Eric Griego
As we prepare for the upcoming 60-day legislative session, there is one area of policy on which the new governor and legislators in both parties should be able to agree – the need for comprehensive campaign and ethics reform.
Governor Martinez made transparency and ethics reform a central part of her campaign. The issue clearly resonated with frustrated voters given some of the recent scandals involving both Republican and Democratic officials, not to mention shady contractors, brokers and miscellaneous others who have tried to get rich off of the taxpayers.
With control of the executive branch and the largest number of Republican House members in a generation, Governor Martinez is well-positioned to push for sweeping ethics and campaign finance reform to end the kind of excesses that have undermined public confidence in our system.
While the transparency measures she proposed in her inaugural speech, including increased public records access and contracting transparency, are positive first steps, they are modest proposals. To make good on her promise to bring “bold change” and challenge the status quo, the new governor should champion a stronger set of ethics proposals that have been languishing in the Legislature.
Independent ethics commission
Last year, legislation creating a powerful, independent ethics commission became the victim of internal legislative and executive politics and never made it to the governor’s desk. During her campaign, Governor Martinez said she supported increased ethics oversight. However, she said rather than a new commission, she preferred it be overseen by the state police, which is an executive department under her control. An independent body, as proposed by legislation proposed last year, would provide the kind of oversight necessary for state elected officials.
Public financing
The excessive amounts of money contributed at all levels in the last few elections is eroding our democracy and disenfranchising most voters. One successful way to get money out of politics is voluntary public funding of campaigns. Despite voluntary public campaign financing working effectively in the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, a similar bill in the Legislature has been dead on arrival.
Albuquerque Mayor, R.J. Berry, a Republican, won using public financing. During his campaign, instead of spending hundreds of hours calling potential donors, the first-time mayoral candidate was able to learn the issues, talk directly to more voters and not be beholden to anyone who gave generous contributions. It’s time we adopt similar voluntary rules for all state elected officials.
Contribution limits
Although the Legislature passed campaign contribution limits last session, they were post-dated until after the 2010 election, allowing unprecedented, huge contributions in the governor’s race from out-of-state and corporate interests. In future elections the contribution limits will be the same for state legislators as they are for members of Congress – about $2,500. While that’s much better than no limits, they are excessively high and should be lowered to closer to $250.
Sick of the status quo
One of the big lessons of this past election is that if current elected leaders are not prepared to clean house, hold public officials accountable, and put rules in place that reduce the power of special interests, then the voters will elect someone who will. The question for our new governor is: Will she be willing to make good on her promise to seriously tackle campaign and ethics reform issues? The question for Republican and Democratic legislators is: Will we?
As we all try to figure out what the voters were trying to tell us this last election, one thing is clear – they are sick of the status quo. Our actions on issues like ethics reform in the upcoming legislative session will speak much more loudly than any campaign rhetoric.
If Governor Martinez provides strong leadership, and the rest of us embrace real ethics reforms, then in two years when voters get another chance to look at what we legislators stand for, maybe we will have a record to run on. And two years hence, voters can also decide if the new governor delivered the bold change she promised.
Griego is a state senator and a former Albuquerque city councilman who sponsored the Albuquerque Clean Elections Ordinance that created the city’s public financing system.