Alamogordo NM
9-25-2025 4:34pm

Shadows of Turnover: Alamogordo’s Decade of Dysfunction and the Rise of Acting City Manager, Dr. Stephanie Hernandez

Shadows of Turnover: Alamogordo’s Decade of Dysfunction and the Rise of Acting City Manager, Dr. Stephanie Hernandez - A Commentary by Mica Maynard

For ten years, the city manager’s office in Alamogordo, New Mexico has been less a seat of governance than a revolving door—spinning through scandal, factional warfare, and political sabotage. From 2015 to 2025, at least seven individuals have held the role, many in interim capacities, with tenures averaging just over a year. The result: fractured leadership, wasted taxpayer dollars, and a city government often paralyzed by internal conflict resulting in neglected infrastructure, a lack of business development and growth of strong economic base that needs to be less reliant upon the federal government and military.

But in the wake of this chaos, one leader has emerged as a stabilizing force for good governance but not without shaking up the established powers wanting to run her off. That leader to emerge is the acting City Manager Dr. Stephanie Hernandez, Ph.D. She has not only survived political crossfire and gamesmanship but while in that fire she has she’s begun to reverse the damage to the city governments effectiveness, ushering in a new era of fiscal transparency and professional governance. She has accomplished this all the while facing a firing squad of insiders within a half of the city commission and targeting by the leadership of the State Republican Party.

A Decade of Dysfunction: The City Manager Timeline

Jim Stahle (Until August 2015): Stahle’s quiet resignation marked the beginning of Alamogordo’s instability. Though no scandal was publicly cited, insiders described administrative fatigue and mounting pressure from a divided commission.

Dr. George Straface (Interim, Oct 2015–May 2016): Straface’s brief tenure was largely uneventful, but his exit continued the pattern of short-lived leadership. The city’s inability to retain managers began to erode public confidence.

Maggie Paluch (May 2016–Feb 2019): Paluch’s tenure imploded in scandal. A December 2018 letter from Police Chief Brian Peete accused her of fostering inappropriate relationships with subordinates and creating a toxic work environment. Commissioner Al Hernandez convened a special meeting to address public outrage, while Commissioner Susan Payne described City Hall as “dysfunctional.” Paluch resigned under pressure, leaving behind a fractured administration and a demoralized staff.

Brian Cesar (Feb 2019–May 2023): Cesar’s appointment was marred by procedural errors—a botched vote and quorum issues. Though he brought 25 years of city service, his hiring was tainted by accusations of insider favoritism. His retirement in 2023 closed a chapter of relative calm, but not without lingering questions about transparency and commission influence.

Rick Holden (Dec 2023–Sept 2024): Holden’s tenure ended in controversy after a water billing dispute with a local business escalated into a hostile email exchange and closed-door confrontation with Commissioners Mark Tapley and another commissioner initially misidentified as Jason Rardin. Staff described Holden as “results-oriented” but disruptive to entrenched interests. Allegations surfaced of a disinformation campaign to downplay the conflict, with scripted statements denying internal issues. His departure echoed Paluch’s—another manager forced out for challenging the status quo.

Political Intrusion and the “Alamogordo Insiders” Network

The dysfunction wasn’t confined to City Hall. Otero County officials, particularly Commissioner Amy Barela, repeatedly inserted themselves into city affairs. Barela—who also serves as New Mexico Republican Party Chair—sent a June 2025 email from a private account to Mayor Payne, vaguely referencing “constituents’ concerns” about Hernandez’s role. 

The message blurred lines between personal opinion and official business, prompting Payne to question Barela’s authority to comment on city hiring and raised significant ethical questions.

Barela’s social media posts, including those under the alias “Justamy Junkyarddog,” accused city leaders of incompetence and moral failings. While her attacks on Hernandez were less direct than those aimed at Mayor Susan Payne in public, but via letters and a whisper campaign they contributed to a toxic climate that undermined collaboration on shared issues like public safety and infrastructure.

County Manager Pamela  Heltner and County Attorney R.B. Nichols escalated tensions by accusing Hernandez of mispronouncing Heltner’s name as “Hitler” during a joint meeting. A transcript review found no evidence, and the demand for a formal apology was widely seen as a politically motivated smear, by county leadership and insiders. These insiders and County Commissioners have had a history of manuevering the power within the City Commission to yeild to their demands without question. Thus the turnover of city managers.

These incidents reflect a broader pattern of county interference—an informal “good ole boy” or "insiders" network leveraging backchannel communications and partisan pressure to influence city governance. Ethical complaints were filed, and the city attorney launched an investigation into potential conflicts of interest. The hiring process for a permanent manager was suspended in June 2025 to avoid “taint” from external meddling. A new search is now ongoing, yet again put still tainted with hurt feelings and a lack of trust in the process by citizens and city employees.

Dr. Hernandez’s Rise and Reforming City Hall Despite the Distractions

Amid this turmoil, Dr. Stephanie Hernandez has emerged as a model of resilience and reform. Appointed interim manager in May 2023 and reappointed in September 2024, she has served over 20 months—longer than any manager in recent history.

Her leadership is marked by:

Performance-Based Budgeting: In May 2025, Hernandez rolled out a new model requiring departments to link funding requests to strategic goals. This replaced rote allocations with measurable outcomes tied to public safety, infrastructure, and service delivery.

Transparency and Fiscal Discipline: She corrected underfunded liabilities in the city’s self-insurance program, scrutinized contracts (including a $110,000 allocation to the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce and demanded answers for what city dollars are actually paying for). Additionally she has pushed for precision in contingency funds.

Operational Wins: Hernandez oversaw a water rate increase that is unpopular with the public but necessary to provide stable, clean and safe water for the long term. This increase was a must and tied to infrastructure loans to make water and sewer safety and the delivery system that bring that water to homes priority number 1. She also optimized zoo projects using in-house labor, and launched solar upgrades at City Hall. She also managed a 200% surge in public records requests without compromising service.

Political Resilience: Hernandez refused to capitulate to unfounded demands, has kept the staff focused on updating policies, processes and cleaning up years of neglect at city hall. She also refused to issue an apology over the false mispronunciation claim. Backed by Mayor Payne and city staff, she has maintained integrity and avoided escalation but all the while facing great stress due to political gamesmanship by the NM State Republican Party Chairwoman and by an element within the city commission that takes orders directly from Barela and her political machine.

Community Trust: Dr. Hernandes five-year city service milestone in April 2025 and deep local roots have earned her praise from residents and staff. Unlike her predecessors, there have been no public calls for her removal for malfeasance or wrong doing. The calls are for her not to be made permanent due to political games and her lack of loyality to the machine but her transparency to the broader public good.

Editorial Perspective: A Turning Point for Alamogordo by Mica Maynard

Alamogordo’s decade of dysfunction was not inevitable. It was cultivated—through a culture of insider politics, weak ethical safeguards, and a commission often fractured by personal loyalties and reactive governance. The city manager’s office, intended to be a stabilizing force of professional administration, became instead a revolving door of scandal, burnout, and political sabotage. Each departure compounded the next, leaving residents with broken trust and a government too distracted to serve.

As a Black woman studying political science and journalism at UC Berkeley, I’ve spent years analyzing the mechanics of power and the fragility of public institutions. But watching the treatment of Acting City Manager Dr. Stephanie Hernandez in Alamogordo has been more than academic—it’s been personal. It has laid bare the brutality of municipal leadership when integrity collides with entrenched interests.

Dr. Hernandez’s tenure has been a masterclass in restraint and resilience. She has faced smear campaigns, unfounded accusations, and partisan interference—most notably from Otero County Commissioner Amy Barela, whose dual role as a county official and state party chair has blurred ethical lines and amplified pressure. From the baseless demand for an apology over a mispronunciation to backchannel emails questioning Hernandez’s qualifications, the attacks have been relentless and revealing.

What’s striking is not just the nature of the criticism, but its tone: coded, personal, and often gendered. As a woman of color, I recognize the pattern. The scrutiny is harsher, the margin for error smaller, and the expectation to endure quietly ever-present. Hernandez has not only endured—she has led. Her reforms in budgeting, contract oversight, and infrastructure planning have delivered measurable results. She has prioritized community-wide benefits over special interests, and she has done so without descending into the chaos that consumed her predecessors.

This is not just a turning point for Alamogordo—it’s a test. A test of whether the city is ready to break with its past and embrace a future defined by competence, not connections. Whether it can reject the “good ole boy” politics that have long undermined progress and instead reward professionalism, transparency, and equity.

Dr. Hernandez has shown what ethical leadership looks like. The question now is whether Alamogordo will recognize it—and protect it."


About the Author:  Mica Maynard – Civic Contributor & Cultural Analyst, 2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News. Originally from Oakland, California; currently contributing to Alamogordo’s media and civic landscape. Research: UC Berkeley team researcher specializing in AI-assisted polling and community impact analysis

Style & Impact:

Maynard blends academic rigor with local storytelling, offering fresh insights into how rural communities navigate change, honor legacy, and build inclusive futures. Her reporting often bridges generational perspectives and invites civic dialogue.

Sources Referenced:

AlamogordoTownNews.org – County Commission Intrusion

City of Alamogordo – Budget Workshop Minutes, May 2025

Alamogordo Daily News – City Manager Resignation Coverage

2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News Political Coverage 

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