Dianna Duran
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Dianna Duran (born July 26, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 24th Secretary of State of
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. A
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, she was the first member of her party in 80 years to serve in the position. On October 22, 2015, she resigned her position amid a corruption and campaign law investigation. She subsequently pleaded guilty to six of 65 fraud and embezzlement charges against her as part of an agreement reached with the
Attorney General of New Mexico The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...
. Duran was sentenced to 30 days in jail and began her sentence on December 18, 2015. She was previously a New Mexico State Senator from District 40, first elected in 1992.


Family

Duran began her political career as a deputy county clerk in Otero County and served from 1988 to 1992 as Otero County Clerk. In 1993, she became a member of the
New Mexico Senate The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state ...
and remained there until 2010, when she won election as Secretary of State Duran, a New Mexico native and resident of
Tularosa, New Mexico Tularosa is a villageFor census purposes it is called a village, but in New Mexico it is historically called a town. See, for example, Otero, Miguel A. (1903) ''Report of the Governor of New Mexico to the Secretary of the Interior - 1903'' Governme ...
, is married to Leo Barraza; they have five children.


Education

Duran was born in
Tularosa, New Mexico Tularosa is a villageFor census purposes it is called a village, but in New Mexico it is historically called a town. See, for example, Otero, Miguel A. (1903) ''Report of the Governor of New Mexico to the Secretary of the Interior - 1903'' Governme ...
, and attended public schools there, graduating from Tularosa High School in 1973. She attended
New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
.


Career

Duran attended
New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
in
Alamogordo Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...
before beginning work in the Office of the Otero County Clerk in 1979. Elected county clerk in 1988, she served two consecutive two-year terms. In 1992, she was elected to the
New Mexico Senate The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state ...
, serving until 2010, when she resigned after being elected Secretary of State on November 2. While in the Senate Duran pushed for legislation requiring citizens to produce photo ID before they could vote. On January 1, 2011, Duran became New Mexico's 24th Secretary of State. She was the first Republican elected to that office since 1928. She promised initiatives to modernize and streamline operations and cut costs. She said her primary objective was the integrity of the electoral system and that she believed that in a republic, legitimacy rested on the people's belief that elections are conducted fairly, votes are counted correctly, and that only eligible voters are allowed to participate. On July 31, 2011, Duran cited a "culture of corruption" when she turned the names of 64,000 voters over to the state police, saying they did not match the Social Security and motor vehicle data bases. She also said that 117 foreign nationals had registered to vote and 37 had actually done so. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a public information request for the records in question, saying that they wanted to verify the statement. But Duran refused, citing executive privilege. Eventually the figures were amended: actually, two foreign nationals had registered to vote, and of the two only one had actually voted, apparently accidentally. In 2014 Duran won reelection, outspending challenger
Bernalillo County Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...
Clerk
Maggie Toulouse Oliver Maggie Toulouse Oliver (born ) is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secretary of State, Toulouse Oliver was the coun ...
$195,635 to $145,690 on television ads alone. In 2015 she testified in favor of HB340 before the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. The bill, which would have mandated a requirement for voter ID, did pass out of committee on a party-line vote, but died on the floor of the Legislature. In addition to bringing New Mexico into compliance with federal mandates regarding removal of ineligible voters from the rolls, as the chief elections officer of the state, Secretary Duran ended the established practice of single party voting (straight-ticket voting).


Fraud and embezzlement charges

On August 27, 2015,
New Mexico Attorney General The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...
Hector Balderas Hector Hugo Balderas Jr. (born August 16, 1973) is an American lawyer and former prosecutor who has been the attorney general of New Mexico since 2015. In 2006, Balderas became the youngest statewide Hispanic elected official in the nation when he ...
charged Duran with 64 violations in a criminal complaint, including fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, campaign law violations, tampering with public records, conspiracy, and violating the Governmental Conduct Act. The complaint alleged that Duran illegally used campaign funds for personal use. Duran's lawyer responded: "we have identified some serious potential violations of law by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, in conducting the investigation." On October 2, 2015, Duran was also charged with identity theft, her 65th charge, for listing former state Sen. Don Kidd as her 2010 campaign treasurer, although he publicly said he had no knowledge of this and played no such role. On October 23, 2015, Duran entered into a plea deal, entering a guilty plea to six of the 65 charges against her. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Duran kept her pension from the State of New Mexico Public Employees Retirement System.


Resignation and guilty plea

Duran resigned from office late October 25, and formally entered her guilty plea October 26. Sentencing was at the court's discretion, but as part of the agreement, she was barred from future handling of, and responsibility for, public money. Two of the charges are felonies, and felons cannot hold public office in New Mexico. The most serious charge is that while in office and responsible for enforcing campaign finance law, Duran misreported and under-reported campaign contributions from Mack Energy Exploration, an oil energy exploration company based in
Artesia, New Mexico Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, centered at the intersection of U.S. routes 82 and 285; the two highways serve as the city's Main Street and First Street, respectively. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,301. Hist ...
. The agreement leaves open the potential for counseling; at least some of the embezzlement charges stemmed from her use of campaign accounts at Sandia Casino.


Sentencing

On December 15, 2015, Duran was sentenced to 30 days in jail and was ordered to pay $28,000 in fines and restitution. As part of her plea deal, the judge also ordered Duran to complete 2,000 hours of community service, write letters of apology to New Mexicans and campaign donors, and make 144 speeches to school groups and civic groups about her crimes. She was also ordered to continue to attend gambling addiction therapy and forbidden to enter a casino or race track for five years. She began her 30-day sentence on December 18, 2015.


Electoral history

Duran defeated
incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...
Mary Herrera Mary Herrera (born August 27, 1959) is an American politician. She is the former New Mexico Secretary of State serving from 2006 to 2010. A native of Albuquerque, Herrera graduated from West Mesa High School in 1977. She received both her Bachel ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
on November 2, 2010, becoming the first Republican elected to the position since 1928. Duran ran for re-election as Secretary of State in 2014, and won the general election on November 4, 2014, beating
Bernalillo County Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...
Clerk
Maggie Toulouse Oliver Maggie Toulouse Oliver (born ) is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secretary of State, Toulouse Oliver was the coun ...
. Prior to her election, Duran was a member of the New Mexico State Senate, representing the 40th District from 1993 to 2011. She was elected as Otero County Clerk in 1988, serving two terms. * 1988, Elected as Otero County clerk (two terms) * 1992, Elected as a State Senator, served till 2010 * 2010, Elected as Secretary of State


Footnotes


External links


New Mexico Secretary of State website

Ballot-pedia, Dianna Duran profile

Facebook of Dianna Duran

Complaint to enforce Public Records Act
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Dianna 1956 births Living people County clerks in New Mexico Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New Mexico Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Republican Party New Mexico state senators People from Tularosa, New Mexico Secretaries of State of New Mexico Women state legislators in New Mexico New Mexico politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Mexican descent