New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran submitted her resignation to Gov. Susana Martinez at midnight, then entered a guilty plea to campaign finance violations Friday morning.
“At midnight, Secretary of State Dianna Duran resigned from office,” wrote Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez in an e-mail. “Until the Governor has had an opportunity to make an appointment, Deputy Secretary of State Mary Quintana will serve as acting Secretary of State.
“The Governor hopes to make an appointment in the coming weeks, which would serve as the Secretary of State until the 2016 presidential election,” Sanchez continued. In the interim, our office will accept resumes and recommendations from the public, lawmakers, and other elected officials. In wake of Ms. Duran’s resignation, the Governor hopes we can come together and move forward as a state.”
Following her resignation, Duran entered into a plea deal Friday morning in Santa Fe District Court.
In a deal that will allow her to keep her state pension, Duran pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors and two felonies Friday morning. She’ll be sentenced on Dec. 14, with a recommendation that she serve five years of supervised probation and repay $14,000 in campaign donations.
Duran served as the elected county clerk of Otero County from 1988 to 1992. She was elected to the state Senate in 1992 and took office in 1993. In 2010, she was elected secretary of state – the first Republican elected to the office since 1928. She won reelection in 2014.
Below is Duran’s brief resignation letter: