City says Lyons’ campaign signs must come down

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Property owners in Las Cruces who put up campaign signs for Republican Land Commissioner Pat Lyons last week are in violation of an ordinance and will have to take them down, the city says. At issue is a city ordinance that prohibits the erecting of campaign signs until 90 days before an election. That would be Aug. 9 for the November general election. Doña Ana County, Sunland Park and Hatch also allow signs 90 days before elections. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: High court asked to suspend Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza

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The New Mexico Supreme Court has been asked to immediately suspend Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza without pay. The reason for the request from the Judicial Standards Commission isn’t known because the high court has sealed the file. The request was made by the commission on Friday, according to a clerk in the Supreme Court clerk’s office. Commission Director Jim Noel said he could not comment because the petition has been sealed. This is the second petition for discipline of Garza in recent months. Continue Reading

Here’s ‘the most egregious example of pork barrel legislation:’ a private party at taxpayers’ expense

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Las Vegas sure has had its share of scandal lately. The sleepy town in the northern part of the state recently dealt with Manny Aragon’s departure from Highlands University. The area is also the home of former state treasurer Robert Vigil, who is awaiting his second federal corruption trial. Vigil’s brother and sister-in-law are the subjects of the current scandal. The former West Las Vegas school district’s bilingual education director, Roberta Vigil, threw quite a bash last year, thanks to a $71,250 legislative appropriation passed with the help of her husband, Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera. Continue Reading

Poll: Land commissioner race will be close

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It’s a close race for land commissioner this year, at least according to the results of last week’s poll on this site. Of 92 voters in the poll, 49, or 53 percent, said Democratic challenger Jim Baca will beat Republican incumbent Pat Lyons. 43, or 47 percent, said Lyons will hold on to the seat. Be sure to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Task force names ethics commission a priority

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The creation of a full-time state commission to investigate allegations of misconduct by public officials is one of five priorities set this week by the governor’s task force on ethics reform, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. In addition, the committee will concentrate on compensating legislators, restricting campaign contributions and gifts to public officials, and the public financing of campaigns. The commission would have subpoena power and would be similar to the Judicial Standards Commission, which is charged with investigating allegations of misconduct against judges and petitioning the Supreme Court for discipline when it deems necessary. The ethics commission would report to the legislature, which would have the power to remove office holders, if necessary. If the proposal moves forward, the legislature and governor will likely be asked to approve the placing on the ballot of a constitutional amendment similar to the one that created the Judicial Standards Commission, giving voters the final decision on the ethics commission. Continue Reading

District court reorganizes to better serve families

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The 3rd Judicial District Court in Doña Ana County is in the process of reorganizing to better serve families. The plan is to create what’s called a unified family court. Currently, there are two judicial positions assigned to the children’s court, which handles criminal matters against juveniles, abuse and neglect issues, custody cases and similar issues. There are also two judicial positions assigned to domestic relations, which handles divorce cases, domestic violence hearings, restraining order requests and other issues. That means many families have separate court proceedings before different judges at the same time. Continue Reading

Republicans pick Neumann to run for judgeship

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The Republicans have picked Rita Nuñez-Neumann to run in November for a newly created children’s court judge position in Las Cruces. Neumann, 62, was not selected by Thursday’s nominating commission to be considered for the governor’s appointment to the position. The appointee will serve until the end of the year, when the candidate who is elected in November takes office. If the appointee is also elected in November, there will be no change. The committee sent the names of Democrats Fernando Macias, 54, and Bernadette Sedillo, 40, to Richardson. Continue Reading

House Republicans’ immigration stalling tactic coming to Las Cruces

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House Republican members are coming to Las Cruces on Thursday to conduct an on-the-road hearing on immigration, according to an article in the El Paso Times. They’ll also be in El Paso on Aug. 17. It’s part of their 13-state tour in August. The Las Cruces hearing of the House Administration Committee will deal with the question of how Congress can “best protect the integrity of the federal voting process by combating election fraud and eliminating non-citizen voting.” That’s a contentious issue here. Continue Reading

Nominating commission grills judicial candidates

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Some who applied for a children’s court vacancy in the 3rd Judicial District had to answer tough questions during Thursday’s judicial nominating commission meeting. Ultimately, the panel opted to forward the names of Fernando Macias and Bernadette Sedillo, both Democrats, to the governor. Only Republican Bill Lutz, an attorney from Las Cruces, voted against the recommendation. The governor can select one of the two candidates or ask the commission for additional names. Lutz expressed unease during Macias’ interview about the fact that he hasn’t practiced law in several years. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: Macias, Sedillo to be considered for children’s court judgeship

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A judicial nominating commission today recommended two candidates to fill the vacant position of children’s court judge in the Third Judicial District in Las Cruces. Those candidates are Bernadette Sedillo and Fernando Macias, and their names have been forwarded to Gov. Bill Richardson, who makes the selection. Their recommendations followed hours of tough questioning of several candidates by the commission, but wasn’t a surprise to most. I’ll have in-depth analysis of what’s happening later today, but I wanted to share the immediate news. Continue Reading

In area code battle, PRC should split state

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Some are seeking a compromise in the battle over who gets the new 575 area code that would assign it to all new numbers in the state, allowing all existing phone numbers to retain the 505 area code. That’s a bad idea. Though it dodges the question of who has to change letterhead, business cards and other materials because they have a new area code, it leads to a huge inconvenience for everyone in the state, and it doesn’t solve the problem. Under that proposal, local phone calls would require the dialing of ten digits instead of seven. That’s right. Continue Reading

Sides disagree on whether House bill would leave Jemez casino proposal intact

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The two sides in the fight over the proposed Anthony casino had different takes on the impact of a bill that passed the House Committee on Resources Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by the committee’s chair, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., would effectively ban off-reservation casinos, period. The bill includes a grandfather clause that applies to proposals submitted before March 2006, as the Jemez proposal was, but only if the tribes have historical ties to the area where they want to build casinos. What’s disputed is whether the Jemez have historical ties to this area. The Committee to Protect Doña Ana County, which opposes the Jemez proposal, sent out a news release after Wednesday’s vote declaring that the Jemez, “by their own admission, have no geographical or historical ties to the area.” The committee declared this the “possible death blow” to the Jemez proposal. Continue Reading

Judge honored for work to educate attorneys

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District Judge Robert E. Robles of Las Cruces has been honored for his work to educate attorneys. In a time when so many of the state’s judges are in the news for allegations of misconduct, it’s important to note the good work of other judges. Robles, the presiding judge in the 3rd Judicial District Court, was given the Peak Award of Excellence for Continuing Legal Education by the Center for Legal Education, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. The center is part of the New Mexico State Bar Foundation. Robles, 56, has assisted the center in bringing continuing education to attorneys in Southern New Mexico by conducting seminars and giving lectures, the Sun-News reported. Continue Reading

Richardson praised by Washington State bloggers

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Note: I know I said RichardsonWatch would be about the governor’s out-of-state travels, but I changed my mind. It’s going to be about the governor’s national stature and potential 2008 presidential run. That will include out-of-state travel. Gov. Bill Richardson’s visit to Washington State last week earned his potential presidential bid praise from liberal bloggers there, though some of it was a bit reserved. Richardson, who was in town to promote a congressional candidate, met with a group of about 15 liberal bloggers in that state during his visit. Continue Reading

County ends membership in lobbying group that has been plagued by scandal

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Doña Ana County is pulling out of the South Central Council of Governments, the second major blow to the organization in the past few weeks. In June, the Workforce Investment Act board voted to move a lucrative contract from the organization to New Mexico State University. The council of governments, based in Elephant Butte, has been struggling to recover since last summer, when its director and deputy director were indicted on drug charges stemming from a Las Cruces incident. Both agreed to plea bargains, but lost their jobs. At Tuesday’s county commission meeting, commissioners asked representatives from the Elephant Butte organization and the Rio Grande Council of Governments to tell the county what benefits it received from membership. Continue Reading