Jerome Block Jr.'s exit from the state Public Regulation Commission presents Gov. Susana Martinez with a decision.

Block's resignation will allow the first-term Republican governor to appoint a replacement to fill the seat representing an overwhelmingly Democratic Northern New Mexico district through next year's elections.

So who is Martinez considering? Options include Rick Lass, a former Green Party member who lost to Block in the 2008 general election; one of the Democrats who has announced a run for the seat in next year's primary elections; or a member of the Republican Party, who didn't even put up a candidate in the 2008 race.

On Wednesday, Martinez's office remained mum about how the governor would choose Block's replacement.

"The governor will appoint a replacement who will serve with integrity and represent the people of New Mexico well on the PRC," was all Martinez's spokesman, Scott Darnell, would say in response to several questions, including an inquiry about who had applied to be considered for the temporary post.

Lass, for one, said he's interested, and has let the Governor's Office know.

"The candidate who came in second and got 77,000 votes in 2008 — that's a good reason to put me in there to represent District 3," Lass said. Running as a Green Party candidate in 2008, Lass, now a Democrat, registered that total while falling short of the 99,250 ballots that went for Block.

Lass' loss came despite Block being ordered to return $10,000 in public money and pay $11,000 in civil fines in the weeks before the election. The order was related to misuse of public funds that figured in Block's plea deal on Wednesday.

" 'It's about time' would be my reaction," Lass said of Block's guilty pleas. "The fact that he has been in office for three years and been guilty of this and everyone has known about it is a shame. I don't think anyone who is paying attention is surprised that he would misuse public funds after he was elected because he misused them before he was elected."

While it's unclear who Martinez will consider for the post, she likely has several names to contemplate. Four Democrats — Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza, Democratic Party activist Martin Suazo of Las Vegas, N.M., Santa Fe mortgage banker Brad Gallegos and Daniel Maki, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. — have announced their intentions to run. Meanwhile, Santa Fe County Commissioner Virginia Vigil is considering entering the race.

So far, no Republican has announced an interest in representing the district, in which Democrats have better than a 2-1 voter-registration edge.

But if Martinez were to choose a Republican to replace Block, it would tip the political balance on the Public Regulation Commission. Two Republicans already serve on the five-member body — Chairman Patrick Lyons and Commissioner Ben Hall — and a third would give Republicans a majority.

On Wednesday, some saw Block's guilty pleas as closing the book on yet another corruption scandal in New Mexico. But Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks said that kind of view was shortsighted.

"If people look at this and say, 'Block has resigned, problem fixed,' that would be a mistake," Marks said. "More than a third of commissioners in the history of the [Public Regulation Commission] since 1999 have had their service marred by significant scandals. The Legislature and the people of New Mexico need to look at structural change."

Contact Trip Jennings at 986-3050 or at tjennings@sfnewmexican.com.