New Mexico governor appoints former naval officer as Cabinet secretary

May 17—As the largest wildfire in New Mexico history continues burning with just 27 percent containment in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed a former naval officer Monday to lead the department responsible for preparing the state for such emergencies.

David Dye, tapped as secretary-designate of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, has more than 20 years' of experience "managing emergencies and leading teams in challenging environments," according to his résumé.

"David is coming into his new role at a critical time for our state, as wildfires continue to burn and New Mexicans are displaced," Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

"He brings with him an incredible wealth of experience, and David is a proven leader who has all the tools necessary to prepare and respond to any emergency our state may face," she added.

Dye, who started Monday, will be paid $163,090 a year.

"I am grateful to the governor for this opportunity, and I am ready to hit the ground running to take the lead on the incredible work the state has been doing throughout the wildfire events," Dye said in a statement.

He most recently worked at the Santa Fe County Emergency Management Office, "where he crafted the county's new emergency operations plan and led a large-scale wildfire exercise," according to the Governor's Office.

Asked what other wildfire experience he brought to the job, the governor's press secretary, Nora Meyers Sackett, wrote in an email Dye is overseeing a department that does not directly oversee firefighting efforts.

"Sec. Dye brings extensive experience in emergency management and operational preparedness to the position, including experience responding specifically to natural disasters, experience that will be invaluable as New Mexico continues to respond to ongoing wildfires and plans for future climate disasters," she wrote.

Before moving to New Mexico, Dye served as a director of training at Afloat Training Group Mayport in Florida, where he led the Navy's preparation and response for Hurricanes Dorian in 2019 and Hurricane Isaias in 2020.

He also has served in other leadership roles in the Navy, including as a director of operations overseeing seven emergency operations centers at all naval installations in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia, among other duties.

Dye has a bachelor's degree in marine science from Jackson University and a master's in oceanography from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Dye is the department's third full-time Cabinet secretary in Lujan Grisham's administration, following Jackie White, now known as Jackie Lindsey, who resigned in November 2019, and Bianca Ortiz Wertheim, who left the job in January to serve as the governor's director of infrastructure and implementation.

The governor's deputy chief of staff, Diego Arencón, had been filling in as acting secretary.

"As we always do with open positions, we considered a number of candidates for the job before the governor selected Sec. Dye for the position," Sackett wrote.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.