Democrat Baca, Republican Evans on defense in PRC primaries, and NMSU workers vote to unionize

Posted 5/31/2006 11:11:00 PM

Public Regulation Commissioner E. Shirley Baca says she has missed only 21 percent of meetings in 2005, most because she was traveling on PRC business.

Her challenger in the Democratic primary, Sandy Jones, sent out a mailer three weeks ago accusing Baca of not being physically present at 38 percent of PRC meetings in 2005. Jones said Baca was present by telephone “for a few minutes” at 10 percent of meetings he counted as absences.

I asked Baca to respond. She had a PRC paralegal create an official attendance record based on minutes of meetings.

(That a PRC staffer paid by taxpayers spent time pouring over minutes of 160 meetings and creating a document so Baca could respond to a campaign attack is questionable, but that’s a topic for another time.)

The paralegal found that, out of 160 meetings in 2005, Baca was physically present for 110, or 69 percent. She attended another 16 by telephone, raising her attendance record to 79 percent, the document states.

Baca was absent from 34 meetings last year, the document states – 28 to attend conferences and conduct other official business, two because of a death in her family, and four for “personal” reasons.

Baca said she missed two meetings because she took a week off to “kind of get my breath back” after the drug possession charges against her were dropped last year. In case anyone doesn’t know, she was arrested at the Albuquerque airport for allegedly possessing marijuana.

Baca claimed she was framed. There was never a trial.

Jones’ analysis, he said, is based on records provided by the PRC. It includes 125 meetings from 2005. He found that Baca missed 35 meetings and attended by telephone another 13.

Baca defended her attendance record.

“If I’m not here, I’ll do it on the phone. If I’m not on the phone, it’s because I’m at a national conference representing us,” she said.

Jones doesn’t like that, either. He sent out a second mailer last week attacking Baca for spending $7,000 in taxpayer money to travel to national conferences last year.

“She’s pretty well traveled,” Jones told me. “I don’t see any sense in all that travel. We’ve got too much to do at home.”

***

Kent Evans, one of three Republicans seeking the Public Regulation Commission seat held by E. Shirley Baca, announced Wednesday that he will step down from the Doña Ana County commission if elected to the PRC.

Evans had said previously he didn’t know what he would do about his county commission seat if elected to the PRC. The county attorney advised him that nothing in state law would prevent him from holding both positions, and Evans said he would make a decision if and when doing so became necessary.

That cost him the endorsement of the Las Cruces Sun-News, his hometown newspaper, which gave its nod to C. Earl Greer of Truth or Consequences.

Then Greer went on the attack, Evans said, by claiming in a recorded phone solicitation that Evans said he would not resign his county commission seat if elected to the PRC.

Evans said in the news release that he delayed an announcement because he takes seriously his obligation to the residents of his county commission district.

“I had hoped the campaigning would remain positive and clean,” Evans said. “I overestimated my opponent.”

Evans said he will resign his county commission seat the day he is inaugurated as a PRC member, should he win the race.

“In the meantime – and despite the pressure and challenges of campaigning – I will continue to devote my energy to my constituents in Doña Ana County,” Evans said. “Further, I reiterate my promise to campaign on the issues relevant to the Public Regulation Commission. I am hopeful that my opponents will join me in this pledge.”

***

After months of allegations that administrators were attempting to silence organizers, New Mexico State University employees have voted to unionize.

Of 1,300 non-exempt employees who were eligible, 559 voted to organize and 302 voted against unionization, according to unofficial results released by the university Wednesday night. They will be represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The Labor Management Relations Board will officially certify results on June 8.

I’m not going to say that NMSU President Michael Martin and other administrators tried to shut down union organizers, but I am going to say that many NMSU employees believe that’s what happened. The university denied the allegations.

Following a public outcry, some Democratic state legislators from Las Cruces publicly announced their support for the union.

Whatever the case, Martin did the only thing left for him to do after the votes were counted Wednesday: He offered an olive branch.

“As we have said throughout this process, we respect our employees, and we worked to keep them fully informed as they made this very important decision,” he said in a news release. “Now, in the same spirit of respect and cooperation, we will work with them through their representatives to ensure a smooth transition to unionization.”

***

Wednesday’s announcement that prosecutors won’t file criminal charges related to the 2004 special audit of Doña Ana County government is certain to inflame many Republicans.

With less than a week before the primary election, there is a Democratic primary in one county commission race and a Republican primary in another, so there could be some fallout.

The audit found widespread problems in county government as recently as 2004, but the state auditor says it appears the problems have largely been fixed. An audit next year will check that.

Three findings were referred to prosecutors, but the statute of limitations had already expired on any potential misdemeanor violations that were found, even before the audit began.

One Republican source called that an outrage, and vowed to continue pressing the issue. Many Republicans blame the county manager for the violations and want him fired.

***

The Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Tribune and Santa Fe New Mexican have put out guides to next week’s primary election. You can check out the Journal’s by clicking here, the Tribune’s by clicking here, and the New Mexican’s by clicking here.

By the way, Jay Miller’s newest column on the culture of corruption is excellent. You can read it by clicking here.

***

Google, the company that hosts this site, is having a problem with photos right now. That’s why you don’t see any on this posting. Hopefully it will be fixed quickly.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day.

BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors won’t file charges related to Doña Ana County special audit

Posted 5/31/2006 02:58:00 PM

Prosecutors have completed their review and will file no criminal charges related to the 2004 special audit of Doña Ana County government.

Shari Weinstein, chief deputy district attorney in Santa Fe, confirmed Wednesday that her office has closed the case after reviewing the results of an investigation by the New Mexico State Police.

“We’re not pursuing any criminal charges,” Weinstein said. “If there were any possible criminal charges from our point of view, the statute of limitations has run.”

A source told me that police and prosecutors believe there were several misdemeanor violations but no felonies, and the statute of limitations on the misdemeanors expired before the audit began.

The Santa Fe district attorney’s office took the case because Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez had a conflict of interest. She and her staff are housed by the county, which was in the process of designing its new building and her new offices at the time of the audit. One of three findings referred to prosecutors involved the architect selection.

The audit found widespread problems as recently as 2004, but the state auditor said it appears most identified problems have been fixed. Three findings were referred to prosecutors:

• The county set up a loan agreement with landowners to repay its 1999 water bonds, which were used to build a water and sewer system in Santa Teresa. Bond payments were supposed to be made with revenue from the system, but the agreement bypassed the terms of the bond and created an entirely new arrangement.

• The county improperly used money from the 1999 water bonds to pay other bills not related to the water and sewer system.

• The commission may have intentionally violated the state procurement code in its selection of an architect to design the new county administrative complex. Commissioners bypassed the established process to review and rank the firms that applied and voted on secret, paper ballots to select the firm. The ballots later vanished.

County spokesman Jess Williams was pleased to learn that criminal charges won’t be filed.

“The fact that this matter has come to a close is good news for all Doña Ana County residents, and means the Board of County Commissioners and management can keep our focus where it belongs – on substantive matters of public policy,” Williams said.

LCPS board not fazed by superintendent search outcry, and governor praises embattled judge

Posted 5/30/2006 11:33:00 PM

Even the political big dogs could not convince the Las Cruces school board to add Charles White to its list of superintendent finalists Tuesday evening.

Among the 10 people who asked the board to include White were State Rep. Joni Gutierrez, New Mexico State University College of Education Dean Robert Moulton, former Las Cruces school board member Patsy Duran and former State Board of Education member Francis Stevens, who was also the deputy superintendent in Las Cruces in the early 1990s.

After listening to their pleas, the board adjourned without comment.

White, the district’s former deputy superintendent for operations, was the only local named a semifinalist for the top job. The board eliminated him last week from consideration.

But with news that finalist Tony Amato was taking a job in Kansas City, and that two other finalists were up for the top schools job in Aurora, Colo., the board met again Tuesday.

The situation in Las Cruces ended up not being further complicated by the Aurora search. That district named its superintendent Tuesday night, and the choice was not one of the finalists in Las Cruces.

The new list of finalists for the Las Cruces job, approved at Tuesday’s meeting, includes David Barbosa, superintendent for the Grand Prarie (Texas) Independent School District; Sonia Diaz, former superintendent of the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Public Schools; William Harner, principal of Gainesville Middle School in Gainseville, Ga., and Joan Kowal, Florida’s Nova Southeastern University Superintendent in Residence.

At the meeting, Duran told board members they had “lost enormous credibility” by not including White.

“We don’t have time to try out a leader to see if he or she fits,” she said. “We need a leader who can go to work tomorrow.”

Board member Gene Gant was absent from the meeting and did not vote on the new finalist list. Only Chuck Davis voted against the list, and he said he did so because “I do not believe that the set of candidates reflects what the community and our employees would like to see.”

“I think we ought to have a local candidate be part of the process,” Davis said. “Though I don’t necessarily endorse that candidate, I think he should be part of the process.”

White was a tough but fair negotiator with the unions and during employee disputes. He has the backing of the district’s principals and the teachers’ union. Many believe he can restore calm and stabilize the district after two of the last three superintendents left in scandal.

Davis was the only board member to comment at the meeting, though one parent asked the others to resign, and many speakers attacked them.

The 75 people in attendance cheered after each White supporter spoke.

“Look at him, please,” said Moulton, who said he was giving his opinion as an individual, not the education dean at NMSU.

Helen Davis, a teacher and wife of Chuck Davis, reminded board members that they asked for public input.

“Are you going to ignore it? You have people pouring out their hearts to you. They’ve been pouring out their hearts since this process began,” she said.

The most touching moment of the evening came when Ellen Sage, a former teacher at Hermosa Heights Elementary, recalled a time that administrators were invited to read one-on-one with young children at the school. She said White was one of only two administrators who did, and he came several times.

“His words, as best I remember, were, ‘Administrators should do this more often. It reminds us of why we’re here,’” she said.

Gutierrez spoke last.

“You have just been told by all these people, and I’m sure a lot more, that they will help you succeed,” she told board members. “… If it were me, I would say, ‘You know what? These people are the keys to my success, so I’m going to listen to them.’ Let these people help you be successful.”

The board plans to hold a public reception Thursday at Las Cruces High School beginning at 6 p.m. so community members can meet the candidates, who will all be present and will give public statements beginning at 7 p.m. The board will meet Friday to attempt to select the new superintendent.

***

Embattled District Judge Larry Ramirez received a warm reception this weekend from a group of Democrats that included Gov. Bill Richardson.

During a fundraiser in Las Cruces for Patricia Madrid, who is trying to unseat Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., Richardson was acknowledging people in the crowd. A source tells me he heaped some extremely generous praise on Ramirez and his accomplishments, and the approximately 60 people in attendance broke out in applause to honor the Las Cruces children’s court judge.

Ramirez is currently waiting for the New Mexico Supreme Court to rule on a petition for immediate, temporary suspension while the Judicial Standards Commission investigates allegations that he engaged in an ongoing pattern of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments.

Ramirez is already on judicial probation following an incident in which he inappropriately hushed a defense attorney in court and another incident in which he admitted to improperly involving himself in is son’s alcohol-citation case.

There have been two prior investigations by the Administrative Office of the Courts into Ramirez’s conduct. One found in 2004 that sexual harassment had occurred, and Ramirez had to undergo counseling and sexual harassment training. Months later, the second found that Ramirez had engaged in improper conduct in the courtroom, leading to him being reassigned away from the juvenile drug court.

***

Corrections Secretary Joe Williams was suspended without pay by the governor Monday after the Albuquerque Journal reported that he used his government cell phone to make more than 600 calls in five months to a woman who registered as a state lobbyist.

The Journal told an extensive and convincing story indicating that Williams had some sort of personal relationship with the woman and may have misused tax dollars in the pursuit of that relationship.

This comes after the February resignation of New Mexico State Police Chief Carlos Maldonado, who allegedly left over a relationship he was having with a married, female legislator.

How often does this happen in state government? There need to be better checks on those who hold top the state’s top positions.

***

The Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting that 0.5 percent of Doña Ana County residents have voted thus far in the primary election. Come on, people. Get out and vote.

And come back tomorrow for more news and analysis. Thanks for reading!

An earlier version of this posting had "phased," not "fazed," in the headline.

News update: LCPS superintendent finalist likely taking Kansas job, and search uproar continues

Posted 5/30/2006 01:30:00 PM

The Las Cruces school board’s list of superintendent finalists will likely drop from four to three because one candidate is in negotiations to become the superintendent of the Kansas City school district.

Former New Orleans schools superintendent Tony Amato is working out a deal with the Kansas City board to become superintendent there, the Kansas City Star is reporting.

The Las Cruces board meets tonight to discuss its search. In addition to Amato’s likely withdrawal from consideration, two other finalists are also finalists for the top job in Aurora, Colo., and many of the candidates have controversial pasts.

Those pasts are being dug up and spread around by community members upset that the board eliminated Charles White, a former deputy superintendent for operations for the Las Cruces district, from consideration for the top job. Many principals and union members are also upset, believing White is the candidate who can restore calm to the district after the turmoil surrounding two of the past three administrations.

Two Las Cruces superintendents have left under clouds of scandal in recent years.

Amato was a controversial candidate. He was forced out of New Orleans in April 2005 after two years on the job because critics felt he wasn’t making progress in improving budgetary issues.

The other finalists for the Las Cruces job are David Barbosa, superintendent for the Grand Prarie (Texas) Independent School District; Sonia Diaz, former superintendent of the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Public Schools; and William Harner, principal of Gainesville Middle School in Gainseville, Ga.

The board also named alternates: Joan Kowal, Florida’s Nova Southeastern University Superintendent in Residence; and Chip Zullinger, former Manassas (Va.) City Schools Superintendent.

Barbosa’s contract is not being renewed after eight years on the job because the school board felt the district was not making progress. In addition, according to a 1999 article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he was involved in a controversy in which, while he was superintendent, a 17-year-old female high school cheerleader was paddled by a male administrator behind closed doors, with another male administrator present, after she was caught smoking.

Kowal was forced out of her job as superintendent of a school district in Florida in 1999 after three years, according to a 2003 article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. She was then hired in 2001 to run a school district in San Francisco, but dismissed in 2002, the newspaper said.

Kowal blamed both on politics during an attempt to become superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools in 2003.

The public portion of the school board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the district’s administrative office at 505 South Main Street. It will be televised on the city’s public access channel, Comcast channel 20.

House Republicans set to pick new leaders, and sources think Lujan will remain speaker, for now

Posted 5/30/2006 12:17:00 AM

Republican leadership positions in the House are up for grabs.

Sources tell me to expect that Brian Moore of Clayton will be the new minority floor leader and Dan Foley of Roswell will be the minority whip when the legislature convenes in January.

Those positions are up for grabs because current minority leader Ted Hobbs is retiring. The current minority whip, Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo, wants to replace Hobbs.

Two sources tell me that won’t happen.

House Republicans have been ineffective for years because there are several factions, one source said. Many Republicans view Marquardt as an unsuccessful whip and don’t want him as leader.

He was elected whip the last time over Foley by a one-vote margin after a few tie votes. Since then, many Republicans have been trying to replace Marquardt with Foley.

Moore is a choice upon which most House Republicans can agree, two sources said. And though Foley is a controversial legislator with a hot temper, enough Republicans are fed up with Marquardt that they’ll vote for him, they said.

The main criticism of Marquardt is that he has made deals with the governor to save his own capital outlay requests, often at the expense of the Republican agenda, infuriating many.

Marquardt apparently sent out an e-mail immediately after Hobbs announced he was retiring seeking support for his bid to replace the leader.

“It’s almost like he is oblivious to all this,” one source told me.

Another source said most Republican House members are uniting behind Moore and Foley in an attempt to make a stand. Democrats have accomplished much in the past few years, despite disunity caused by a polarizing governor, in part because the Republicans have been even more disorganized.

“Expect a dramatic different from the minority party,” the source said. “Expect a closing of the ranks.”

Since they don’t have opponents this year, Moore and Foley can focus on lobbying for the leadership positions. Marquardt has a potentially tough re-election battle ahead of him against Democrat Nate Cote. The Doña Ana County Democrats think this is one legislative seat they have a chance of taking from Republicans, and the three Democratic House members from the county who are unopposed are working hard to help Cote.

I’m not convinced that Cote will win, but Marquardt will have to spend a lot of time campaigning in the next few months. There is some discontent among Doña Ana County Republicans with their party’s leadership, but I don’t think it’s bad enough that Cote will take Republican votes from Marquardt.

I also don’t think the House leadership deal is done, at least in the case of minority whip. Foley is a polarizing figure, disliked by some members of his party who will be hesitant to give him more power.

Which leads to Roswell, Foley’s home. There’s been a nasty battle between Republican Party factions seeking control of things in Chaves County, which has boiled over publicly in the stealing and trashing of campaign signs and attacking letters to the editor of the Roswell Daily Record.

Foley is out to show he holds the power in Chaves County. If he can do that, he’ll probably pick up the votes he needs for minority whip. If he can’t, he risks appearing weak, one source said.

***

Meanwhile, the two sources who spoke with me about Republican leadership think the move among some House Democrats to oust Ben Lujan as their speaker won’t go anywhere, at least this year.

Lujan has been under fire since he slipped a $75 million appropriation into the capital outlay bill in this year’s session without the knowledge of most of his colleagues. The governor later vetoed the money because he wasn’t told about it, either.

One source predicted House Democrats will keep Lujan as their leader as long as he wants to stay despite the distrust many have of him. The other said Democrats may force Lujan out, but will allow him to exit gracefully. They’ll keep him as speaker for the next two years but force him, in exchange, to retire from the legislature at that time, so it will appear that he opted to go.

Nothing has been decided, but Lujan has a fight ahead of him.

***

Thanks for reading today. The primary election is only a week away. If you’re a Democrat or Republican, why don’t you go vote now? Get it over with. Ensure that you actually do it.

Come back tomorrow for the latest political news.

An earlier version of this posting had Chaves County misspelled.

When we assume the worst about each other, the system breaks down and nothing is accomplished

Posted 5/28/2006 11:48:00 PM

Scandal seems to permeate politics these days.

As the nation becomes more polarized, allegations monopolize the headlines. Many are deserved. Former state Treasurer Robert Vigil needed to be ousted. So did Eric Serna, the outgoing state insurance superintendent.

There are a lot of problems with our political system. Corporate money has too much influence. The media rarely scrutinizes what’s happening. Many citizens aren’t involved.

But some scandals and allegations are born when polarized politicos assume the worst about each other.

When that happens, the debate and compromise upon which our system of government is dependent breaks down. The public becomes even more distrustful of its leaders.

District Attorney Susana Martinez, a Republican, recently told me she is supporting Democrat Gary Perez in the race for Doña Ana County assessor. When I asked why, Martinez said the Republican candidate isn’t qualified, and Perez has spent years proving himself.

After I wrote about her endorsement on my blog, many Democrats cried foul. The most prevalent conspiracy theory is that Martinez, whose husband is the undersheriff, wants to appear moderate to help her husband and the sheriff take Democratic votes away from their opponent in this year’s election.

That’s silly. The vast majority of voters don’t know that Martinez is married to the undersheriff, or that his name is Chuck Franco.

The reality is that Martinez and I were discussing several candidates when assessor hopeful H.F. “Junior” Adams came up. She said she heard him speak and didn’t believe he was qualified for the job. I asked if that meant she supported Perez, and she said yes. I asked if she would say that for the record. She hesitated, then agreed.

I steered the conversation toward her doing that. If anything, she was reluctant to do so.

Another example: Many Republicans are up in arms about the recently released special audit of county government. It found widespread problems as recently as 2004, but the state auditor says it appears the problems have largely been fixed.

An audit next year will check that. The New Mexico State Police are still investigating three audit findings.

Many Republicans aren’t satisfied. They want County Manager Brian Haines fired. They assume that, because he worked for the commission that committed many of the violations, he’s a criminal.

Why would the commission fire the man who has worked tirelessly to fix most of the problems revealed by the audit? It’s for prosecutors and a jury, not the commission, to decide whether he is a criminal.

Treasurer Jim Schoonover is a victim of the same assumptions plaguing Haines. He bought some pencils with his name on them using taxpayer money and gave them to kids. The county attorney says they have no public value and accuses Schoonover of a felony crime. The pencils will likely result in an audit finding, as will the allegation that he used county staffers and equipment to record minutes for the Elks Lodge, if it’s true. He’ll probably have to reimburse the county for the costs.

If you’re assuming the worst, Schoonover and Haines appear to be criminals. Many Democrats have said for years that Martinez is a criminal.

The reality is that these people work hard for us. They could move to the private sector, make more money and work less.

Like the majority of public officials, they care about doing good. That doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes.

If we quit assuming the worst about each other, we could accomplish more. The commission, with three Democrats and two Republicans, accomplished a lot in the past 18 months, including the settlement of a longtime water battle with Sunland Park that had stymied economic development. It worked with the Republican sheriff to approve a tax increase to pay our officers more.

These weren’t political actions. They were accomplishments made only when officials put politics aside and worked together.

Our community could use more of that.

***

Thanks for reading today. Don’t forget to vote in the online poll on the right side of this page, and come back for more politics news tomorrow!

BREAKING NEWS: High court asked to permanently ban Galvan from becoming a judge again

Posted 5/26/2006 11:48:00 AM

The New Mexico Supreme Court has been asked to ban former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan from holding judicial office again.

This week’s filing by the Judicial Standards Commission is the result of an April trial before the board and states that Galvan “is unfit to hold judicial office.”

The high court has not set a date for oral arguments.

Galvan resigned last year amid allegations that he raped and solicited a bribe from a Las Cruces woman in August 2004. After two hung juries, prosecutors dropped the criminal charges.

Galvan admitted in a statement to police to actions that may violate the judicial code of conduct. While drinking and flirting in a bar, he discussed with the woman a pending battery case against her husband, though she was the alleged victim in that case. He had sex with the woman, though she and her husband had been married two months earlier by Galvan.

He also took the woman for a ride in his Porsche, though he told police he had too much to drink before driving.

Before the rape allegation surfaced, Galvan was barred from hearing criminal cases for a time because he had a sexual relationship with an assistant district attorney while hearing cases she was prosecuting. He also has two prior drunken driving convictions.

The fact that the commission is asking the court to permanently keep Galvan off the bench means the two sides could not reach a settlement on their own, most likely because Galvan refused to agree to never again run for judicial office.

Galvan has said he may attend law school and become an attorney.

He does exist! In scathing attack, Damron calls Richardson administration most corrupt ever

Posted 5/25/2006 11:09:00 PM

Republican gubernatorial candidate J.R. Damron has been silent thus far in the election season, baffling those who believe Gov. Bill Richardson is vulnerable on many issues.

No more.

In a speech he gave across the street from the federal courthouse Thursday in Albuquerque, Damron called Richardson’s “the most corrupt administration in our state’s history.”

“Pay to play, abuse of power and cronyism have become just the way we do things in New Mexico,” Damron said. “Multiple Richardson administration officials have had to resign in disgrace.”

“Whether by fear and intimidation, or rampant nepotism, this governor and his cronies are conducting the state’s business – the people’s business – in an irresponsible and dishonest manner,” he said.

Damron was announcing his proposal for ethics reform, which is included below along with a transcript of Damron’s speech.

More interesting than the proposal was Damron’s message to voters.

“Ethics laws mean nothing when those who violate them are not held accountable for their actions. And if the people do not demand that their top elected officials, such as the governor and the attorney general, be held accountable, no one else will,” Damron said. “The best and most important way to ensure our government operates in the highest ethical manner is to elect honest officials.”

Democracy requires debate and choice. Until Thursday, Damron was doing little to challenge Richardson’s re-election campaign. I hope there is more of this to come in the next few months, and that Richardson also engages Damron.

Maybe we’ll even see the candidates in a debate. How about holding one in Las Cruces?

Here are the details of Damron’s ethics proposal and a transcript of his speech:

***

Damron’s ethics proposal:

• Standing nonpartisan ethics commission

1. A standing nonpartisan ethics commission should be established.

2. The commission will hold open, public meetings and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor on a codified, regulated standard code of conduct for all state employees.

3. Ethics training, education and counseling must be made mandatory for all state employees and political appointees who have a fiduciary or procurement responsibility.

4. The commission must be empowered to punish those who violate this code.

5. All ethics findings and/or violations must become part of the public record.

6. The governor should be required to present an annual state-of-ethics report to the legislature, at which time he and the ethics commission will be required to answer questions about the report by members of the House and Senate.

• Eliminating Cronyism

1. Implement a rigorous, merit-based system for hiring qualified state and political appointees.

2. Establish a thorough vetting process.

• Eliminating Pay to Play

1. All political appointees will have to submit and sign annual financial disclosures, which will be open to the public.

2. Any company with business before the state will be prohibited from contributing to the campaigns of any sitting elected state official. All meetings concerning RFPs (requests for proposals) must be open to the public and include all bidders.

3. The timely disclosure of travel expenses and funding from all state elected officials and political appointees will be required.

***

Transcript of Damron’s speech

Good afternoon. I’m J.R. Damron, and I’m here today to prescribe a solution for ending the corruption and scandals that are running amok in our state government.

For the last three and a half years, New Mexico has had to endure the most corrupt administration in our state’s history.

In the courthouse across the street, the trial for the worst scandal in our state government’s history just played out.

Pay to play, abuse of power, and cronyism have become just the way we do things in New Mexico.

Multiple Richardson administration officials have had to resign in disgrace.

Friends, you can be blind or you can turn a blind eye, but the most hands-on governor we’ve ever had can’t use either of those excuses.

Whether by fear and intimidation, or rampant nepotism, this governor and his cronies are conducting the state’s business - the people’s business - in an irresponsible and dishonest manner.

And that’s a leadership problem.

I find it strange that this administration has to look to another task force to find its ethics. It’s been my experience that if you have to look outside for something, you probably didn’t have it at home in the first place!

Strong ethics are the backbone of good government, not something you make up as you go along.

We must seek to bring more transparency in general to government by opening more meetings and documents to the public.

Pay to play and cronyism are games that must stop.

The governor has established an ethics task force to study what new laws or regulations may be passed. And there are steps that should be taken to restore higher ethical standards to our state government and discourage corruption. These include:

• Enforcing a rigorous merit-based system of hiring qualified state and political appointees and implementing a thorough vetting process.

• Implementing a standing nonpartisan ethics commission. We are one of only a few states that doesn’t have one.

• The commission should hold open, public meetings and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor on a codified, regulated standard code of conduct for all state employees and officials.

• Ethics training, education and counseling must be made available to all state employees and be made mandatory for all state employees and political appointees who have a fiduciary or procurement responsibility.

But laundry lists of new ethics guidelines or laws are not a magic bullet. Every time an official violates the law or behaves in an unethical manner, the first impulse is to pass more new laws. But the bottom line is that ethics mean nothing to unethical people, and new laws are meaningless if the current ones are not being enforced.

Ethics laws mean nothing when those who violate them are not held accountable for their actions. And if the people do not demand that their top elected officials, such as the governor and the attorney general, be held accountable, no one else will.

The best and most important way to ensure our government operates in the highest ethical manner is to elect honest officials.

The headlines from over the past year show just how endangered democracy is in New Mexico. It is embedded with corruption and unethical officials at virtually all levels of government, all the way up to the Fourth Floor of the Roundhouse.

Our governor demonstrates his lack of ethical standards all too clearly, even in the legislation he chooses to sign or veto.

Let me ask you, what kind of governor - what kind of man - saddles the most vulnerable of our state with a $3,200-a-year bed tax, and then uses taxpayer money to buy a new $5 million jet?

What kind of man spends half a million dollars trying to get a pro-football team, but vetoes money for homeless children?

How is it that this governor couldn’t find $7,000 for school library books for our kids, even with a $1.4 billion surplus?

Not the kind of governor who puts New Mexicans first.

And here’s a headline I threw in just for fun. “Governor pays $200,000 for new ideas.”

Well here’s an idea: How about electing an honest and ethical governor to lead New Mexico?

It’s time to put New Mexicans first. It’s time to make the state’s opaque government as transparent as possible in order to protect their best interests. And it’s time to throw out corrupt, dishonest officials and replace them with people who have a track record of honesty and integrity.

***

This should make the election a bit more interesting. Chew on that while you enjoy the holiday weekend, and come back Monday for more on New Mexico politics.

BREAKING NEWS: Governor releases details of National Guard's role on border

Posted 5/25/2006 04:40:00 PM

Gov. Bill Richardson released today details of the National Guard deployment to the New Mexico border ordered by President Bush.

Richardson spoke with Lieutenant General Steven Blum, head of the National Guard, according to a news release. Here are the details the governor released:

On June 1, 50 members of the New Mexico National Guard will be deployed to the border to handle planning and logistics for the overall Guard operation in the state. In mid-June, those troops will be joined by an additional 100 Guard troops that Richardson previously directed perform a regular training mission along the border in a similar support effort.

This will be followed by an additional 50 troops per month through September.

When this mission is fully operational, the total number of Guard troops stationed along the border in New Mexico will be approximately 200. This is in addition to the 68 troops already on the border who are performing various missions in support of border security.

Additional Guard troops from other states will be available to augment local troops if necessary.

These troops will remain under the command and control of the governor of each state.

The federal government will cover all of the costs of this mission up-front.

The deployment is expected to be phased out within two years as the Border Patrol brings new agents on line, according to the news release.

Land commish hopefuls both qualified, Macias tries again, and critics attack cock-fighting candidate

Posted 5/25/2006 01:01:00 AM

The candidates for land commissioner in the Democratic primary are very different people.

Jim Baca is confrontational and pushes hard to accomplish his agenda. Ray Powell seeks to meet his goals by building bridges and forming alliances.

I’m not going to profile both men. Mainstream media has done a good job of profiling both, who are former land commissioners, and detailing their records.

What I am going to tell you is that either is a viable choice for the Democratic Party.

Baca has no problem being blunt about what he sees as the shortcomings of Powell and Patrick Lyons, the Republican who currently holds the office. He has made many enemies in his years in politics. Democrats overwhelmingly voted for Powell during this year’s preprimary nominating convention.

Long ago, Baca led a much-needed reform of the state’s liquor-license laws. Politicos who own bars have never forgotten it, and that’s why some dislike him.

Others think he’s a poor leader because he is so abrasive.

Baca shakes things up. He’s not someone the party can count on to fall in line.

I like that. Any candidate who isn’t owned by a political party gets my attention.

Powell is better at finding common ground and planting a tree in the middle of it. He audited 15 oil and gas companies as land commissioner and collected more than $120 million in owed taxes through negotiations. He sued the one company that refused to pay, proving he isn’t afraid to make enemies when necessary.

He has many more friends in the party than Baca.

I like his ability to find compromise.

The reality of politics is that there’s not one right philosophy of governance. If all elected officials were Democrats, we would pay too many taxes and be overregulated. If they were Republicans, corporations would control the universe.

If only nice guys like Powell were in government, everyone would seek compromise and no one would push for major reform when necessary. If they were all like Baca, no one would compromise. Everyone would be shouting at the same time.

We need people like both Baca and Powell in government.

After meeting with both candidates in separate meetings in Las Cruces, I’m convinced they have the right intentions and the interests of the people of New Mexico at heart. The voters have a tough choice to make.

***

Fernando Macias is continuing his quest to jump back into politics.

This time, he’s applied for a new district judgeship in Las Cruces that was created this year by the legislature and will be assigned to the overworked children’s court.

Macias, a state senator from 1985-2000 and Doña Ana County manager from 1997 to 2000, left to take the prestigious job in Ciudad Juarez as general manager of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission.

He recently began efforts to jump back into politics, first by considering a run for county commission, which he later abandoned, then by applying for a vacancy on the Mesilla Board of Trustees.

Macias didn’t get the appointment. Some speculate that Mayor Michael Cadena didn’t want someone more powerful than himself on the board.

Some also say Macias has little chance of being appointed judge, because he hasn’t practiced law in more than a decade. Though the governor makes the appointment, he’ll have to choose from a group of finalists selected by a committee. The system is set up so that the committee is not political and, historically, that’s how it’s worked out.

Though Macias might have some influence with the governor, he may have a hard time getting to the point where that matters.

The other applicants are Frederick Kennon, Las Cruces Municipal Judge James T. Locatelli, Michael Murphy, Rita Nuñez Neumann, Melissa Reeves and Bernadette Sedillo.

The nominating commission will meet in Las Cruces on July 27 to interview the candidates.

***

I keep hearing criticism of Chris Jaramillo, who is running in the Democratic primary against Doña Ana County Commissioner Oscar Vasquez Butler. He is a lobbyist for the cockfighting industry.

I wrote several weeks ago that it would be interesting to see him work with Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, whose senate district overlaps that commission district, since Garcia has been the champion of the unsuccessful effort to outlaw cockfighting in New Mexico, one of two states where it’s still legal.

Animal rights groups have begun a concerted effort to keep Jaramillo off the commission. They have found citizens to write several letters to the editors of both local newspapers, and I’ve been contacted by many people who don’t want Jaramillo on the commission.

Butler has faced criticism in his time on the commission, which has been reported here and in local media. He has upset many Democrats but won over many others, especially in the colonias.

But many are asking whether Jaramillo belongs on a commission that has already outlawed cockfighting in this county.

I don’t think that should disqualify him. Were a vote related to cockfighting ever before the commission, I would expect that he would recuse himself. Commissioners aren’t paid much and have to make a living. Many local politicians hold down other jobs and have to recuse themselves from time to time when their jobs conflict with their political positions.

The question is whether voters in commission District One want someone representing them who supports a practice already outlawed in this county. It’s a question I’ll leave to those voters, but I suspect there’s a wide variety of opinion on the subject. Some in the more urban Picacho Hills area are probably oppose cockfighting, but the district also includes most of the county’s rural communities, and it’s rural voters who have kept cockfighting alive in New Mexico.

Stay tuned.

***

I met with Stephanie Gonzales when she was in town recently. She’s one of the Democrats running for secretary of state.

(I’m writing about her and not the others because she came to town and asked to meet with me, and they have not.)

Gonzales said she plans to lobby Congress to reauthorize the 1965 Voter Rights Act, which, among other things, allowed ballots and other literature to be published in languages other than English. It’s critical for New Mexicans that the act be reauthorized.

Who knows why Congress put an expiration date on the law, but it’s up next year. In the context of the current immigration debate, this is likely to become a hot issue.

Gonzales also said, on a party level, she wants to reach out to Greens and other progressives to try to bring them into the Democratic Party.

“We need to bring them to the table,” she said. “We need to listen to them.”

She had an interesting take on voter identification.

“If you really want voter ID and you want teeth in it, it’s going to have to be a photo ID,” she said.

But when I asked whether she supported doing that, she said it would disenfranchise a lot of people, and she is pushing instead for same-day voter registration, which she said would address many of the concerns that have led to the push for voter ID.

When I asked her why she couldn’t push for both, she said, “Fight one battle at a time.”

You can learn more about Gonzales by clicking here.

***

I’m on the Michael Swickard show this morning at 8 a.m. If you get a chance, tune in. Don’t forget that you can get the day’s headlines in your e-mail box by entering your address in the subscription box on the right side of this page.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

Principals’ protest reveals deep wounds in the Las Cruces school district; plus, where is J.R. Damron?

Posted 5/23/2006 11:11:00 PM

As a group, Las Cruces Public Schools principals watched quietly as three union-backed candidates were elected to the school board more than five years ago, and as the anti-union and controversial Superintendent Jesse Gonzales quit in frustration.

They watched as allegations of secret board payments to Gonzales surfaced, and as board members were recalled and convicted of violating the New Mexico Open Meetings Act in 2002.

A few spoke as individuals against the recall but, as a group, principals remained silent.

They watched again when the board hired Louis Martinez to take the helm in 2003. They watched as allegations surfaced against him and he was eventually chased out, but not before he ousted longtime Mayfield Principal Robert Ogas.

Again, a few spoke, but as a group, they remained silent.

The principals finally left the bleachers and stormed the field last night.

When the school board announced finalists for the district’s top job at last night’s meeting, four principals, including Las Cruces High School’s Nyeta Haines, told the board they were disappointed that they hadn’t been included in the process. When board members tried to explain that principals and others would be included from this point forward, about 25 principals – the vast majority in the district – walked out of the meeting, leaving in mid-sentence a board member who was addressing them.

The action revealed deep wounds that have never healed from the scandals of the past few years, and a group of administrators fed up because they believe they haven’t been heard.

Here’s the result: The principals think the board has already failed, before it’s picked the new superintendent.

The unspoken issue Tuesday night was the board’s decision to eliminate Charles White from the list of contenders. White, the district’s former deputy superintendent for operations, quit in frustration last year over the leadership of Martinez.

He had the backing of the Mayfield faction of the district, making his candidacy controversial since at least some board members supported the ousting of the notorious Ogas. Sources said some board members didn’t take White’s application seriously because they thought he had little support outside Mayfield.

They were very, very wrong, as the principals showed.

Many felt White was the man to stabilize the district, to provide solid leadership for a few years while allowing the district to heal from the wounds of the past. The support extended far beyond Mayfield and included parents, students, teachers and administrators.

It’s understandable that the board may not have agreed. Board members hired Foltz to stabilize the district and then made the wrong choice in Martinez. Why not try a different tactic this time?

It must have been frustrating to spend years trying to rebuild from the Gonzales mess only to have things fall apart again last year. Board members are probably anxious to get things going again.

Instead, they have another big mess on their hands. This district is becoming accustomed to dealing with turmoil. The next superintendent will face quite a task in trying to clean it up and unite the district.

Superintendent finalists are set to be interviewed June 1 and 2. The board must figure out how to truly include principals and everyone in the process.

***

Where is J.R. Damron? When his party views his opponent as so vulnerable on so many issues, why aren’t we hearing from the Republican seeking the governor’s seat?

“Money – he ain’t got any,” said one Republican.

But there’s another factor, the party insider said.

“I’m for Damron and I like the guy,” he said. “But he’s the kind of guy you want as a dad or a grandpa. He isn’t going to attack anybody. He’s a nice guy.”

Of course, Matt Farrauto, spokesman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, put it bluntly:

“He knows nothing about government and even less about campaigning,” Farrauto said. “He also has no money to pay someone who might know how to campaign.”

The Republicans couldn’t have come up with a nicer gift for a governor who wants to be president than the chance to get more than two-thirds of the vote this year.

***

Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s re-election television commercials began airing statewide Tuesday, even in Las Cruces. Many candidates won’t buy airtime here because we’re in the El Paso/Las Cruces market, not the Albuquerque market.

Bingaman’s ad will run for several weeks on network and cable television, and cost the senator more than $200,000, his spokesman said.

The 60-second ad targets rural and Southern New Mexico voters by highlighting Bingaman’s Silver City roots.

If you care, you can view the ad by clicking here.

***

Some have inquired again about how to e-mail my blog postings to friends. You can do it by clicking on the letter icon at the end of the posting.

Thanks for reading today. Come back tomorrow for more.

BREAKING NEWS: LCPS principals walk out in protest as board names superintendent finalists

Posted 5/23/2006 09:10:00 PM

The Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education named four finalists and two alternative finalists at a meeting tonight. The finalists are Tony Amato, former New Orleans Public Schools superintendent; David Barbosa, superintendent for the Grand Prarie (Texas) Independent School District; Sonia Diaz, former superintendent of the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Public Schools; and William Harner, principal of Gainesville Middle School in Gainseville, Ga.

The alternate finalists, should any of the finalists drop out, are Joan Kowal, Florida’s Nova Southeastern University Superintendent in Residence; and Chip Zullinger, former Manassas (Va.) City Schools Superintendent.

That cut the list from eight to six, essentially.

Principals were unhappy. Four spoke to the board to share their belief that they have been left out of the process. When board members tried to explain how they would be involved from this point forward, some 25 principals walked out as a group in protest.

There’s much more to this story. Come back tomorrow for more.

Fallout from Vigil mistrial, border crisis hits home, and Big Bill wants to have a cigar with you

Posted 5/22/2006 11:15:00 PM

Monday’s mistrial in the case of former State Treasurer Robert Vigil doesn’t mean the charges are going away, doesn’t mean criticism of Attorney General Patricia Madrid is going away, and is likely to increase calls for ethics reform in the state, sources told me.

In case anyone didn’t hear, 11 of 12 jurors told the judge they did not believe they could reach a verdict on any of the 24 counts against Vigil in the massive public corruption case. Apparently, there was one juror who insisted that Vigil was innocent.

It was Vigil’s attorney, Sam Bregman, who made the motion for a mistrial. One source who is a lawyer told me Bregman pulled a classic move by not presenting a defense, a move that was criticized by many during the trial. But Bregman probably had a sense from watching the jury and the prosecution’s case that a mistrial was likely.

Now he has seen the cards held by federal prosecutors, and they’ve seen none of his.

A gamble, but it paid off in a big way

On to round two.

What an expensive fight. Jurors from around the state spent weeks in Albuquerque. A new jury will have to do it all over again.

Gov. Bill Richardson immediately released a statement saying that, despite the verdict, testimony revealed “corruption and a serious breach of public trust within the treasurer’s office” that “clearly demonstrates the need for comprehensive ethics and campaign finance reform.”

Another source told me the mistrial would increase pressure on the legislature and governor to pass meaningful ethics reform. The others charged in this scandal, including Vigil’s predecessor, Michael Montoya, quietly pleaded guilty to charges they faced.

Guilty or not, Vigil has become the face of this scandal. The failure of prosecutors to get a conviction on the first try might make the public impatient and shift some of the pressure for action to lawmakers.

Rumors of a special session abound.

Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who has faced allegations that she was asked years before the feds to investigate the treasurer’s office but did nothing, won’t be helped in her bid for Congress by Monday’s mistrial, one source told me. For starters, the Republicans will use the fact that so many others, including Montoya, pleaded guilty. They don’t need a Vigil conviction to attack Madrid.

Second, the retrial will probably take place before November. Federal courts are much more efficient than the state court system.

“I think the federal prosecutors – headed by Republicans – will work very hard to get this thing retried before November,” one source told me.

Some think Republicans are desperate in New Mexico, seeing little chance to win any statewide races. That leaves them to put most of their resources into the battle between Madrid and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M.

“They want to hold on to the House seat. That’s the only thing they’ve got in New Mexico,” the source said. “If they lose the House, it will be impeachment season.”

Madrid called for Vigil’s resignation months ago, and said Monday she will review testimony from the federal case to search for violations of state laws.

One source said that is too little too late. I guess we’ll see in November whether the voters agree, but it appears that a lot is going to happen before the election.

Fortunately for Madrid, the problems plaguing Republicans in the federal government rival those plaguing Democrats in New Mexico, so the scandals may cancel each other out on Election Day.

That might mean voters will just stay home. I hope not.

***

While politicians fight about what to do with the U.S.-Mexico border, people are dying.

Beeatriz Sanchez Nicholas, 27, of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was found dead Saturday in the desert north of Las Cruces. She and her husband were abandoned by guides after she showed signs of heat exhaustion. He went for help, but Border Patrol agents returned to find his wife dead.

Some will say she deserved it, or that she shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Maybe she didn’t have a right to be here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be compassionate. Congress needs to put politics aside and act, now. It’s hot out here in the desert. People are dying.

In the meantime, perhaps the National Guard troops President Bush is sending this way should set up shade tents and hand out water, like they often do at public events in Las Cruces.

They would probably save a few lives.

***

I wrote last week about many people expressing concern that Magistrate Judge Olivia N. Garcia had reported so many anonymous donations on her May campaign contribution report.

Of the almost $7,000 she raised, Garcia reported $1,700 as anonymous contributions, including 15 of $100 each.

As it turns out, state law only allows $500 in anonymous contributions. I called Garcia’s treasurer, Nadine Handy, to inquire about that Monday, and found that she already knew about and had corrected the problem. Garcia’s fundraising committee filed an amended report Friday that includes two anonymous contributions of $100 each.

The other donors who were previously listed as anonymous are now named in the report.

The mistake was Handy’s, not Garcia’s. Judges are required to set up committees to handle their money and then stay away from it all. In theory, Garcia didn’t even know who was donating to her campaign, except when people called her to say they wanted to donate. Garcia told me she refers those callers to Handy.

You can view Garcia’s and other campaign finance reports by clicking here.

***

Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Las Cruces Wednesday at the home of State Rep. Joni Gutierrez and her husband, Lowell Catlett, for a reception and book signing. You have to pay to get in - $30 for the reception and $25 for the book signing.

It’s what happens next that’s interesting: one of those infamous “Richardson Roundtable” events.

It’s a gathering of the inner circle – those willing to pay big to hang out with Big Bill. Unless you’re already in good standing (you’ve paid a few times before), you have to put up $1,000 to joint the governor for “cigars and cognac,” according to the invitation. (If you’re already a friend, it’ll only cost you $100 this time.)

The invitation has a sort of watermark of a sword with jewels on the handle behind the text.

Cognac and cigars conjure images of a bunch of White men in suits hanging out in the study while the wives wash dishes and play bridge. Speaking of cigars, let’s not forget that the White House tried to give Monica Lewinsky a job with Richardson after that cigar incident.

Does the governor really want to associate his campaign with those images?

***

There’s lots going on in the political arena. Come back tomorrow for more.

An earlier version of this posting incorrectly stated that Richardson sent Lewinsky to the White House, not the other way around.

BREAKING NEWS: Former treasurer Vigil's trial ends with deadlocked jury

Posted 5/22/2006 04:24:00 PM

U.S. District Judge James Parker declared a mistrial Monday in the public corruption trial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, and prosecutors promptly announced they would seek a new trial, the Associated Press reported late Monday. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

I'll have more on this tomorrow.

Paper mistakes one Curry for another, PRC primary gets nasty, and Cruces community leader passes

Posted 5/21/2006 11:20:00 PM

An embarrassing mistake in the local newspaper had politicos all over Doña Ana County talking this weekend.

On Saturday, the Las Cruces Sun-News ran an article about an issue I wrote about last week: allegations that Environment Secretary Ron Curry sent inspectors to a local restaurant after he was refused service there. Instead of a photo of Democrat Ron Curry, the front-page article was accompanied by the photograph of Doña Ana County Commissioner Paul Curry, a Republican.

The article mentions the environment secretary’s first name once, with a lot of references to a Curry after that, alongside the commissioner’s photograph.

So do you think the one reference to Ron Curry or the photograph of Paul Curry left a more lasting impression?

Those who actually read the article thoroughly certainly didn’t confuse the two. And anyone who doesn’t know what Paul Curry looks like probably didn’t notice the error.

But studies have shown that the vast majority of people don’t read articles thoroughly. Most don’t get past the headline or the first sentence, but they do look at photographs. And Paul Curry’s face is well-known around town. He is a politician, builder, church member and avid bicyclist who was born and raised here.

The damage is done. Thankfully, though Curry’s seat is up for grabs this year, he chose not to seek re-election, or the mistake would be much worse.

I attended the Democratic candidate forum at New Mexico State University this weekend. Many Democrats thought the mistake was hilarious.

Many Republicans were, obviously, upset.

Give the Sun-News credit for correcting the mistake on the front page of S