The former chief procurement officer for the state agency in charge of administering millions in severance tax funds to improve and construct New Mexico schools has filed a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging he was fired for refusing to participate in transactions he felt violated procurement rules and state law.
Shatona Martin says in his lawsuit filed Wednesday in state District Court that he was hired by the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority in 2013 and received positive performance reviews through 2018.
But “while working at [the agency] … discovered conduct that he in good faith believed constituted unlawful conduct, and he also objected to and refused to participate in activities that violated his … legal obligations as well as the procurement code.”
Martin’s lawsuit details nine instances in which he says the authority administration or Executive Director Jonathan Chamblin — who is named as a defendant in the complaint along with the authority — attempted to get him to take part in actions he felt violated his training or the law.
Several of them are related to the agency’s work improving broadband capabilities at schools across the state, including in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, a project that is highlighted in the authority’s 2019 annual report as a major accomplishment.
In one instance, Martin’s complaint says, the authority was soliciting bids for broadband connectivity services for its offices in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and only got one bid, from CenturyLink.
The CenturyLink proposal would have required the authority to do a total rewrite of its standard agreement with contractors and provide substantial protection from litigation for the company, which were “prohibited under the [request for proposals] and state law.”
Chamblin tried to get Martin to “violate the law,” according to the lawsuit, but Martin “voiced his objections and refused to participate in the scheme.”
In another case, Martin voiced his concerns that contractors who were awarded multimillion-dollar contracts in the Los Lunas and Las Cruces public school districts were claiming the Public Works Minimum Wage Act did not apply to them and refusing to comply with the act in executing the contracts, the lawsuit says.
According to his complaint, Martin refused to participate in processing those contracts despite pressure from Chamblin.
“The matter was then reported to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions,” according to the lawsuit, and the authority’s general counsel issued a letter affirming Martin’s assessment of the situation.
In late 2018 and early 2019, Martin says in his complaint, the Aztec school administration allowed a contractor who had submitted a proposal to draft the scope and statement of the work to be performed under the contract. When he objected, Martin says, “instead of nullifying the contracting action and in an effort to circumvent [Martin’s] involvement,” Chamblin told the school district to process the procurement on its own and apply for reimbursement on the back end.
The Aztec Municipal School District did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.
Martin also says he raised good faith objections when the authority “intentionally provided false information to the New Mexico Public School Capital Outlay Council [which governs the authority] for the purpose of obtaining funding for superfluous and unnecessary consultancy program.”
“We have not received this complaint and have no comment at this time,” Chamblin said in an email Thursday.
Martin says Chamblin issued a “retaliatory disciplinary action” against him in July 2018, saying he had not been cooperative and had jeopardized the broadband program.
Martin’s lawsuit says Chamblin issued another retaliatory memo a few days later, saying Martin had defied his directives. In August 2019, Martin was fired.
New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee Director David Abbey, who serves on the council that governs the agency’s actions, said Thursday he knew an employee who “had issues” had left.
He said Martin reported to the director and never appeared before the council, and Abbey was not familiar with Martin’s allegations.
Martin seeks an unspecified amount in damages, including back pay and reinstatement or “front pay” plus legal costs.
