Read more: State, Crime, Politics, NEW MEXICO, DWI, Gov. Bill Richardson, Cindy Padilla
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - One of Gov. Bill Richardson's cabinet secretaries who landed a federal job has resigned from state government after being arrested for drunken driving.
Secretary of Aging and Long-Term Services Cindy Padilla submitted her resignation on Oct. 26. The governor's chief of staff requested the resignation because the administration has a zero tolerance policy for drunken driving, according to a Richardson spokeswoman.
Padilla resigned two days after Santa Fe police arrested her for drunken driving and less than a week after her appointment was announced to a position in President Barack Obama's administration.
Padilla was named principal deputy assistant secretary in the Administration on Aging, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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