State Auditor Hector Balderas is off to a quick start in his first six months on the job.
Thus far, the Democrat has fulfilled his campaign pledge to focus on combating fraud and mismanagement in state government with several actions:
• He’s creating a fraud hotline for callers who want to provide information about potential misuse of public money. He’s also increased constituent services, including hiring someone to deal with the media, in an effort to educate the public about what the office does.
• He has secured money to hire two investigators to help fill in the gap that exists between an audit being completed and a case being ready for prosecution. The lack of an investigative unit to take audit findings and determine whether there was criminal activity behind them has allowed several audits in
• He’s working on an agreement with the attorney general on how audits that need further investigation by police or prosecutors will be transitioned, and what the role of each office will be.
• He has used the subpoena power granted to the auditor’s office to obtain records as part of an investigation in
• He has worked out a deal with Los Alamos National Laboratory to have the federal government loan his office, for two years, a fraud examiner, which is essentially the police version of an auditor and is trained in investigative and interrogation techniques. The benefit to the federal government is that the examiner gets experience at the state level that will help the lab implement changes.
• Balderas is pushing, as did his predecessor Domingo Martinez, for the Legislature to fund a special prosecutor for white-collar crime that would work with his office but be under the First Judicial District Attorney’s office.
• He found, when he took office in January, that 40 percent of government audits aren’t completed on time, and he’s working to reduce that number. He wants the Legislature to implement a system that doesn’t allow local governments to receive any capital outlay money beyond what’s necessary for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens unless they complete audits on time.
At 33, Balderas is a young and energetic official with a vision to increase the influence of the state auditor and also build a career for himself – goals that at this point are one and the same. He’s considering running against U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., in 2008, but said, during a trip to
Clearly, that’s true, but Balderas said the congressional race intrigues him because ethics has been such an issue in government in recent years. He said he might be interested in taking on Wilson, who has been plagued by the
“They want to see someone who has done it,” Balderas said.
A job with potential
As a former state House member who was part of a moderate group pushing for reform before the party put him on the ballot to run for auditor last year, Balderas has seen the problems in state government from the perspectives of two branches.
I asked Balderas, if he stays out of the 2008 race, whether he will run for re-election in 2010 or if he might be enticed to run for lieutenant governor or another position. He didn’t directly answer, but said that, in some states, the auditor is the second most powerful elected official behind the governor.
“I think the State Auditor’s Office is the best-kept secret in policymaking,” he said.
It certainly has such potential. The auditor has the power to shine the light on the activities of state and local governments and, if it continues to move in the direction Balderas is pushing, to do something about it.
Balderas said there’s a reason wants more power for the auditor’s office.
“There is a need for systemic reform of how we manage our finances in
Balderas pointed out that his office has 32 employees – fewer than that of the Doña Ana County District Attorney. He’ll be pushing in the next few years for further expansion of his budget. That, he said, will help the state ensure its money is being spent properly and will reduce government waste, which will free up more money for addressing critical issues.
“I really believe that most people who are in public service really want to solve problems,” Balderas said. “It’s good for them to invest in accountability.”