Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Gov. Bill Richardson is one of the worst governors in the nation, a Washington watchdog group said today, calling him one of 11 governors who “pride their self-interests over their states’.”
The new report, from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), represents the second time the group has gone after New Mexico politicians. In 2007, the group listed former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson – all Republicans – as three of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress.
The group primarily targeted GOP officials in 2007, and on its current list nine of the 11 governors are Republicans. Richardson and the scandal-plagued New York Gov. David Patterson are the two Democrats to make the list.
CREW charged that Richardson has:
• “Used state investments to benefit political allies.”
• “Allowed pay-to-play scandals to plague his administration.”
• “Rewarded close associates with state positions or benefits, including providing a longtime friend and political supporter with a costly state contract.”
• “Failed to make state government more transparent.”
You can read the full report on Richardson here.
Many of the charges center on scandals involving Marc Correra and the state investment scandal, and around the now-closed federal GRIPgate probe into allegations of pay to play involving CDR Financial products.
The governor’s spokeswoman, Alarie Ray-Garcia, was quoted by The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell as saying CREW’s report “is ridiculous considering Gov. Richardson has led the way for ethics reform in New Mexico. It’s also difficult to take it seriously since it relies almost exclusively on the Albuquerque Journal as its source.”