Supreme Court Transparency Ruling Bolsters Demands for Alamogordo Commissioners’ Records on City Manager Reversal

On May 28, 2026, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Albuquerque Journal v. Board of Education of Albuquerque Public Schools (S-1-SC-40671) that strongly favors public access under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA).

Key Holdings from the Ruling

• Public bodies cannot withhold an entire record simply because it contains some “matters of opinion” related to personnel. The exception in IPRA (NMSA 14-2-1) is narrow: only actual opinion portions in personnel files are exempt — factual, investigative, or other content must be segregated and released.

• The Court explicitly warned: “Exempting an entire record because it may contain trace matters of opinion would invite abuse and frustrate both the ‘fundamental right to inspect public records’ and the ‘presumption in favor of access’ under IPRA.”

• A restrictive reading of the matters-of-opinion exception applies. Courts should favor disclosure and can conduct in-camera review to determine what (if anything) is truly exempt.

• Attorney-client privilege does not automatically shield entire investigative or deliberative documents if their primary purpose is not legal advice. Factual portions remain disclosable.

This decision reverses lower court rulings that allowed blanket withholding and sets a clear precedent against overbroad secrecy claims in government employment matters.

Direct Application to Alamogordo City Commissioners Rardin, Burnett, and Hernandez

This ruling has immediate relevance to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Alamogordo City Commission’s handling of Acting City Manager Dr. Stephanie Hernandez.

Timeline Recap:

• On March 10, 2026, after an executive session, the Commission voted 7-0 in open session to direct contract negotiations with Dr. Hernandez for the permanent City Manager position.

• Over the following weeks, a bloc including Commissioners Josh Rardin (Mayor Pro-Tem), Stephen Burnett, and Al Hernandez (along with Baxter Pattillo) reversed course. On April 28, 2026, they voted 4-3 to accept a settlement and effectively end her path to the permanent role, leading to her departure.

• The public has received no detailed explanation for this dramatic reversal despite the earlier unanimous public vote. Multiple executive sessions since March 10 have been used to discuss “limited personnel matters” and potential litigation.

Impact on Notes, Conversations, and Records:

• Any notes, emails, text messages, scoring sheets, interview summaries, or communications created or exchanged by Commissioners Rardin, Burnett, and Al Hernandez related to the city manager search and or to or from any potential city manager— particularly those discussing Dr. Hernandez’s candidacy and an alternative preferred candidate, the initial 7-0 vote, the subsequent reversal, settlement negotiations, or related allegations — are subject to IPRA requests.

• Under the new ruling, the City (and these commissioners) cannot blanket-deny release by labeling everything “personnel matters,” “opinions,” or “privileged.” They must review documents, redact only narrowly exempt opinion portions, and release factual content, timelines, criteria, and communications.

• Personal phones used for city business (a reported issue with some commissioners) do not shield records — if used for official discussions about the hiring, those messages are public records.

• IPRA requests already filed by local media (including 2nd Life Media) for these materials now carry significantly stronger legal weight. Denials can be challenged with this precedent, potentially leading to court-ordered in-camera review and penalties for unreasonable withholding.

The ruling does not open properly conducted executive session discussions themselves (governed by the Open Meetings Act), but it directly attacks the use of broad exemptions to hide resulting records. The unexplained flip from unanimous support to settlement — amid allegations of collusion, past investigations into some of these commissioners, and broader ethics concerns — makes factual documentation of their deliberations even more critical for public accountability.

What This Means Moving Forward

Residents and media should renew or expand IPRA requests specifically citing the May 28 Supreme Court decision, demanding:

• All notes, emails, and communications by Rardin, Burnett, Pottillo and Al Hernandez on the city manager process since March 10.

• Redaction logs for any withheld material.

• Justification tied to the narrow exceptions upheld by the Court.

The City Commission should proactively release non-exempt records to rebuild trust rather than risk court intervention. This ruling sends a clear message statewide: broad secrecy in personnel hiring processes, especially after public votes, invites legitimate scrutiny and is harder to sustain.

This decision is a powerful tool for Alamogordo citizens demanding answers on why a unanimous public commitment to Dr. Hernandez was reversed without explanation. Continued resistance to transparency by the involved commissioners only deepens public distrust.

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