State

Attorney General Hector Balderas

Office of the Attorney General

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On Tuesday, November 4th, 2014, Hector Balderas was elected the 31st Attorney General for the State of New Mexico. Hector is eager to take on new and exciting challenges as Attorney General. He is committed to serving as the people’s advocate and voice, and will work to protect New Mexico’s citizens by focusing on economic security and public safety.

Hector was raised by a single mother in the small village of Wagon Mound, New Mexico. Growing up in public housing and on food stamps, he learned the importance of compassion and respect, and gained the conviction that everyone – no matter their background – deserves the same opportunities to succeed. Through hard work and by overcoming tough financial hardship, Hector earned degrees from New Mexico Highlands University and the University of New Mexico Law School. He became the first person from Wagon Mound to graduate from law school and become an attorney.

After law school, Hector turned down opportunities to work in the private sector and instead chose to pursue his passion for public service. He became a Bernalillo County Assistant District Attorney and quickly earned a reputation as a fierce advocate for fairness and justice.

In December 2003, Hector returned to Wagon Mound with his wife and three young children to give back to his rural community. At age 29, with no prior political experience, Hector ran for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives. He defeated the heavily favored incumbent in the Democratic primary by a two-to-one margin and ultimately prevailed over his Republican opponent in the general election. During his tenure as State Representative, Hector brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass sweeping legislation to strengthen penalties for sexual predators; establish incentives for clean energy; invest in rural public schools; enact reforms to the criminal justice system; crack down on drunk drivers; and protect consumers from price gouging in times of emergency or disaster. Hector’s bipartisan approach and legislative accomplishments led to recognition of his work by a diverse set of groups, ranging from the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce to the League of Conservation Voters. The New Mexico State Bar Association also acknowledged Hector for his achievements by naming him Outstanding Young Lawyer of New Mexico for 2006.

While serving as State Representative, Hector became frustrated by the lack of accountability for local and state officials who wasted and abused taxpayer dollars without consequence. Pledging to New Mexicans to bring transparency to government’s financial affairs, Hector was elected New Mexico’s State Auditor in November 2006. At the time of his election, he became America’s youngest Hispanic statewide elected official.

As New Mexico’s State Auditor, Hector inherited an underfunded office with audit oversight of $60 billion in assets collectively held by over 1000 government entities. He immediately pursued an aggressive agenda designed to protect taxpayer funds and hold government agencies accountable. Hector created a Special Investigations Division in his office that brings together investigators, accountants and attorneys to target complex fraud cases. He also launched a toll free, statewide hotline that any citizen can use to report suspected fraud, waste or abuse of public resources.

During his time in office, Hector’s aggressive efforts to target corruption have yielded historic results. His special audits and investigations exposed rampant financial mismanagement of taxpayer funds at New Mexico’s regional housing authorities; revealed questionable public land deals given to private contractors by a former state land commissioner; identified the misuse of state vehicles at the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission; found overbilling by private contractors at the New Mexico Corrections Department; and uncovered evidence related to the New Mexico Finance Authority’s issuance of a fraudulent audit report for 2011. His special audit of the City of Sunland Park, which found widespread violations of law by certain city officials and employees, resulted in the first state government takeover of the management of a city. In addition, Hector’s auditors uncovered the largest public school embezzlement in state history: a $3.3 million embezzlement scheme at the Jemez Mountain School District. Hector also led efforts to reform state laws to impose penalties on governments that fail to submit audits and to bring financial relief to rural governments struggling to pay high audit costs.

Hector’s aggressive and successful record of strengthening accountability in state and local government agencies has been lauded by independent groups and by New Mexico’s voters, who re-elected him in 2010 with overwhelming support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Also in 2010, Hector was awarded the New Frontier Award by the Harvard Institute of Politics and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. The annual award is given to Americans whose contributions in elective office or community service demonstrate the impact and value of public service in the spirit of John F. Kennedy.

Hector lives in Albuquerque with his wife Denise and their three children, Hector Reyes Jr., Mariola, and Arianna. He is licensed to practice law in New Mexico and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. In addition, he donates his time promoting financial literacy for at risk youth and advocating for the special needs community.

State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg

Office of the State Treasurer
2055 South Pacheco Street, Suites 100 & 200
PO Box 5135
Santa Fe, NM 87505-5135

Phone: (505) 955-1120

Tim Eichenberg assumed office on January 1, 2015, becoming the 29th State Treasurer of New Mexico. Raised in Albuquerque, NM he attended Albuquerque Public Schools and graduated from the University of New Mexico. Eichenberg and his wife have two adult children and two dogs. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and has served on the Boards for the National Kidney Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.

Eichenberg’s career in public service began in 1974, when he was elected Bernalillo County Treasurer. The reforms that were implemented during his tenure saved taxpayers money and led to his re-election in 1976. After serving two terms as Bernalillo County Treasurer, Eichenberg went to work in the private sector. He operated a small business in Albuquerque for over 30 years as a Property Tax Consultant, State Certified Appraiser, General Contractor (GB-98) and as a Real Estate Broker.

In 1994, Eichenberg was elected to the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority Board, a position he still holds today. Then in 2004, Eichenberg was appointed by Governor Richardson to the position of New Mexico State Property Tax Director.

Eichenberg was elected to the New Mexico State Senate in 2008. As a state senator, Eichenberg served on the Public Affairs and Judiciary committees; and was Chair of the Restructuring Committee, which sought to streamline state government and save taxpayers money. In 2010, Eichenberg carried the Governmental Conduct Act, establishing a code of ethics for all government employees. In 2012, Eichenberg served as Chair of the Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee.

State Auditor Tim Keller

State Auditor Tim Keller

2540 Camino Edward Ortiz, Suite A
Santa Fe, NM 87507
Phone: 505.476.3800

Elected in 2014, Timothy Keller became one of the youngest State Auditors in the country.  He is focused on making government work better by providing transparency and accountability for all tax dollars spent in New Mexico.  His vision for the office includes the development of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) to improve policy and drive compliance for the equitable and efficient distribution of financial resource throughout the state, and the integration of the annual audit process with special investigations to push accountability for better government financial decision making year after year comparative basis.

Previous to his role as State Auditor, Tim was elected twice to the State Senate in one of the most diverse districts in New Mexico, encompassing Albuquerque’s International District.  He rose to the position of Majority Whip and introduced over 100 measures, successfully passing 30 pieces of primary sponsored legislation including reforming the PRC (Public Regulation Commission), tax incentive reform, and in state business preference to create local jobs.

Tim was born and raised in New Mexico and is an Eagle Scout, Toll and Kellogg Fellow.  Following graduation from St. Pius X High School, he attended the University of Notre Dame, where he double majored in Finance and Art History.  He then went on to earn an MBA with honors from the Harvard Business School where he also competed on the rugby and debate teams.

In addition to his public service, Tim spent fifteen years in the private sector.  He began his career as an investment banker for Credit Suisse and later was a Senior Manager at what is now Booz & Co.  In between, Tim lived in Cambodia for three years where he helped found and became President of Data Digital Divide (DDD), the nation’s first IT firm which extends help to land mine victims and other disadvantaged persons.  Tim spent the last six years was a business economist with Blue Stone Strategy Group focused on helping Native American business and government financial operations.

Tim lives in Albuquerque with his wife, Elizabeth Kistin Keller and their daughter Maya.