A number of
State Sen. Mary Kay Papen and Reps. Andy Nuñez and Mary Helen Garcia will ask Attorney General Gary King for the opinion, and Reps. Joseph Cervantes and Nate Cote said legislation is a possibility. Though Cervantes doesn’t plan to sign the letter to the attorney general,
In addition, one regent says the university will likely publicly address concerns about the foundation in the near future.
The legislators who will sign the letter agreed to do so after I made the request of them last week. You can read my letter to them by clicking here.
“I’ll sign on to it,” Papen said today. “I think it’s real important.”
Nuñez said the group is asking other legislators from
I requested the letter because NMSU recently stepped into a legal gray area by using secret donations to boost the compensation for the president and former men’s basketball coach. President Michael Martin received a deferred compensation payment – which he only collects if he stays through 2012 – of $100,000, with 70 percent paid by the private sector, and a $6,000-per-month housing allowance, paid for with a contribution from the private sector, that he and his wife are using to buy a new home. Former coach Reggie Theus received a $100,000-per-year pay increase from the private sector.
Using gifts from secret donors to boost university employee compensation has been controversial nationwide because of concern about the potential for impropriety. Courts in a number of states have found in recent years that university foundations are state agencies for the purpose of public records laws and ordered them to release donor records. Despite that, the NMSU Foundation denied my request to release the records. You can read more about the legal questions by clicking here.
“We don’t need anything that is going to be perceived as inappropriate or something that may come back to hurt our fine university system in
In addition to “strongly leaning toward” signing the letter,
Cervantes may seek to open most or all records
Cervantes said, after having a conversation with NMSU Regent Bob Gallagher today, that he isn’t going to sign the letter to the attorney general but is considering proposing legislation to deal with the issue.
“Based on that conversation (with Gallagher), I am confident that the university and foundation are acting in the best interest of the university without any concern for pay-to-play,” Cervantes said.
He said his decision to not seek an attorney general opinion is “based on the assurance that Bob Gallagher will answer the questions raised by you and others,” adding that, “after a long and candid discussion with Bob Gallagher, I am confident that the foundation will be fully answering any questions that may relate to the compensation for President Martin and former coach Theus.”
Gallagher said he hopes to do that soon.
“I believe there are some reports in the media that people may misunderstand,” he said. “I believe that complete details and information about these activities will be forthcoming in the coming days from the university.”
Cervantes said he does believe that, “given the relationship between the foundation and the university, the list (of donors to the foundation) should be public.” But he also said some donors might justifiably insist on confidentiality, and he would “like an opportunity to speak more with the university and university regents to learn more about it before I propose legislation.”
Essentially, Cervantes said, such legislation would likely make clear that donor records of state university foundations are public, but the proposal might also allow some exceptions with stringent restrictions attached.
“The foundation has an important mission and should be willing to assure the public of that mission with full public confidence,” Cervantes said. “Full public confidence usually means full public disclosure.”