SEC’s Wagner stands alone
Charlie Wagner didn’t appear to have many friends in the room during the Socorro Electric Cooperative’s board of trustees meeting on Wednesday, March 10.
The District 5 (Magdalena) trustee was on the short end of a couple of 10-1 votes and stood alone while making arguments pertaining to reporting methods, loyalty to the board and conflict of interest.
Wagner raised a concern about the potential for a conflict of interest when the board voted to make Leroy Anaya the SEC’s delegate to the upcoming Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s annual meeting April 6-8 in Westminster, Colo.
Manny Marquez nominated Anaya, saying Anaya’s experience as the SEC’s representative to Tri-State made him a worthy choice for delegate at the annual meeting.
But Wagner suggested Anaya might not be a good choice for that very reason.
“As a delegate, his primary loyalty is to Tri-State,” Wagner said. “As a permanent delegate he owes a loyalty to Tri-State, but as our voting representative he has a loyalty to the Socorro Electric Co-op.”
When asked for his opinion on the matter, SEC attorney Dennis Francish said Wagner may have a point, but it wouldn’t preclude Anaya from serving both roles.
“There are two hats, so to speak,” Francish said. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a conflict of interest, it’s a balancing act.”
Trustee Dave Wade said the board could make up its own mind about Anaya.
“We put him in there, we can take him out if we think we need to,” he said.
Anaya said it was not unusual for other representatives to double as delegates. He said of the 44 co-ops to which Tri-State distributes power, most of their representatives are also delegates.
Anaya later put Wagner on the spot, questioning him about what he said at a New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board public hearing, in Santa Fe, on March 1.
The SEC board last month approved a resolution in opposition to a New Energy Economy petition calling for EIB to place strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
“As a board, we went with the resolution,” Anaya said. “I didn’t go to the meeting, but I heard that Mr. Wagner spoke out for NEE.”
SEC President Paul Bustamante also chastised Wagner for not backing the board’s position.
Asked to explain, Wagner said he didn’t vote for the resolution when it was passed and he was speaking for himself at the meeting in Santa Fe.
“My view is there are strong arguments on both sides,” he said. “It’s in the public interest to make sure we have clean air, and it’s also in the public interest to have affordable rates. I’m of the opinion you can have both — affordable rates and clean air.”
Donald Wolberg, who has been advocating for greater harmony on the board since he and two other trustees joined the board after the first of the year, offered his opinion.
“The issue is everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but we must be careful how we act when the board speaks,” he said. “The board took a stand. Whether we like it or not, the important thing is how we appear in public. We’ve got to stand as a board.”
Wagner didn’t get any support either when he raised an issue regarding the delinquent report. He renewed an argument he made at the last meeting, and complained that the report didn’t provide enough information. He said the report should reflect “the human element” by indicating the number of members who were having trouble paying their bills.
Finally, Wagner was defeated when the board settled on the date for its next meeting.
A date change was requested because of a conflict with what would be the normal date for the second meeting of the month.
Wagner recommended that the date be set sometime after the SEC informational meeting for member-owners on March 27. But Wolberg, who heads the informational meeting committee, suggested an earlier date so the board could plan for the meeting on the 27th.
The board agreed to meet on Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m., by a 10-1 vote, with Wagner opposing.
Contact T.S. Last