Former lobbyist gets new UNM job despite 3 DWIs

Saavedra: Got "last chance" after second arrest. [font color=330099]Got another "last chance" after third arrest.[/font]

A branch of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center has signed a consulting contract with Marc Saavedra, a former UNM lobbyist who resigned from his high-profile position last year after being arrested and charged with drunken driving for the third time.

In a statement sent late Tuesday, a UNM Health Sciences Center spokesman did not specify details of the contract but indicated Saavedra’s past legal troubles are no secret to the center.

“The UNM Medical Group, which is the medical practice arm of the UNM Health Science Center, has entered into a contract with Marc Saavedra’s company, MHS Consulting on a limited basis to be involved in community outreach and education based on his extensive years of experience,” UNM Health Sciences Center spokesman John Arnold said in the statement.

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Saavedra, the son of longtime former state Rep. Henry “Kiki” Saavedra, had been receiving a salary of nearly $156,000 annually as the director of UNM’s Office of Community and Government Affairs at the time of his July 2014 arrest on a DWI charge.

Read more: http://www.abqjournal.com/616262/news/former-lobbyist-gets-new-unm-job-despite-3-dwis.html