Richardson needs to take LFC audit seriously

When a new report finds nepotism and other problems with a state agency, I’d expect an ethical governor, or one who wants to be viewed as a reformer, to express concern and vow to implement change.

Instead, Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday accused the Legislative Finance Committee, which conducted the audit of the state Personnel Office, of “nitpicking.”

His response gives lawmakers another excuse to ignore his calls for ethics reform.

The LFC on Thursday released an audit that said the Personnel Office deviated from hiring practices for several months in 2005 and 2006, practiced nepotism and violated the state procurement code and travel rules, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Serious findings. I’ve written recently about the weight a procurement code violation can carry.

Not in Richardson’s view, apparently.

“It struck me as posturing by the LFC by pointing out three minor problems,” Richardson said at a Friday news conference, according to the Journal. “As you know, the leadership of the LFC likes to sometimes embarrass the administration and the staff.”

He’s accusing the lawmakers of politics?

Nepotism is not a minor problem. Procurement code and travel rule violations are not minor problems. These issues, which have at times been and may still be rampant in state government, form the basis of the culture of corruption that leads to larger abuses like those uncovered by the plea bargains in the Bernalillo County Metro Courthouse scandal.

Richardson is intelligent. He understands this. He also had to understand that calling for limits on campaign contributions last year while he was accepting huge sums of money for his re-election campaign could be viewed as hypocritical.

So why does he do it? Why does he, instead of taking a serious audit seriously, accuse the LFC of politics?

“What do you expect from someone running for president? He wants to be untainted,” Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela, D-Santa Fe and the LFC vice chairman, told the Journal.

Bingo. Richardson has charged his reconvened ethics task force with examining the reasons behind the resistance in the Legislature to ethics reform. As I’ve written before, his hypocrisy gives lawmakers an excuse to ignore his calls for reform.

Richardson must lead by example

But it’s not the only reason a number of lawmakers aren’t open to Richardson’s reform proposals. They have no problem pointing a finger at the executive branch, as they’re doing in the latest audit, but, as a group, they aren’t looking honestly at themselves. I’ve written recently about the controversy involving state Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, and capital outlay money he secured that his wife is accused of abusing.

A bipartisan group of senators said repeatedly during this year’s regular session that the executive may need ethics reform, but there’s no evidence that anything improper has been done by a lawmaker. Since then, former Senate President Manny Aragon has been indicted. Vigil was already under a cloud before the session started.

Where are the calls for an investigation into whether Vigil did anything improper?

The Legislature’s unwillingness to hold its own members accountable smacks of the same sleaze that characterizes Richardson’s actions and words. The executive and legislators need to start taking more seriously their duties to ensure their own branches of government are running ethically.

But the burden here really falls on Richardson to lead by example. He’s the king of the mountain. He’s the one calling for reform. A leader who sets the example is one who is usually followed. One who tells others to do the opposite of what he’s doing usually gets nowhere.