of a public meeting; actions potentially bypassing county rules and procedures, including rules for board appointments; and alleged unauthorized direct communication, sidestepping hierarchy by directing and instructing nonreporting personnel.

In a letter dated May 7, Quezada asked the Bernalillo County Compliance Office to investigate those allegations. The Compliance Office told Quezada that it would conduct a thorough investigation, Quezada said.

Commissioner Walt Benson said that he agrees with Quezada's request for an investigation and his ethics complaint. Benson tried to start a discussion of the Chief Compliance Officer's letter during an April 23 commission meeting.