Opinion No. 39-3196
June 27, 1939
TO: Honorable John E. Miles, Governor of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
{*73} Your letter of June 23rd calls for an opinion upon the question of whether a County Commissioner may also hold a position with the state administration.
There is nothing in our statutes prohibiting a County Commissioner holding a position with the state administration.
Subsection 8 of Section 96-107, 1929 Code, provides that a county, precinct, district, city, town, or municipal office becomes vacant when an officer accepts or undertakes to discharge the duties of an incompatible office.
In Haymaker v. State, ex rel McCain, 22 N.M. 400, the Supreme Court defines incompatibility as follows:
"Incompatibility between offices is an inconsistency between the functions thereof, as where one is subordinate to the other, or where a contrariety and antagonism would result in the attempt by one person to faithfully and impartially {*74} discharge the duties of both."
Whether or not it would be incompatible for a County Commissioner to hold a position with the state administration depends on the position itself. There are some state positions whose functions would be inconsistent with those of a County Commissioner ,thus making the two positions incompatible.