GOP Candidate's Wife pressured to resign
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1614521/posts
Quote:
Barbara Damron, wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. J.R. Damron, says she was “pressured†to resign from the St. Vincent Regional Medical Center’s governing board by hospital officials who feared retribution from Gov. Bill Richardson.
Barbara Damron said in an interview this week that St. Vincent chief executive officer Alex Valdez told her “he had heard comments around the Roundhouse that my being on the hospital board was jeopardizing the hospital’s getting our requested funds.†The hospital was seeking $4 million to expand the emergency room at Santa Fe’s nonprofit general hospital.
A Richardson spokesman denied the governor, a Democrat seeking a second term, ever pressured anyone to get rid of Barbara Damron or threatened to veto money for the hospital. “It’s ridiculous and a complete fabrication,†Pahl Shipley said Wednesday. “The governor has shown consistent support for St. Vincent.â€
Barbara Damron said she was approached by Valdez a few days after her husband went to the Capitol to give a “rebuttal†speech to Richardson’s State of the State address at the start of the legislative session in January.
According to Barbara Damron , Valdez told her he couldn’t tell her to resign. “But I was told to think about it,†she said. “I was told that repeatedly. I felt it was made clear to me that the hospital was not going to get the resources they need for the emergency room if I was on the board,†she said.
On Tuesday Valdez told a reporter who asked about her departure, “She resigned for personal reasons. Mrs. Damron resigned on her own.†Al Robison, a board member told a reporter “My only comment is, we probably don’t have a better board member than Mrs. Damron.â€
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