By Abby McDonald
The Albuquerque City Council met last Monday night to appoint a new inspector general and two new members of the Ethics Board.
The position of the inspector general, previously held by Melissa Santistevan, was put on leave for her final remaining months after finding out that nine reports were not made public. Santistevan will be replaced by William Hoffman. Joseph Throneberry and Gregory McCormick were also candidates for this position.
The inspector general’s role is to conduct investigations and inspections, pushing the government to have accountability and transparency.
Hoffman is the founder of San Diego-based Gryphon Workplace Investigations and was also the director of investigations and operations at the University of California San Diego. On top of that, Hoffman was a special agent at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General.
The position of city auditor is going to continue to be filled by Marisa Vargas, who has been in this position since February 2023.
The role of a city auditor consists of evaluating the financial side of a city’s operations and ensuring transparency and efficiency.
Finally, there was the vote for two new residents to the Board of Ethics. Clayton King and Levi Green are set to serve on the board until July 2027, replacing Josh Martinez and Jim Collie, who had resigned.
King is a commercial real estate professional in Albuquerque, and Green has been an associate director of different construction companies.
The board’s position involves receiving and inspecting complaints about violations of the code of ethics set in place for the city to follow.