Paper slams AG King, others, for ‘pay-to-sue’ scheme

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The Wall Street Journal is taking a hard swipe at N.M. Attorney General Gary King and others it says are involved in a national “pay-to-sue” scheme that reeks of pay-to-play politics. In an editorial published on Thursday, the newspaper writes about a Houston lawyer, F. Kenneth Bailey, who “has been running a nationwide ‘pay-to-sue’ operation with Democratic state Attorneys General.” The paper says Bailey and his law firm, Bailey Perrin Bailey, “have taken their pre-packaged lawsuit to many states,” including New Mexico. Basically, Bailey and his law firm give big campaign contributions to attorneys general — or, in the case of Pennsylvania, the governor — and then win lucrative contracts to sue big corporations on behalf of the states. The more states they get to join a lawsuit, the Journal reports, the more likely the defendant company will settle rather than fight a protracted battle, regardless of whether the allegations are solid. King has received $50,000 in campaign contributions from Bailey and/or his law firm, according to the Journal. Continue Reading

NMSU regent may run for lieutenant governor

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New Mexico State University Regent Javier Gonzales says he’s seriously considering running for lieutenant governor next year. The Democrat, who is a former Santa Fe County commissioner and chairman of the board of regents at New Mexico Highlands University, confirmed that he is “actively considering a run” for lieutenant governor. “The election of our next governor is critical to the future success of our state. I believe that I have a unique background in both the public and private sector to assist that governor in successfully leading our state,” Gonzales said. The new member of the NMSU regents said he will make a final decision this summer on whether to run and, in the meantime, remains focused “on my service to my alma mater, New Mexico State University, and reacquainting myself with friends in the Mesilla Valley.” Gonzales pointed out that he has served as an elected or appointed official for 14 years, and said “the desire to continue to serve remains.” “I believe in a bright future for our state. Continue Reading

Council meeting changes ease public participation

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Bloviating begone! The City of Las Cruces announced a new format for council meetings today aimed at making it easier for the public to participate. The changes, implemented by Mayor Ken Miyagishima, are the result of discussions at recent city council work sessions devoted to “developing a more open and efficient city government,” according to a news release from the city. Among the changes: • Opening ceremonies and proclamations are now limited to 15 minutes to help the council get to business more quickly. • The public-comment section has been moved from the end to the beginning of meetings, and the sections for comments by the mayor, councilors and city manager have been moved to the end of meetings, after all other business has been completed. Continue Reading

Bingaman ‘not thinking’ about whether he’ll run again

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One more note from the interview I had with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., earlier this week. He’s not up for re-election until 2012, but Senate seats are quite coveted, and many are wondering if he’s going to run again. So I asked him what he’s thinking about whether he will seek a sixth term in three years. Bingaman said this: “I’m not thinking (about that) at this point. I’m working away, taking every day as it comes,” he said. Continue Reading

Teague tops N.M. House members in fundraising

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Southern New Mexico Democrat Harry Teague was the U.S. House member from New Mexico who raised the most money during the first quarter of the year. Teague, according to the report he filed on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, raised $281,259.58 from January to March. He spent $32,569.57 and had $279,287.67 on hand at the close of the reporting period. Some $132,000 of the money he raised came from political action committees. He has an outstanding loan from himself of $450,000. Continue Reading

Photos from the Las Cruces tea party

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My best guess is that about 400 people attended Wednesday’s tea party in Las Cruces. I’m writing a more in-depth, analytical piece based on my experience at the event, but in the meantime, I wanted to share photos with you. Here are a few I took. (Remember they’re copyrighted. Click here to learn about purchasing them.) Continue Reading

Bingaman wants protection for the Organ Mountains

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U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., says he wants to provide permanent wilderness protection for land in Doña Ana County — at least the Organ Mountains — and he hopes to get such a bill approved this year or next. “I do think it’s important to protect the Organ Mountains, and perhaps some other areas too,” Bingaman said during an interview in Las Cruces earlier this week. Many who want wilderness in the county believe the new, all-Democratic congressional delegation increases the chances that new wilderness areas will be approved. Congress recently OK’d, and the president just signed, a Bingaman-sponsored land-protection bill that included the creation of a national monument in the Robledo Mountains, located in Doña Ana County, to protect fossilized, prehistoric trackways that are 290 million years old. That monument has been a big part of the fight that has raged for years over protection of land in the county as a coalition led by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has sparred with a group led by some ranchers and four-wheeling enthusiasts. Continue Reading

Bingaman: Energy, health care on the agenda

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On trip to Las Cruces, senator also talks about economy, the border Renewable energy and health-care reform are the primary issues, other than the struggling economy, that New Mexico’s senior U.S. senator says he expects Congress to tackle this year. “Those are going to be the big debates in the Congress for the rest of this year, I think — at least of those we can anticipate,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman said in an interview conducted this week in Las Cruces. Bingaman, a Democrat, was in the southern part of the state to tour a computer-manufacturing facility on the Mexican side of the border and meet with local law-enforcement officials in Las Cruces to discuss immigration and border issues. But he said the economic situation has forced immigration and border security to take a backseat to some other issues in Washington. While he expects Congress to once again take up comprehensive immigration reform during the current, two-year session, he said it’s more likely to happen next year. Continue Reading

Heinrich raises $250K in first quarter of year

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First-quarter fundraising reports for members of Congress are due by Wednesday, and freshman Rep. Martin Heinrich is the first from New Mexico to file his report. The result: He raised almost $250,000 during his first three months as an elected official. Heinrich, a Democrat, raised $248,221.77 from January to March, according to his report on the Federal Election Commission Web site. Almost $137,000 came from political action committees. He spent about $72,000 and had $201,200.02 on hand at the end of the quarter. Continue Reading

Homeland security head coming to El Paso, Columbus

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit El Paso and Columbus, N.M. on Wednesday as her agency works with local law enforcement to attempt to combat arms and cash smuggling and illegal immigration. The visit was announced in a news release from the White House. Napolitano, formerly the Arizona governor, will attend a news conference at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso at noon. She will tour the Columbus port of entry at 2 p.m. and will tour the port of entry in Nogales, Ariz., at 4:45 p.m. New Mexico time (an hour earlier Arizona time). Continue Reading

Obama organization kicks off NM work in Las Cruces

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President Barack Obama’s new political action committee Organizing for America has hired a director to work in New Mexico, and the organization is kicking off its activity in the state with the first of several listening-tour events today in Las Cruces. The event will be held at 7 p.m. at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Doña Ana County. The group, according to Wikipedia, is run by the Democratic National Committee and “seeks to mobilize Obama supporters to elect other political candidates and support President Obama’s legislative agenda.” The group uses the contact information of the 13 million Americans who signed up to receive information from Obama in 2008 during the presidential campaign. “At Listening Tour meetings, you’ll get a chance to meet new state staff members, hear about some lessons learned during the general election, and offer your thoughts on how we can organize New Mexico going forward,” Luis Hernandez, the group’s state director, wrote in an e-mail to that list of people. “Your ideas will be used to write a New Mexico-specific plan for Organizing for America in 2009 and beyond.” He wrote that the campaign “brought an unprecedented number of new voices into the process — we need to make sure those voices remain at the center of the debate as the President and Congress work on providing solutions for our economy.” Continue Reading

‘Tea parties’ come to New Mexico this week

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Protests and rallies will be held across the state to express frustration with the nation’s economic policies Elwood Baas of Las Cruces says he is “fed up with the out-of-control spending of Congress” that includes a national debt of more than $11 trillion, massive corporate bailouts and unfunded liabilities of tens of trillions of dollars in other programs including Medicaid. “This is simply unsustainable, and would eventually reduce America to a banana republic,” Baas said. “I am concerned about my children and grandchildren.” Baas plans to voice his frustration publicly this week at one of at least 16 “tea parties” that will be held in communities across the state. The protests and rallies were born out of a recent suggestion made during a rant by a TV journalist on national television, which has sparked a nationwide movement. The rallies, in cities including Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Clovis, Hobbs, Taos, Farmington, Silver City and even Mayhill, will be held on Wednesday, the deadline for filing personal income tax returns. Continue Reading

Teague wins last week’s non-scientific poll

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Southern New Mexico’s Harry Teague won last week’s non-scientific poll on this site asking which freshman U.S. representative from New Mexico is doing the best job thus far. Of 374 voters, 156, or 42 percent, picked Teague, while 146, or 39 percent, picked Martin Heinrich and 72, or 19 percent, picked Ben Ray Luján. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Madrid went after those who hid from the light

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The head of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government claims AG King has been more aggressive than his predecessor in enforcing sunshine laws. Here’s why he’s wrong. I was surprised this week to see Leonard DeLayo, executive director of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government, quoted in an article as saying that current state Attorney General Gary King is a stronger believer in the state’s sunshine laws than his predecessor, Patricia Madrid. But that’s exactly what he said: “I think the King administration is a lot more aggressive than the Madrid administration was in dealing with matters,” DeLayo was quoted by the Santa Fe Reporter as saying. “Gary does seem to believe in (the Inspection of Public Records and Open Meetings acts) far more than Patsy did…” While I think it’s difficult to say either believes in the sunshine laws more than the other, I certainly disagree with the assertion that King has been “more aggressive” than Madrid “in dealing with matters.” It’s simply not true. Continue Reading