Jim Noel, whose hiring as state Election Bureau director was heavily criticized by Republicans because he is married to the stepdaughter of U.S. Senate candidate Tom Udall, on Tuesday withdrew his appointment.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mary Herrera, Noel wrote, "I cannot in good conscience allow my appointment to distract from the real issues facing all of us this fall. ...

"Nor can I in good conscience allow certain individuals to use my appointment to cast any sort of doubt over the integrity of the electoral process," Noel wrote. "The people of New Mexico deserve to know that their elections will be administered fairly. And while there is no doubt that I would bring nothing but integrity to the office, it has become increasingly clear that certain individuals with purely partisan interests would stop at nothing to inject fear into the election this fall."

Noel was to have started the $104,809-a-year position next week. His current job is executive director and general counsel of the Judicial Standards Commission, which investigates complaints against judges and recommends disciplinary actions to the state Supreme Court.

Noel, the Secretary of State's Office said, has 10 years of experience in election law and ethics administration. Gov. Bill Richardson appointed Noel to two election task forces and two ethics-reform committees.

His wife is Amanda Cooper, who is managing Udall's Senate campaign.

Reacting to Noel's withdrawal, state Senate Republican leader Stuart Ingle of Portales released a statement Tuesday saying, "It is important for the honor of our voters that our elections are run without any doubt whatsoever in the process. The decision to step down was the right one, and a very necessary one for the integrity of our election. Close family members of any candidate running for office, Democrat, Republican or Independent should never be in charge of an election here in New Mexico."

Noel noted in his letter that one of the leading voices criticizing his appointment is state Sen. Diana Duran, R-Tularosa, who as a former Otero County clerk was in the position of counting votes in her own election. All county clerks in the state are in the position of overseeing their own elections.

In his letter, Noel noted the Bureau of Elections does not count votes.

He also said he was disappointed that state Rep. Justine Fox-Young, R-Albuquerque was among his critics, saying, like Duran, he had worked with her on election issues in the past. He said Fox-Young and Duran had "placed politics above substance and above results."

Duran couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

Fox-Young responded, "As I had anticipated, Noel's baseless, partisan attacks prove he has no business administering an election."

Last week, the state Republican Party released a statement blasting Noel's appointment. On Tuesday, state GOP spokeswoman Shira Rawlinson released another statement saying, "The Republican Party is pleased that Jim Noel has decided not to accept the State Elections Director position given the questionable appearance given his family ties to a candidate in an election year. We are still disappointed, however, that Tom Udall and the Secretary of State refuse to acknowledge the conflict of interest putting politics above what is best for voters."

The state GOP last week filed an open-records request with the Secretary of State's Office for any communications having anything to do with Noel's hiring.

Udall is running against Republican Steve Pearce for the Senate seat held by the retiring Pete Domenici, also a Republican.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.