We need a debate on whether Doña Ana County Clerk Rita Torres is fit to continue serving

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Local Democrats are discussing whether to ask Doña Ana County Clerk Rita Torres to resign because of concerns about her health and ongoing problems with elections. I found none who would go on the record, but several confirmed that it’s being talked about. As the county commission’s elections task force begins its work, the job Torres is doing needs to be discussed publicly, because it’s beyond the scope of the task force’s investigation and arguably the biggest problem with the elections bureau. Torres, 76 and a Democrat, was the county clerk from 1992 to 2000. She was replaced by Ruben Ceballos, who resigned after being convicted of five felonies for mismanaging the 2002 primary election. Continue Reading

After meeting with governor, Denish considering running against Domenici in 2008

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Lieutenant Gov. Diane Denish is seriously considering running against Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in 2008. A source who would know about such things told me Wednesday that Gov. Bill Richardson, incensed because he believes the senator was involved in the Damron/Dendahl swicheroo, met with Denish last week to ask her to consider running against Domenici. “It’s something she will definitely consider,” the source told me. Political blogger Joe Monahan reported earlier this week that Richardson is seeking a Democrat to take on Domenici in 2008. Richardson and Domenici had a long-standing truce, until the gubernatorial switcheroo earlier this month. Continue Reading

Paying legislators might change political culture

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Paying legislators is one of the proposals being discussed by Gov. Bill Richardson’s task force on ethics reform. It’s an idea worth consideration. Because New Mexico does not pay its legislators, we have a class of people drafting our laws and setting the budget who are not representative of the state’s citizens. In general, only the wealthy, successfully self-employed, retired and top government employees can afford to serve, especially in districts far from Santa Fe, where travel is expensive and timely. Paying legislators would give more New Mexicans the ability to serve, which could increase competition for seats and push our legislators to follow higher ethical standards. Continue Reading

County ends online access to many public records

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Doña Ana County plans to stop making available on its Web site many public records because of concerns that some contain social security numbers. This is a step backward for a county that was way ahead of others in offering the public such access to public records. Concerns were first raised at Tuesday’s commission meeting by Commissioner Bill McCamley. He was recently contacted by a constituent who found his own social security number on a home-mortgage document on the county’s Web site. McCamley said he was concerned about identity theft and thought the county should consider taking down the site. Continue Reading

Magistrate Garza misses deadline to pay fine, could face further trouble

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Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza apparently missed the deadline to pay a $600 fine that was part of his discipline for improperly interfering in a case involving a woman with whom he had a personal relationship. Garza had until June 22 to pay the fine. The Judicial Standards Commission filed a motion Monday with the New Mexico Supreme Court seeking an order to show cause. If the court issues an order, and Garza’s response doesn’t satisfy justices, they could hold him in contempt, suspend him until he pays the fine or take other action. The high court has not yet responded to the commission’s motion. Continue Reading

Galvan doesn’t respond to petition to ban him from judicial office

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Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan didn’t respond to a petition asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to ban him from holding judicial office again. Now, the Judicial Standards Commission has filed a motion asking the court to put the ban in place. Galvan had until June 16 to file a written response to the original petition. Galvan resigned last year amid allegations that he raped and solicited a bribe from a Las Cruces woman in August 2004. After two hung juries, prosecutors dropped the criminal charges. Continue Reading

Interim committee vote puts pressure on House Speaker Lujan to remove council appointee

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Region III Housing Authority Director Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos is again under fire, and this time there’s pressure for Speaker of the House Ben Lujan to take action. Gallegos has been embroiled in controversy related to his management of the Las Cruces-based Region VII Housing Authority and the Region III authority in Albuquerque. Perhaps most concerning is that Region III recently defaulted on a $2.5 million bond payment it owed the state. That probably came in part because Region III has loaned Region VII some $700,000 that the Las Cruces authority has been unable to repay. The missed bond payment prompted the interim Legislative Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee to take action last week. Continue Reading

University will be site of convention center

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Congratulations to New Mexico State University for the city’s selection of the west end of campus for its new convention center. President Michael Martin and university staffers have worked hard to make this happen, and it’s going to reshape campus. The Las Cruces City Council decided Monday to build its long-delayed convention center on 11 acres primarily used for agricultural research just east of the I-10 bridge over University Avenue. There are many agricultural buildings (and staffers) that are going to have to be transplanted. Many won’t be happy about it. Continue Reading

Nine appointed to county election task force

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Four Democrats, four Republicans and an independent with an interesting past have been appointed to Doña Ana County’s task force to study problems with the primary election. Commissioners appointed the members during Tuesday’s meeting. The task force becomes official a day after the apparent firing of the county’s elections supervisor, Mari Langford. Chief Deputy Clerk Cecilia Madrid will serve in that capacity for now, and will assist the task force, while also settling the office after its move to the new building and preparing for the November general election. The county clerk’s office has been under fire since the primary election earlier this month. Continue Reading

Judge Murphy to start at end of July

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Newly appointed District Judge Michael Murphy of Las Cruces plans to start work at the end of July, he said Monday. Murphy said he needs time to ensure that his clients transition to new attorneys and don’t miss court hearings. He sounds excited as he speaks about being a judge. “I’m extremely excited about the prospect of service to the people of Doña Ana County,” he said. “It’s my home, and I love it here.” Murphy was appointed by the governor last week to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Larry Ramirez, who was plagued by allegations of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments. Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS: County Elections Bureau Supervisor Langford suspended, future unclear

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Doña Ana County Elections Bureau Supervisor Mari Langford has been removed from her position and placed on paid administrative leave. “Doña Ana County has informed Mari Langford-Pavão that she has been relieved of her duties as Doña Ana County’s supervisor of elections and has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a personnel matter,” County spokesman Jess Williams said. “Because it is a personnel matter, Doña Ana County cannot release any further details. Doña Ana County anticipates the matter will be finalized within two weeks’ time.” The action was taken Monday morning. By 2 p.m., Langford’s county issued cellular telephone and e-mail address had been taken out of service, indicating that this is probably more than a suspension. Continue Reading

More oversight needed for housing authorities

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The governor’s office completed its review of the state’s housing authorities Friday, and said problems will make it difficult if not impossible for them to survive, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The review cited operational troubles and financial losses at the authority based in Albuquerque, mismanagement and disarray at the authority based in Las Cruces, and questions about how a related non-profit that does much of the construction for the authorities operates. In addition, the review found, some of the authority’s programs don’t serve low- or moderate-income people. That seems to back the claim of Las Cruces-based Region VII Board member Frances Williams, who says that authority built up a debt of several hundred thousand dollars to its Albuquerque counterpart, the Region III authority, while building only four homes that weren’t sold to low-income people. Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, a former state legislator who runs Region III and is the patrón of the entire system, is suing Williams for slander. Continue Reading

Former clerk’s wife blames politics, says elections problems no worse here than in other counties

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In a letter with a bitter tone that was published Friday in the Las Cruces Bulletin, the wife of former Doña Ana County Clerk Ruben Ceballos congratulated the commission for creating a task force to examine problems with the primary election. Sal Ceballos said it was “comforting” to learn that the commission will appoint a task force to look into the problems, “rather than turn the problems over to the district attorney for prosecution, as was done when my husband was clerk.” Then-County Clerk Ruben Ceballos was forced from office several years ago after being convicted of elections violations. He was given a deferred, five-year sentence, so the conviction will eventually be erased from his record if he stays out of trouble. Sal Ceballos said problems in the clerk’s office “persist… not because of the clerk’s incompetence, as the commission and the district attorney pontificated in my husband’s case,” but instead because the office “is not and has not been funded to the extent that it needs to be.” After Ceballos’ husband left office, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron visited the commission to plead for more staffers in the elections bureau. The commission later added several positions. Continue Reading

Richardson and Bush ask for our trust, but they’re not earning it

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Today there are reasons to criticize the actions of the governor and president. First on Gov. Bill Richardson: The Albuquerque Journal revealed today that Richardson took a day trip earlier this month to Chicago to sit on an immigration panel. It appears likely that a U.S. Smokeless Tobacco jet flew Richardson there and back, according to flight-tracking records obtained by the Journal. I and others have already criticized Richardson for accepting flights from corporations and lobbyists as gifts. Today’s news indicates that he hasn’t stopped. Continue Reading