Despite a state hiring freeze, the Economic Development Department recently hired Gov. Bill Richardson's former legal counsel to an $87,000 per year job.

Geno Zamora, 39, worked for Richardson between 2003 and 2005. He ran in the Democratic primary for attorney general in 2006, but lost to Gary King.

A Santa Fe native, Zamora got his law degree from the University of Arizona in 1994. He's worked as a deputy attorney general under former Attorney General Tom Udall, and for the Legislature as chief analyst for the House Democrats and the Judiciary Committee. He worked as a senior adviser last year in the state presidential campaign for Barack Obama.

Although Richardson last year announced a hiring freeze, which went into effect in November, a spokesman for the governor defended the hire.

"Obviously, the general counsel position at an agency like Economic Development is a critical position and is exempt from the hiring freeze," Gilbert Gallegos said.

A spokeswoman for the state Personnel Office in December said that exemptions to the hiring freeze can be made for "essential health and safety services, as well as mission-critical functions."

Zamora is an exempt employee, which means he serves at the pleasure of the governor. Efforts to find out how many exempts have been added to the payroll since the hiring freeze took effect were not successful Monday.

But since Nov. 15, the state has hired 109 new classified people, the Governor's Office said, including one computer specialist who makes more than $48 an hour.

The new hires include nurses, fish and game wardens, janitors, two lawyers in the Department of Health, food servers, probation and parole officers and highway workers.

A number of those new hires replaced people who had retired or otherwise left the state, according to the Governor's Office.

One hire for a newly created classified position was approved before the hiring freeze, but the person didn't start until earlier this month.

Brian Pietrewicz was named the Deputy CIO for system services in the Information Technology division of the Human Services Department.

He makes $48.07 an hour, a department spokeswoman said.

The department, which had an IT breach last year, created the position to address its security issues.

"In all of Secretary Hyde's presentations to the (Legislative Finance Committee) and other committees last year talking about the upcoming legislative session and the FY 2010 budget, she has mentioned that the Information Technology (ITD) and staff expansion within the Information Technology Division is a priority," spokeswoman Betina Gonzales McCracken said in an e-mail.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com. Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.