The Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative wants to hire a state Public Regulation Commission lawyer to replace its attorney of nearly 35 years, but it’s not clear if she will take the job.
The Co-op Board voted unanimously Oct. 23 to offer the contract to Kathleen O’Dea, an attorney who works in the Commission’s insurance division in Santa Fe. O’Dea was one of only three applicants, two of whom were interviewed by the Board’s Executive Committee, Co-op General Manager Ernesto Gonzales said.
“I have not seen the formal offer at this time and will be available for comments after I have the opportunity to look at it,” O’Dea said.
Gonzales said O’Dea would be sent a contract by the end of the week, and he expected her to accept it.
O’Dea was appointed to work at the Commission by Gov. Bill Richardson in 2003 as director of the Boards and Commissions Division, according to her resumé.
From 1998 to 2003 O’Dea worked for the Attorney General’s Office, first in consumer protection and later in the litigation division defending state agencies such as the Secretary of State, according to the resumé. Her previous experience is in private practice.
O’Dea has no experience working with utilities, but Gonzales said he was comfortable with O’Dea. Board President Levi Valdez said he thought O’Dea was suited for the job partly because of her experience with the Commission, which works with electric cooperatives.
The Co-op is offering O’Dea $100 an hour, Gonzales said. The pay would be substantially less than the $175 per hour earned by outgoing attorney Ernesto Valdez, who announced Aug. 28 he planned to resign.
Levi Valdez told the board the other attorney applicant that was interviewed, Santa Fe-based Sarah Works, asked for $175 per hour. Valdez said money wasn’t the deciding factor in offering O’Dea the contractual position.
Ernesto Valdez’s last day is scheduled to be Dec. 27.