By Kate Nash

The state's former secretary of state will be the director of the state's Film Museum, I have just confirmed.

I didn't even know we had a film museum...did you? But to say it's a museum is kind of a misnomer, said Secretary of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Stuart Ashman. The museum doesn't have a collection per se and is more of a venue for films to be shown, he said.

No word yet on when Vigil-Giron will start or how much she'll be paid. She replaces India Hatch, who had been running the show.

A Democrat, Vigil-Giron was term-limited out last year and replaced by former Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera, who was elected in November.

On a related note, Sen. Shannon Robinson, an Albuquerque Democrat, has a bill that would create a state Media Arts and Entertainment Department, which would include the film museum, the music commission and the filmmakers bureau. The department wouldn't be Cabinet level, according to the bill. The bill is being backed by Gov. Bill Richardson.

UPDATE: Robinson has withdrawn his sponsorship of the bill, apparently because he's not thrilled with Vigil-Giron's appointment.

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Robinson called her "a bowl weevil looking for a home."

The move leaves the bill with no sponsor, a rare event in the Legislature. It was unclear Wednesday night what happens to the measure.

By Thursday, House Republicans tried to stop a similar measure to Robinson's in their chamber, but failed.

This is a very unusual way for us to create a department," said Rep. Justine Fox-Young, an Albuquerque Republican.

"I think it's an executive welfare bill."

Vigil-Giron will earn $85,000 in her new job.

Posted by Kate Nash at 07:52 PM | Permalink