The state Public Regulation Commission voted Thursday to remove an absent Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. from the position as vice chairman.

The move came two days after all of Block's fellow commissioners signed a letter calling for Block's resignation. The commissioners followed Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales and others in calling on Block to step down from his $90,000-a-year job.

Block, whose northern district includes most of Santa Fe County, has not shown up to PRC meetings since the news broke that he's under investigation for questionable charges on his state-issued gas card and is a suspect in a stolen car case in Santa Fe. This seemed to frustrate commission Chairman Pat Lyons.

"He needs to show up and do his job, guilty or not guilty," Lyons told reporters after the vote. "He hasn't resigned, so I'd like to see him at work. That's part of it. You earn a paycheck, you show up for work."

Block has not been charged. Lyons said Block has not returned his phone calls in recent days.

There's no PRC policy setting a minimum number of days a commissioner has to be present at the office or at meetings.

Immediately before the vote, Commissioner Ben Hall said that PRC Chief of Staff Johnny Montoya has received death threats. "Someone in the public thinks he's out to get Commissioner Block," Hall said.

Montoya declined to discuss the threats.

Lyons said the Block situation, including the threats to Montoya, has led to a "bad atmosphere" around the PRC.

"I don't like it at all," he said. Of the threats, he said, "Hopefully, nothing comes of it."

The commission voted to replace Block as vice chair with Commissioner Theresa Becenti-Aguilar. She originally was appointed to replace Commissioner Carol Sloan, who was removed from the PRC by the state Supreme Court after being convicted of a felony battery charge. Becenti-Aguilar, from the Navajo tribe, was elected to a full term by voters in her district last year.

She said she wants to see "the PRC lifted in a better direction." She said she would "hold the line" with utility companies regulated by the commission and make sure Indian tribes have input into PRC decisions.

Her district covers much of northwestern New Mexico but stretches into Santa Fe County, covering areas including Eldorado and Rancho Viejo.

On Tuesday, Lyons indicated he would nominate Hall to be vice chairman. Both Lyons and Hall are Republicans. However, on Thursday, Commissioner Jason Marks, a Democrat, nominated fellow Democrat Becenti-Aguilar, who was approved unanimously.

Lyons said Thursday that after discussing the matter with Marks he agreed that it would be a show of unity on the PRC if Becenti-Aguilar was vice chairman.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.