Las Cruces city government hasn’t filled vacancies in top administrative posts
There are currently three interim directors managing city government in Las Cruces.
William Studer took over as interim city manager after Stuard Ed resigned in April, according to city staff.
Dr. Griselda Martinez is the interim director of Economic Development while Phil San Filippo is on leave, according to the city website.
Jo Richards became the interim director of Human Resources after Andre Moquin resigned in June, according to a city spokeswoman.
The Las Cruces City Council and Mayor Ken Miyagishima have only one employee: the city manager.
“The city has turnover all the time,” said Studer, the interim city manager. “When you have 1,600 plus positions in the city, a number of them are going to be vacant at any time.”
Studer told ABC-7 that he has two years of experience in the city of Las Cruces, but 40 years of experiencing managing other government departments in Texas.
“It is important to have some stability like that in any position in any organization,” Studer said.
He also said the city expects to hire a new director of human resources in the next few weeks.
“If I could use the analogy of say, a basketball team, our bench is pretty deep,” Miyagishima said. I wouldn’t say that this is extremely urgent.”
Before the city’s elected officials hire a new city manager, Miyagishima said they are waiting for the newly elected council to take office in January.
“It’s important that the new city council, since this is going to be someone that they’re going to work with, have an opportunity to lend themselves to get to know them and have a part in hiring them,” Miyagishima said.
