New Mexico’s former state archaeologist has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging he was fired this year in retaliation for reporting to human resources rumors of an “illicit sexual affair” between his boss and a subordinate.
Eric Blinman, who was fired in Feb. 13 as longtime director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies, also alleges his termination was motivated by age, race and sex discrimination.
Blinman, a 59-year-old white male, had served 17 years as the state’s archaeologist. He was under the supervision of Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Debra Garcia y Griego, who was appointed in 2019 by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, names Garcia y Griego and Lujan Grisham among the defendants. The suit asks for unspecified damages, fees and costs.
Maddy Hayden, a spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham, called the allegations outlined in an email from the Journal based on the suit “completely false.”
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Daniel Zillmann, spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, echoed the Governor’s Office.
“These allegations against Cabinet Secretary Garcia y Griego are both untrue and unfounded,” Zillmann wrote in a statement Friday morning. “I will reiterate what has been stated on multiple occasions and remains relevant: while no reason was required by the statute for...
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