Dona Ana County residents protest treasurer who admits to offering employee money for sex

Update: A handful of protesters gathered in Las Cruces Tuesday morning to call for the resignation of Dona Ana County Treasurer David Gutierrez.

A county employee said Gutierrez offered her $1,000 in exchange for sex, an allegation Gutierrez did not dispute.

“There is one low point from last year that I feel I must touch on and that was the action by the county treasurer, David Gutierrez, which led to his censure by the board of county commissioners and their call for his resignation. A call which he unfortunately has not heeded,” Dona Ana County Manager Julia Brown said during her speech.

Brown told ABC-7 last week that Gutierrez “breached a promise to the voters.”

The county censured Gutierrez, but it cannot remove him from office because he is an elected official. Voters would have to gather enough signatures to recall Gutierrez.

“The treasurer is operating under some self-imposed delusion that he didn’t do anything wrong,” Brown told ABC-7 last week. “It is astonishing to me because these charges were not made up and I’m not even saying allegations because he confessed.”

Earlier this year, Gutierrez published a letter in which he outlined his reasons for not stepping down.

“I will not resign. I have 38,867 reasons why I won’t resign. That is the number of people who voted to re-elect me in 2012,” the treasurer stated. “The citizens of Dona Ana County trust me and approve of my job performance. I have done nothing over my 14 years in office to violate their trust.”

Original story: After harsh words from Dona Ana County Manager Julia Brown, a group of residents have planned a protest against county treasurer David Gutierrez.

Gutierrez admitted to offering a co-worker $1,000 in exchange for sex last August. He later said he thought it would flatter her.

Gutierrez was reprimanded, but refused to step down from his position after calls from county officials for his resignation.

The county treasurer maintains he will not step down because the public still trusts him.

A protest is planned for Tuesday morning at 8 am outside the Dona Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces. Some county commissioners are expected to join in the demonstration before their weekly meeting at 9am.

During the State of the County address Monday, Brown said the county does not condone Gutierrez’s acts.

“I don’t know what kind of selective amnesia he suffers from, but he does know what he did wrong. He confessed to it,” said Brown.

Brown added his acts are ”despicable”.

She told ABC-7 Monday she wants voters to organize a recall election.

“If there ever was a time when people should dig deep and volunteer to do it, this is the time to do it.”

The county can not fire him because he is an elected official.