Secretary of state wants to hire independent auditor to canvass general election results

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Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron has taken a lot of heat lately for her decision to remove Democrat Jeff Armijo from the auditor race. The Republican Party is still considering a lawsuit challenging her decision. A proposal she made Monday makes a lot of sense in such a politically charged climate. Vigil-Giron wants to hire an outside auditor to prepare the statewide canvass of the Nov. 7 general election returns, according to an article from the Associated Press that you can read via the Albuquerque Journal. Continue Reading

Commissioner decries state-imposed tax increase

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Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley is upset after a vote Monday by the commission to raise property taxes. But he’s not blaming his fellow commissioners who voted for the increase. He blames the state. Each year, using an extremely complicated formula, the state’s Department of Finance and Administration determines the property tax rate for each taxing area throughout the state. The tax rate is different in various areas. Continue Reading

Skeen case set precedent that applies to Balderas’ House seat, secretary of state’s office says

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A 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling will keep the Republicans from running a candidate for the New Mexico House seat being vacated by Hector Balderas, the secretary of state’s office says. Balderas withdrew his name from the Northern-New Mexico House race after the Democratic Party placed him on the ballot to run for state auditor. The Republicans attempted to place Roger Gonzales of Mora on the ballot, but their request was denied by the secretary of state’s office. Before Balderas withdrew, he was running unopposed because the Republicans placed no one on the ballot for the primary. A vacancy on the Democratic side does not give the Republicans a second change to field a candidate and “two bites of the apple,” said Ray Baray, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office. Continue Reading

Legislators, ACLU to look into allegations of dangerously poor prison health care

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Legislators, ACLU to look into allegations of dangerously poor prison health care The Santa Fe Reporter detailed last month allegations that the company providing health care in the state’s prisons may have altered records and is providing dangerously poor care to inmates. In an in-depth and investigative series of articles, Dan Frosch of the Reporter pieced together the first comprehensive look at the changes Wexford Health Services, a Pennsylvania-based company, has made since Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration brought in the company to cut costs. In addition to the allegations of possible altering of records, six former employees allege that “Wexford staff improperly doled out prescription drugs to inmates; canceled inmates’ medical appointments because of staff shortages; and, to save money, failed to send sick inmates off-site to hospitals expeditiously,” according to the most recent article. Now, state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and other legislators plan to take a hard look at the situation. So does the American Civil Liberties Union. Continue Reading

Links to coverage of Wilson’s debate with Madrid

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U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and her Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, locked in one of the tightest congressional races in the nation, debated the issues on Sunday. Conservative blogger Mario Burgos recorded the event and plans to put much of it online. Of course, what he’s put online thus far comes complete with his anti-Madrid commentary, but it’s worth checking out if you missed the debate. You should also check out Joe Monahan’s analysis of the debate and coverage from the Albuquerque Journal. Also, a weekend article in the Journal details another huge gift from Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino owner Stan Fulton that could become an issue for Madrid. Continue Reading

Poll: Most say judicial discipline process is fair

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Most who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site believe the state’s judicial discipline process is fair. Of 108 voters, 63, or 58 percent, said the system is fair. 34, or 32 percent, said it is not, and 11, or 10 percent, said they do not know. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Check out the special report on the state’s judicial discipline process by clicking here. Continue Reading

Kissling gets attention of American Indians

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Al Kissling might be way behind in the polls in his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., but he has the attention of American Indians. The publication Indian Country Today, which dubs itself as “The nation’s leading American Indian news source,” is featuring Kissling in an article you can read by clicking here. Though Kissling is trailing in the polls, the article states, “there’s plenty of time between now and election night, and in a district where Indian voters are numerous enough to make a difference, Kissling has developed a head for Indian affairs that could serve him well come November.” Kissling, a retired Presbyterian minister, took an interim post in Gallup in 2000, before he retired. What stood out to him there was the effect of diabetes among Navajos, the article states. Kissling plans to make reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act a priority if elected. Continue Reading

Republicans demand explanation of why House candidate wasn’t placed on ballot

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The Republican Party sent this letter to the secretary of state today: Dear Secretary Vigil-Giron: This constitutes an official request for an immediate explanation, in writing, from you regarding the website omission of Roger Gonzales as the Republican nominee for House District 68. Mr. Gonzales was selected by the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of New Mexico to fill a vacancy created by the withdrawal of Representative Hector Balderas as the Democratic nominee for House District 68. Upon confirmation from your office that Mr. Balderas had withdrawn as the Democratic nominee, a duly held meeting was called in accordance with Section 1-8-8.A(1) of the Election Handbook of the State of New Mexico and the Republican Party of New Mexico’s Uniform State Rules. We are requesting an immediate response to explain the omission of Mr. Gonzales from your official General Election Ballot website (www.sos.state.nm.us) by the close of business today, September 15, 2006. If we do not receive a response, we will assume that you are illegally preventing a duly nominated Republican candidate from appearing on the November 7, 2006 General Election Ballot and that you are in violation of various provisions of New Mexico Election Law. Continue Reading

Republicans might fight Armijo removal, and are trying to run a candidate for Balderas’ House seat

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The dispute over who will be the Democratic Party’s candidate for state auditor may not be over, and there’s a new battle brewing over whether there will be a Republican candidate on the ballot for the House seat currently held by Democrat Hector Balderas. The Republican Party is considering filing a lawsuit challenging the secretary of state’s removal of Democrat Jeff Armijo from the ballot, said party spokesman Johah Cohen. “We’re still chewing on that,” Cohen said, adding that the party is meeting with its attorneys later today. Republican auditor candidate Lorenzo Garcia told me last week that he hopes Armijo is his opponent because the cloud over Armijo’s head will make it easier for him to win the race. In addition, the Republicans filed a letter with the secretary of state’s office at 4:43 p.m. Tuesday, the last day for parties to fill vacancies on the ballot, indicating that they will run Roger Gonzales, 25, of Mora as a candidate in the House District 68 race. Continue Reading

Legislators’ criticism of Judicial Standards Commission doesn’t tell the whole story

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Two legislators criticized the Judicial Standards Commission at Thursday’s committee meeting in Las Cruces because they said its actions have made judges afraid to be in a courtroom while their children deal with speeding tickets. State reps. Ken Martinez, D-Grants, and Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, both made comments referencing the case of former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Susana Chaparro, who resigned earlier this year as part of an agreement with the Judicial Standards Commission. Chaparro was disciplined in 2005 by the state Supreme Court for improperly involving herself in her adult son’s traffic case. “For heaven’s sake, a judge doesn’t stop being a parent, but now they’re afraid to go sit in court if their kid gets a speeding ticket,” Martinez said. Continue Reading

Candid discussion on Judicial Standards Commission includes criticism and suggested changes

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This is the fourth in a series of articles running this week that will examine whether the judicial discipline process is fair to judges accused of misconduct. For additional articles and more information, visit the home page for this special report by clicking here. Two attorneys and a judge criticized the judicial discipline process and suggested changes to improve the system during a candid legislative committee hearing Thursday in Las Cruces. Several members of the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee expressed concern about aspects of the process for disciplining misbehaving judges, and said the discussion was productive and would help improve the system. The discussion included more than two hours of blunt and, at times, tense debate about the current system and the Judicial Standards Commission, the state body charged with holding judges accountable to the Code of Judicial Conduct. Continue Reading

Kissling ad attacks Pearce as a big spender

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I wrote last week about Steve Pearce’s ad attacking his challenger in this year’s congressional race as “bizarre.” Democrat Al Kissling has unveiled his own ad attacking the Republican congressman from Southern New Mexico. It’s short, sweet and to the point. He accuses Pearce of voting 96 percent in favor of the “borrow and binge” policies of the Bush Administration and Republican-controlled Congress, and of increasing the national debt. We’ll see whether these ads make any dent in Pearce’s massive lead in the race. Continue Reading

Richardson campaign touts Salopek release

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Gov. Bill Richardson’s re-election campaign has put together a special Web page touting his successful mission to secure the release of American journalist Paul Salopek. The site uses the phrase “We got him!” It includes links to select articles about the mission. In addition, it includes a Podcast in which Salopek and his wife Linda Lynch talk about the experience. Salopek says he and his two companions were excited when they learned Richardson would try to intervene on their behalf. “It raised our spirits,” Salopek says. Continue Reading

Politics of auditor snafu create a dangerous new precedent and will discourage some voters

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It appears politics beat the law in the battle over whether Jeff Armijo would be the Democrats’ candidate for state auditor. I’m not saying Armijo would have won. But we’ll never know, and the action taken by the secretary of state to remove Armijo from the ballot sets a new precedent that remains unchallenged. It’s a dangerous precedent, and one that discourages Democrats and Republicans from being independent of their party’s platform and marching orders. Armijo is under investigation for allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a campaign volunteer. Continue Reading

Bill aimed at killing off-reservation casino proposals dies in House vote

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A House bill touted by opponents of the Anthony casino proposal as its “possible death blow” died on the House floor Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., passed the House 247-171, but a two-thirds majority was required, so the measure died. Its aim was to put an end to most off-reservation casino proposals. The Anthony proposal’s developers, the Jemez Pueblo and Santa Fe art dealer Gerald Peters, said in a news release that the bill’s death has little impact on their proposal. The bill contained a grandfather clause that applied to tribes with historical ties to the areas they wanted to develop. Continue Reading