SANTA FE – Former University of New Mexico top lobbyist Marc Saavedra told the Journal late Friday that he has asked the UNM Health Sciences Center to cancel his new, and controversial, $50,000 consulting contract to do community relations work. SAAVEDRA: Resigned from UNM post last year Saavedra, who resigned from his high-profile job as UNM’s government affairs director last year after being arrested and charged with his third DWI, said in an interview that he was pulling out of the contract because it had become too much of a “distraction.” Saavedra, 43, who is still on probation, said the decision will allow him to focus on his business, family and personal well-being. “I do think it’s in the best interest of the university and myself,” he said. UNM Health Sciences Center Chancellor Paul Roth confirmed the developments in a statement late Friday statement in which he left open the possibility of Saavedra’s helping the state’s largest academic health center on a volunteer basis – an idea Saavedra said he had proposed. “While I regret that Marc Saavedra has asked to cancel the contract, I am delighted that he has offered his expertise on a voluntary basis to the UNM Health Sciences Center,” Roth said. “I originally started the conversation with Marc because of his strong work ethic and his extensive knowledge of community and government relations, as well as the Health Sciences Center,” Roth added.