Susana Martinez
Gov. Susana Martinez is taking heat because of an e-mail that says the dairy industry helped draft an executive order that attempted to halt a number of environmental regulations, including some the dairies opposed.
But Martinez says the claim from the dairy industry that its attorneys helped draft language for the Jan. 1 order is “incorrect.”
KUNM’s Jim Williams was the first to report on the e-mails that were included with a recent Supreme Court filing challenging Martinez’s decision to halt printing of the regulations. (The court ordered Martinez to publish the regulations on Wednesday.)
Contained in a Jan. 12 e-mail, sent from dairy industry lobbyist and former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley to Brian Moore, Martinez’s deputy chief of staff, was this tidbit:
“Our attorneys Dal Moellenberg and TJ Trujillo of Gallagher & Kennedy drafted some language for the ex. Order. We all assumed the environmental groups would sue and obviously they have. In speaking with TJ and Dal we want to offer any help you may ask for as we are very supportive of this action and are willing to help defend it. Please feel free to have your legal counsel call TJ or Dal at their convenience.”
Criticism from blogs
The e-mail set off some criticism from blogs. There was this headline from a posting on Chorizo Report:
“Yo! Guv! We got some language for your exec. orders!”
And there was this from Clearly New Mexico:
“Taken on their face, these emails from Bradley and the dairy attorneys to the Martinez administration show a disturbing amount of collaboration between the Gov. and some of her biggest contributors – regarding specific environmental regulations they don’t want.
“Is anyone else bothered by this?”
KUNM reported that the dairy industry gave nearly $50,000 to the gubernatorial campaign of Martinez, who has promised to rid state government of pay to play.
Guv: Dairy industry is ‘simply mistaken’
But Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said the dairy industry had no role in drafting the executive order, regardless of what the industry claims.
“The claim that the dairy industry helped draft language for the executive order is incorrect and they are simply mistaken,” Darnell said. “While the dairy industry did voice concerns about regulations, offered suggestions to help address these issues, and made their lawyers available to the transition team, none of these offers were ever accepted or even seen by those responsible for drafting the executive order.”
“Instead,” Darnell said, “the executive order was modeled after Governor Christie’s executive order in New Jersey and was drafted by transition team volunteers Jay Hone and Pat Rogers and then finalized by Governor Martinez’s General Counsel Jessica Hernandez.”
This article has been updated for clarity.