Gabriel I.

Holguin, Board of Trustee

City of Anthony, New Mexico
Tel No: (575)777-1768
Email: gholguin@bot.cityofanthonynm.org

City of Anthony, New Mexico

ATTN: Trustee, Gabriel I. Holguin
820 NM-478
Anthony, New Mexico 88021

New Mexico State Ethics Commission

800 Bradbury Dr SE
Suite 215
Albuquerque NM 87106

New Mexico Secretary of State

Ethics Division
325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501

December 11, 2022

Re: Ethics Complaint regarding violations committed by Diana Murillo in her capacity as Mayor for the
City of Anthony, New Mexico.

To Whom it May Concern:

Complaint One:
It has been recently reported 1 Mayor Diana Murillo of the City of Anthony, New Mexico did not properly
follow City ordinances that allowed for the hiring of an Interim City Manager. On February 14, 2022, the
Municipality's Governing Body, its Board of Trustees, terminated its agreement with the City's leader at
the time, Oscar Dominguez. This termination was pursuant to City Ordinance 2019-002 (Amended), An
Ordinance of the City of Anthony to Provide for the Hiring of a City Manager, provides policy for the
hiring, termination, and duties of the City's Chief Administrative Officer.

Section 5 of the ordinance, Appointment of Interim City Manager for a vacant position, states that
Trustees may suggest and recommend individuals to the Mayor for the interim position. Furthermore,
consideration for the appointment of the interim position shall take place at that regular meeting, which
was not done in this case. More than one Trustee recommended potential candidates to the Mayor for the
vacant position; however, the Mayor claimed that her office had received no names. A name was
ultimately brought forward to the Governing Body for consideration on May 5, 2022, 80 days after the
termination of Dominguez. This delay and proposed action is outside the scope of the purpose of city
Ordinance 2019-002 (Amended), which required filling the vacancy by the next regular meeting. By then,

1 Las Cruces Sun News, “Mayor acting as 'CEO' one month after city manager terminated” 03.18.22, https://www.lcsun-
news.com/story/news/local/2022/03/18/anthony-new-mexico-city-council-adjourns-meeting-missing-agenda-
items/7035923001/.

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six regular meetings had passed. The mayor’s action and inaction circumvented the purpose of the listed
ordinance.

Complaint Two
On February 14, 2022, the Governing Body terminated Oscar Dominguez, the City Manager at the time.
At the time of the termination, Dominguez had a salary of $70,000. It has been recently reported 2 that
Mayor Murillo "was having trouble appointing an interim because she could not promise a competitive
salary level ." Before March 3, 2022, the City Manager contract's approved pay scale was set from
$60,000 to $76,000. On March 3, 2022; at the City's regular meeting; the Governing Body unanimously
approved an increase to the City Manager's pay scale; increasing it from $70,00 to $85,000 to help
alleviate the trouble of appointing an Interim City Manager. On May 12, 2022; Mario Juarez-Infante;
formerly the Vice President of Wilson and Company; the City's On-Call Engineer, was hired by the
Mayor as the City's Interim City Manager. Juarez-Infante had an approved contract of a $110,000 salary,
which is above the approved salary limit. This is a clear violation of not following the pay scale
previously approved by the Governing Body. Further the Mayor never proposed any amendments to the
City Manager pay scale, she merely set the salary of this employee without consultation and approval of
the City Trustees.

Complaint Three
It has been reported3 on September 26, 2022, the Governing Body, at the Mayor’s request, attempted to
hire the City Manager as the 'Permanent' City Manager. The item was postponed to comply with
Ordinance 2019-002, "An Ordinance of the City of Anthony To Provide for the Hiring of a City
Manager." The Ordinance requires that the position of City Manager shall be advertised for a minimum of
two weeks, which had not been done, prompting the Board to postpone the item. Furthermore, the
Ordinance also states that an Interview committee shall interview a minimum of three candidates. This is
a clear violation of the discussed ordinance.

Complaint Four
On September 23; 2022, the Governing Body received the packet of agenda action items for the
September 26, 2022 meeting from the Mayor; three days before the Governing Body meeting. City
Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2), Article II, subsection 2.1, Preparation and distribution of Agendas;
bullet five states as follows. “The Agenda, along with introductions and related documentation, shall be
available to each member of the Governing Body at least "five days" before the meeting. The Governing
Body received the items three days before the meeting from the Mayor in violation of the standard five
day requirement.

Complaint Five
City Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2), Article II, subsection 2.2, Minutes; bullet B states, "Approval
of the minutes shall be placed on the next regular meeting agenda ." Moreover, NMSA 10-15-14 states
that the Governing Body shall keep a record of all public meetings. "Draft minutes shall be prepared
within ten working days after the meeting and shall be approved, amended, or disapproved at the next
meeting where a quorum is present. Minutes shall not become official until approved by the policymaking
body".
The minutes of the September 26, 2022 meeting; to which the Mayor placed the approval of the City
Manager contract for approval; have not come to the Board for approval and have not be available for
public inspection. This action by the Mayor deliberately violates the discussed City Resolution; as well as
NMSA 10-15-1.

2 Las Cruces Sun News, “City of Anthony names interim police chief amid staff shuffle” 2022, City of Anthony names interim
police chief amid staff shuffle (lcsun-news.com)
3 Las Cruces Sun News, “Anthony delays move to name Mario Juarez Infante as city manager permanently” 2022, Anthony

delays move to name Mario Juarez Infante as city manager (lcsun-news.com)

4 NMSA 10-15-1

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Complaint Six
On September 23; 2022, the Governing Body received the packet for the September 26, 2022, meeting;
which included the proposed City Manager contract. The proposed contract included several items, such
as a five-year term, that would have commenced on September 26, 2022, and continued through
September 26, 2027. City Ordinance 2019-002 (Amended), An Ordinance of the City of Anthony To
Provide for the Hiring of a City Manager, provides policy for the hiring, termination, and duties of the
City's Chief Administrative Officer. Bullet 1 of the ordinance states that the City Manager would have
operated on a yearly contract. The proposed contract, offered by the Mayor, that was up for approval for
the September 26, 2022, meeting; would have violated city Ordinance 2019-002 (Amended) if approved.
Such actions are deliberate attempts by the mayor to circumvent city policy.

Complaint Seven
The mayor has halted monthly budget workshops in violation of city policy. The City of Anthony Open
Meetings Act Resolution 2022-001 states on page three, bullet four that: "Monthly budget workshops will
be scheduled during the fiscal year." The last budget workshop that was brought forward to the
municipality was on July 6, 2022. This violates the City's Open Meetings Act Resolution 2022-001.
Subsequently, on July 6, 2022; Resolution 2022-014 was passed; approving a property tax mill rate from
0.00 to 7.650, bringing in a yearly revenue of approximately $838,667.56. Without close review, city
financials could be hard to track. Therefore, the municipality must follow its own Open Meetings Act
Resolution or face financial instability.

Complaint Eight
City Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2), Article II, subsection 2.3, Order of Business; bullet A
states as follows. "The order of business of the Governing Body shall be conducted in the order ." On
this resolution, public floor items are listed directly at the beginning of the meeting; before any
action items are taken. On several occasions; the Mayor deliberately moved public comment to the
end of the meeting; even after the closed session; in an attempt to discourage members from the
public to speak in public comment. The meeting dates for these occurrences include the following:
• November 2nd, 2022; regular meeting
• November 16th, 2022; regular meeting
o This meeting was postponed due to inadequate publication of the meeting, specifically the
URL, so that people could access the meeting online.
• November 22nd, 2022; special meeting
o The Governing Body voted to postpone the November 16, 2022, meeting because people
would not have been allowed to speak in public comment. A continuance of the meeting
would have violated City Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2).
▪ The Governing Body voted to adjourn the November 16, 2022, meeting, with the
guidance to pursue November 22, 2022, a "Re-convened Regular meeting."
• This ultimately would have had a public meeting at the beginning of the
meeting; however, this was voided because the Mayor guided the staff to
title the November 22, 2022, meeting as a special meeting compared to a re-
convened regular meeting.
The above instances are a clear violation of city Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2), in a deliberate
attempt to discourage the public from speaking to their representatives during public comment after the
fact that items had already been voted on prior to public comment.

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Complaint Nine
The mayor has attempted to silence public comment. It has been recently reported 5 that there was no
seat left empty at the December 7, 2022, regular meeting, with people even standing, as well as
standing outside the City of Anthony Municipal Complex. After a dispute at the November 22, 2022,
meeting, public comment was moved to the beginning of the December 7, 2022, regular meeting.
However, the Mayor had allotted only up to thirty minutes for public comment, which had never
been done before, and had not been listed under the City Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2),
Article II, subsection 2.3, Order of Business. With one Governing body member absent, a majority
of the Governing Body members (2-1) removed the thirty-minute time limit, overwriting what
appeared to be an attempt to keep the public from voicing their concerns to the Governing Body.

Complaint Ten
The mayor has removed agenda items to prevent discussion by the Governing Body. City Resolution
2017-008 (Amendment 2), subsection 1.5, Trustees Responsibilities; bullet A states, "Requests for
initiation of legislation (policy changes, rule changes, resolutions, and ordinances) shall be directed
through the City Manager." Furthermore, bullet B states that the proposing Trustee shall present the
proposed items to the Governing Body. It was recently reported6 that Mayor Murillo had either
removed or not included agenda items that I, Trustee Gabriel I. Holguin, had submitted to the City
Clerk, and Mayor Murillo had allowed to be included onto the agenda. The items I requested
included action items to approve a City Manager Contract, amending a back-pay ordinance, and back
pay for the Projects Coordinator for taking on City Clerk Duties. Per the resolution cited above, a
Trustee must propose new and old legislation as deemed necessary. On the regular meeting of March
17, 2022, the above items were not included on the agenda. With a majority vote, the Governing
Body adjourned without proceeding to any items on the agenda. This is a deliberate example of the
dismissal of my duties as Trustee.

Complaint Eleven
The mayor has removed agenda items proposed by Trustee Holguin to prevent discussion by the
Governing Body. City Resolution 2017-008 (Amendment 2), subsection 1.5, Trustees
Responsibilities; bullet A states, "Requests for initiation of legislation (policy changes, rule changes,
resolutions, and ordinances) shall be directed through the City Manager ." On November 22, 2022,
Mayor Murillo clarified on record that any constituents that may have any issues were directed to
advise Governing Body Members so that those items could be proposed for the subsequent meeting
by a Trustee.

Items are due to the City Clerk the Wednesday before the Governing Body’s regular scheduled
meeting by the end of the business day. On Wednesday, November 30, 2022, I, Trustee Holguin,
submitted items to our Interim City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney well before the deadline.
Items include the following:
• Discussion and update on the possibility of placing a Marquee in front of City Hall
o I have brought this up on numerous occasions, and I would like to see a plan for the
possibility of action.
• Discussion and update on the steps being taken to hire a Public Defender.
• Discussion on new vehicles for the Neighborhood Services Department.

5KFOX TV, “Anthony, New Mexico leaders to discuss lowering 7.65 tax rate each year," 2022,
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/anthony-new-mexico-leaders-to-discuss-lowering-765-tax-rate-each-year

6Las Cruces Sun News, “Anthony's city council met, recited the pledge of allegiance, and adjourned” 2022,
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/2022/03/18/anthony-new-mexico-city-council-adjourns-meeting-missing-
agenda-items/7035923001/

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 o There is a plan for vehicles for the Police Department. However, I am requesting that we
develop a plan for this action. I have requested this a number of times, and I would like to
see a plan for possible action.
• Update on the meeting for the Phase 1 Graffiti Removal.
• Update on Dos Lagos weeds and rubbish and steps being taken to resolve this issue.
o Dos Lagos Golf Course is becoming an issue that we are neglecting. We need to tackle this
issue as soon as possible. This could become a liability for the City. If this is not resolved, I
will have to seek guidance elsewhere.
• Executive session on Westin Humble v. Dona Ana County Board of County Commissioners, et. al.
o This complaint was filed on October 19, 2022, in which the City of Anthony is listed as a
co-defendant. The main complaint listed on the complaint listed "Violations of the
Inspection of Public Records Act ." It has been reported7 That the City of Anthony was
served a summons on October 27, 2022; due to the severity of the issue, the Governing
Body must receive updates on issues like the ones listed above.
• Budget Workshops
o City of Anthony Open Meetings Act Resolution 2022-001; page three, bullet four states the
following. "Monthly budget workshops will be scheduled during the fiscal year ." As stated
before, a budget workshop has not been in front of the Governing Body for months.

Subsequently, on Friday, December 2, 2022; the day that packets are due to the Governing Body; I,
Trustee Holguin, received an email from the City Manager stating the following: “The Mayor has
finalized the agenda. She removed your requested items and asked for her, you and I to sit down next
week to discuss". A follow-up email was sent to Mayor Murillo requesting clarification on why the
agenda items were removed and requesting guidance on how to ensure that agenda items make it onto the
agenda; no response was received. Furthermore, on the December 7, 2022, regular meeting; I requested
clarification from Mayor Murillo on the record requesting guidance on how to make sure an item makes it
onto the agenda, and no clarification was given; responding that it should be in my notes.

The items that had been removed were requests from residents. Mayor Murillo contradicts herself
when she advises residents, on the record, to direct any items and/or issues to Governing Body
members so that they may be placed on the agenda. This is a deliberate disservice to the community
and a violation of city policy.

Complaint Twelve
The mayor consistently violates city policy on decorum. Mayor Murillo has a history of name-calling,
critiquing, and deliberate comments and actions that could be seen as harassment towards myself and
other members of the Governing Body. It has been recently reported8 during the regular meeting on May
5, 2022, Mayor Murillo directed a number of blistering comments of her own toward me. "You stop lying
because there is a code of conduct… We cannot be posting negative stuff on Facebook, and that's all you
do. All you're doing needs to stop because you're not going to make the City look bad. It's not going to get
you anywhere. You're going to burn bridges."

Subsequently, during the August 3, 2022 meeting, on the record, Mayor Murillo made accusations and
unnecessary comments towards me that were uncalled for. Mayor Murillo falsely accused me of pushing

7New Mexico Courts “Westin Humble v. Dona Ana County Board of County Commissioners, et al.” 2022,
https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup/app?component=cnLink&page=SearchResults&service=direct&session=T&sp=S
D-307-CV-202201985

8Las Cruces Sun News, “Decorum breaks after divided vote on nominee who recently left city's engineering contractor” 2022,
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/2022/05/06/anthony-nm-names-mario-juarez-infante-wilson-company-
engineer-interim-city-manager-diana-murillo/9675301002/

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my agenda; for vouching for school resource officer funding at a recent school board meeting. 9. Mayor
Murillo falsely accused me of pushing my agenda, citing when I vouched for school resource officer
funding. Additionally, she mentioned on the record that I "have a fantasy of being a grandiose individual
that could fix the world in my head ." Further, Mayor Murillo compared me to Superman, a superhero,
citing the event where I vouched for more school resource officer funding. In instances like the ones listed
above, removing my proposed agenda items without cause and name-calling does not follow our city code
of conduct. Additionally, I have been the only Governing Body member that faces constant comments like
these and reoccurring removal of agenda items by the Mayor, which could be seen as deliberate
harassment due to my age and inexperience since I took on this role in January of 2022. No one should
have to face deliberate actions like these, which are attempts to undermine my duties as a Trustee and
constitute emotional and mental abuse.

Complaint Thirteen
As a result of the Mayors harassing comments and actions, I introduced Resolution 2022-025, a
resolution for governing body support of community initiatives to encourage more kindness, civility,
cooperation, and respectful dialogue. Ultimately without discussion or comment, Mayor Murillo
ultimately broke a tie, voting against the resolution.

Mayor Murillo actions have forced me to file this complaint seeking help in enforcing city policy
and creating respect in our Governing Body meetings.

Respectfully,

Gabriel I. Holguin
Trustee, City of Anthony, New Mexico

CC
New Mexico Secretary of State
New Mexico State Ethics Commission
Office of the State Attorney General
Office of the State Auditor
Office of the State Treasurer
Raul Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General Elect
Joseph Maestas, New Mexico State Auditor Elect
Laura M. Montoya, New Mexico State Treasurer-Elect

9Las Cruces Sun News, “Anthony official joins Gadsden ISD board in call for more school resource officers” 2022,
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/2022/07/22/gadsden-independent-school-board-calls-for-more-school-
resource-officers-anthony-sunland-park/65380292007/

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