SOUTHWEST INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUDIT FORUM (SWIAF)

SWIAF, MPIAF, & WIAF Winter Conference, Santa Fe, NM Speaker Biographies Hector Balderas In November of 2006, at the age of 33, Hector Balderas was elected to the Office of New Mexico State Auditor, making him the youngest Hispanic statewide elected official in the nation. Balderas was raised in Wagon Mound, New Mexico, a small northern New Mexico community with a population of 310. Hector graduated with a BA (Bachelor’s of Arts) in Political Science from New Mexico Highlands University. He also earned his Law degree from the University of New Mexico. He was the first person in his family to earn a college degree, as well as the first person to become an attorney from Wagon Mound. After graduating from law school, Hector remained in Albuquerque working as a criminal prosecutor. During his tenure with the district attorney’s office, Hector prosecuted more than 1,100 criminal cases Involving white collar crimes, fraud, DUI, and Domestic Violence. Thereafter, he ventured out on his own and developed a solo criminal and civil law practice. In December 2003, Hector, with his wife and three young children, moved back to his hometown of Wagon Mound. At the age of 30 and with no political experience, Hector ran for a seat in the New Mexico Legislature. Hector defeated the heavily favored incumbent by a 2-1 margin in the democratic primary and prevailed over the republican opponent in the general election. In his first ...