Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Partly Cloudy, 82°Wind: mph,
Welcome to our new web site!
To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.
During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.
This story was updated at 1:13 p.m.
Linda Samples, an El Paso-based attorney who helmed Las Cruces’ legal department since July 2023, has left the city government.
Samples became city attorney on July 31, 2023, after the former city manager terminated the previous city attorney, leading to an ongoing lawsuit.
The City Attorney's Office provides “legal, risk, and compliance services to City Council, the City Manager, and all organizational units of the City, and ensure that City government protects valuable resources and operates ethically, effectively, efficiently, and transparently,” according to its mission statement.
The office has also been the center of council-driven efforts to change the functionality of Las Cruces Municipal Court amid a surge in concerns about crime's effect on business owners. According to budget talks in recent weeks, the office was working with the court to explore hiring a public defender and reclassifying positions to address issues in the court.
It’s unclear what prompted Samples’ departure. Samples did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the matter.
According to a city spokesperson, Samples left the city voluntarily. When asked about why Samples left, the spokesperson said the city does not comment on personnel matters.
An email obtained by the Bulletin shows that she affirmed her resignation on April 2, and her last day was April 30. However, a spokesperson said in an email that Samples' last day was April 18.
“As I disclosed to you earlier today,” Samples wrote in an email to the city manager, “I hereby resign effective April 30, 2024. I informed Brad (Douglas) of my resignation and will work with him on a transition.”
Douglas was identified during a recent meeting as “acting city attorney.”
Court records show that Samples was granted a limited license to practice law in New Mexico when she became city attorney on July 31. The New Mexico Bar Association requested that Samples’ limited license expire since she was no longer the city attorney.
However, the same document indicated she sought to remain able to practice law in New Mexico. That process was still underway.
