Should Ben Lujan remain speaker of the House?

By |

The fact that Lujan is still the state’s most powerful lawmaker despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him taints House Democrats Does the value of property increase when a highway interchange is built near it? Of course it does. So the fact that the state Department of Transportation abruptly moved the site of a proposed interchange to four-tenths of a mile from land owned by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambe, in 2007 should raise eyebrows. Of course, Lujan has been doing things for years that should raise the eyebrows of anyone who cares about honest and ethical government, so perhaps the revelations contained in Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal article about the DOT project shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nonetheless, in the context of the cloud of scandal that has descended upon state government in recent years, it’s simply embarrassing that House Democrats continue to make Lujan the most powerful lawmaker in New Mexico despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him. Continue Reading

Teague’s vote on cap-and-trade bill was ‘daring’

By |

I’ve written before about the tightrope U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., has walked on energy issues. As an oilman and a Democrat, he doesn’t necessarily fit the mold typically associated with either. His job requires him to work with a Democratic Congress and president whose policy views are sometimes left of his, but, at the same time, he must worry about re-election in an oil-and-gas district. In that context, Teague voted last week in favor of a controversial cap-and-trade energy bill that passed by seven votes. Now The Politico is out with an article that says, of all the junior House Democrats who voted for the bill, Teague’s vote “may have been the most daring of any in his caucus.” From the article: “An oilman, Teague represents the most conservative part of a state that often is called ‘Little Texas.’ Until he was elected last year, the oil- and gas-dependent 2nd District had not elected a Democrat for more than a quarter-century. Continue Reading

With license plate snafu, Foley’s undoing is complete

By |

Former House Minority Whip Dan Foley says he wasn’t aware that state law required him to return his legislative license plate when he left office almost six months ago. Right. In case you missed it, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque has the story. Foley, a Republican who represented a southeastern New Mexico district but now lives in Rio Rancho, was recently caught by a red-light camera in Albuquerque driving 11 miles over the speed limit in a silver Toyota Tundra registered to his wife. Police had to do some hunting to figure out who owned the vehicle. Continue Reading

McCain backer: Support Obama on health-care reform

By |

Last year, Jim Spiri traveled the country campaigning for McCain. This year, he is openly supporting Obama’s push for health-care reform. Here’s why. Jim Spiri is a conservative who traveled extensively last year to try to help GOP nominee John McCain win the presidency. Now, he’s openly supporting President Barack Obama’s attempt to reform the nation’s health-care system. Continue Reading

Bland shined light on housing authority problems

By |

Gary Bland may be taking — and may or may not deserve — a lot of heat for his role in the state’s investment scandal. But he also deserves credit for standing up against shenanigans in the state’s housing authority system. That’s the conclusion the Albuquerque Journal’s Thomas Cole drew in an article published Saturday in which he wrote that Bland “kept the public light shining on the (Region III Housing Authority) when others would have preferred it be turned off.” I’ve covered the housing authority scandal since the beginning — writing my first article on it about two weeks before Cole wrote his in early 2006 — and I’ve witnessed the same thing. Many will say the State Investment Council (SIC) and Bland haven’t gone far enough in taking on people tied to the housing authority scandal. Some will point out the fact that the chairman of the state Democratic Party works for the law firm the SIC hired to try to recover bond money lost when most of the system collapsed in 2006. Continue Reading

Denish donates cash to nonprofit organization

By |

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has donated $5,000 from her campaign fund to an agency that works on neighborhood revitalization — an amount equal to what she has received from the men indicted in the housing authority scandal. Steve Fitzer, Denish’s finance director, said the money has been donated to United South Broadway Corporation, a nonprofit that, according to its Web site, “works within older historic neighborhoods of Albuquerque to address affordable housing opportunities, commercial revitalization, crime prevention and youth development” in an effort to revitalize neighborhoods. The money Denish received from the housing authority defendants included $500 from Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, former director of the Region III Housing Authority; $500 from Robert Strumor, the former bond attorney for the authority; and $4,000 from Strumor’s law firm, Hughes and Strumor, Fitzer said. Gallegos, Strumor and former Region III accountant Dennis Kennedy are facing felony charges in the case that include fraud and money laundering. Former Region III attorney David N. Hernandez is charged with tampering with evidence.A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Fitzer as Denish’s campaign manager. Continue Reading

SOS Web site now says it’s ‘down for upgrades’

By |

Talk about putting a positive spin on a bad situation. A newly posted message on the secretary of state’s Web site claims that “upgrades” are the reason the office’s computer systems and Web site are down. “SECRETARY OF STATE’S WEBSITE DOWN FOR UPGRADES,” states the headline on the message, which was posted late Friday on a page that is otherwise devoid of content. “The Secretary of State’s network is currently down for upgrades. Our website will be unavailable during this time. Continue Reading

Senator: Guv to provide $30K for struggling nonprofit

By |

Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Las Cruces on Monday to announce $30,000 in emergency state funding for a nonprofit that provides child care, education and other help to homeless and near-homeless families, a state senator said Sunday. Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, said Richardson’s help will follow a $20,000 gift to Jardin de los Niños made by Stan Fulton, the owner of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. Jardin was in danger of closing because of a lack of funding, Papen said, but the aid from Fulton and the governor will help the organization keep its doors open for several months until other cash comes in. Papen said the governor will make the announcement Monday at noon at the nonprofit’s facility, located at 999 W. Amador Ave. “We’re very grateful both to Sunland Park racetrack and to the governor for helping this organization stay alive,” the senator said. Continue Reading

Heinrich wins non-scientific poll on CD1 race

By |

The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Democrat Martin Heinrich, the incumbent, would win a contest against the other declared candidates in next year’s 1st Congressional District race. Of 322 voters, 186, or 58 percent, said Heinrich would win, while 129, or 40 percent, said he’d be defeated by Republican Jon Barela. Meanwhile, seven, or 2 percent, said Libertarian Alan Woodruff would win the race in a potential matchup between the three. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Secretary of state’s computer systems knocked out

By |

Problems center on new campaign finance and disclosure system; official says IT employee placed on leave but isn’t under suspicion By Heath Haussamen and Trip JenningsA week after a leaked link allowed a handful of people to preview the secretary of state’s new campaign finance and disclosure system on its Web site, officials now say problems have knocked out that and other systems that are necessary for the office to function. Officials are working furiously to restore the office’s computer systems and Web site and are trying to figure out how much work must be done to recover the database for the new campaign finance and disclosure system. Systems that are necessary for the public to do all sorts of business, from accessing campaign and lobbyist information to registering trademarks and other dealings between businesses and state government, are down. “Right now we are having IT issues at the SOS,” Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo II said today. “Everything is down. Continue Reading

Secretary of state’s Web site goes on the fritz

By |

The secretary of state’s Web site has been in various stages of not working right — and sometimes not working at all — for several days now. On Tuesday, I noticed that the campaign reporting and disclosure databases were down. By Wednesday, the entire Web site had slowed to a snail’s pace. This morning, the site was running more smoothly, but the searchable databases were still offline. Tonight, the entire secretary of state’s Web site — http://www.sos.state.nm.us — is offline. Continue Reading

Educational Retirement Board releases subpoenas

By |

Grand jury directed investment board to produce records related to dealings with Aldus Equity, Chairman Bruce Malott’s e-mails This article has been updated.The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (ERB) reversed courses this afternoon and released two subpoenas it has received from a federal grand jury that is probing state investment deals. The reversal comes because “additional information relevant to the release of the requested subpoenas” has become available since the ERB denied requests from me and others for the release of the records last month, ERB General Counsel Christopher Schatzman wrote in a letter sent this afternoon. He did not elaborate, and wrote that he reserves the right to withhold documents under similar circumstances in the future. Read the subpoenas by clicking here and here. The release of the subpoenas comes a day before the ERB’s governing board was scheduled to decide whether to override the decision by staff to withhold the subpoenas. Continue Reading

Bill would create a new framework for energy, growth

By |

By Sandy Buffett For the last several years and thanks to the vision of Governor Richardson, the N.M. Legislature and our growing community of entrepreneurs, New Mexico has paved the way toward building a clean-energy economy. From renewable energy tax credits to recently-passed green jobs legislation to attracting new solar manufacturing companies and the nation’s largest solar plant, the Land of Enchantment is poised for a clean-energy boom. At the same time, the Albuquerque Journal reported recently on new findings of the impacts of climate change on New Mexico. This study confirms what many New Mexicans are already observing and experiencing. Global warming from greenhouse gas emissions threatens to reduce our water supply, diminish our snowpack and lead to earlier runoff. Continue Reading

A primer on New Mexico’s housing authority scandal

By |

Not sure what led to last week’s indictments in the investigation into the misuse of bond money in the state’s regional housing authority system? Wondering what the housing authorities even do? Here’s a primer: The state’s housing authority law creates quasi-governmental agencies charged with helping provide affordable housing for people who qualify under federal law for such assistance. Until recent reforms changed the system, the state was divided into seven regions, each with its own housing authority (the seven regions have since been consolidated into three, but we’ll get to that later). Each authority is governed by a board whose members are appointed by the governor. Continue Reading