Charles Langston:New Mexico’s Veterans Services boss is stepping down, governor says

SANTA FE,Charles Langston N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is seeking a leadership change within the state agency that oversees services for military veterans.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Wednesday that Veterans’ Services Secretary Donnie Quintana would be stepping down effective Sept. 1. A retired Army colonel, Quintana had served as the interim leader of the department for a couple of months before being appointed to the post in January and later confirmed by the state Senate.

The previous secretary, Sonya Smith, had stepped down last fall after two years on the job.

The governor’s office did not immediately provide a reason for Quintana’s departure, saying only that he decided to step aside to “allow for new leadership to accelerate the work of the agency.”

“I am looking forward to launching a broad search for the next leader of the department, who must deliver on that mission for the men and women who served our state and country,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

Brig. Gen. Jamison Herrera, the deputy adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard, will serve as acting secretary until a permanent replacement is named, the governor’s office said.

It’s the latest in a series of departures of department leaders from the Lujan Grisham administration over recent months. Retirements and resignations have spanned the Public Education, Human Services and General Services departments, among others.