29-05-2025
New Mexico State Ethics Commission settles with Cuba mayor
The New Mexico State Ethics Commission has reached a settlement with the mayor of the village of Cuba over alleged violations of the Governmental Conduct Act.
'Following an investigation, the Commission found reason to believe that [Mayor Denny Herrera] improperly benefitted from a village directive requiring employees to exclusively refuel Village vehicles' at a gas station Herrera owns, the commission wrote in a news release announcing the settlement Wednesday.
Herrera, who is serving his first term as mayor, said in an interview Wednesday the directive was issued by 'prior administrations.'
'I should've caught it sooner, since Day 1,' he said. 'It's something that slipped by me, and it shouldn't happen.'
Herrera said the village has long had a charge account at his gas station.
'Once this was brought up, I issued credit cards to everybody in the whole city and released an internal statement stating that they could purchase fuel at any location that accepted WEX cards,' he said. 'All we did was recommend that they purchase it within city limits if they could to keep the fuel tax in the city.'
As part of the agreement, Herrera formally notified the village May 14 of his ownership interest in DDH Inc. Fuel Service Station 'and clarified that village employees are free to purchase fuel from any station that accepts WEX cards, in compliance with state and local procurement rules,' the news release states.
Herrera also agreed to pay $2,500 to the state and $1,000 to the village within seven days of the agreement's execution.
'New Mexico's Governmental Conduct Act broadly prohibits a public officer from using the powers and resources of their public office to obtain a private benefit, and the Act specifically forbids public officers from selling goods, services or construction to public employees under their supervision,' the release states. 'The Commission works so that New Mexicans can trust that public officers will adhere to those basic principles.'
