Another judge falls to addiction, anonymous contributions raise questions, and it’s time to vote

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Another New Mexico judge is in big trouble.District Judge John W. Pope of Los Lunas admitted in a Monday filing at the New Mexico Supreme Court that alcoholism was the reason he failed to show up during the final stages of an April criminal trial. His absence led to a mistrial.He didn’t show up because he was busy consuming “excessive amounts of alcohol,” according to a news release from the Judicial Standards Commission. To make matters worse, when questioned by the media, Pope lied and attributed his absence to a mild heart attack.The binge forced Pope to be hospitalized.In the Monday filing, Pope admitted to the allegations. He also agreed to the discipline recommended by the commission. If the high court approves the agreement, Pope must spend 60 days in alcohol rehab, write humbling letters to jurors in the case and the commission to apologize for his actions, pay a $1,000 fine, and, if he completes rehab and returns to the bench, be on permanent, supervised judicial probation and in a 12-step alcohol recovery program for the rest of his time on the bench.The commission showed a tough but fair approach in the Pope case. Continue Reading

Guard troops won’t help border, schools strapped, more on pencils and an interesting endorsement

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President Bush’s plan to send thousands of National Guard troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border is appropriately being met with skepticism. It’s a blatant attempt to appease the conservative base in an election year when his approval rating is headed toward zero.Bush’s plan won’t work. Until we deal with the root of the problem – the reason Latin American immigrants are so desperate to come here – they are going to keep trying to enter our nation, no matter what. Are our Guard troops going to start shooting them?The United States – you and me – have held down Latin America for a long time. Sure, its governments are plagued by corruption. Continue Reading

Richardson, Madrid flirt with appearance of impropriety, and E. Shirley says ‘the cops lied’

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That darned appearance of impropriety showed itself again in two Albuquerque Journal articles this weekend.In the first, it was reported that Gov. Bill Richardson, in his role as head of the Democratic Governor’s Association, has taken tens of thousands of dollars worth of free corporate jet flights from a huge tobacco company. That same company pushed hard in the last legislative session for a change in state taxes on tobacco that many said would have benefited only that company.The legislation was sponsored by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan.In the second article, it was reported that Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino owner Stan Fulton gave $100,000 to a political action committee formed by Attorney General Patricia Madrid weeks after she officially opposed the proposal to build a casino in Anthony that Fulton has bitterly fought against.First on Richardson and Lujan: The first legislative finance report on the tobacco bill said it would result in a half-million-dollar reduction in the amount of tobacco tax collected by the state.But the company that would have benefited, the same one that flew Richardson around, provided its own numbers, and a new financial impact report released the next week estimated that the state would instead bring in an additional $300,000.The House easily passed the bill. It died in the Senate.Why was the financial report changed? Why do corporations get to provide new numbers when they don’t like reports? Who authorized that in this instance?Even though officials said the first estimate was based on bad numbers, here’s that old appearance of impropriety creeping into state politics again. Continue Reading

Candidate Web sites

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Web sites have become almost a requirement for candidates seeking public office. Here are links to the sites for candidates seeking federal and statewide offices next year. When you have some time, visit the sites and learn more about the men and women who want to be your leaders.Sometime next week I’ll post the links to local candidates’ Web sites. If I missed any links for statewide candidates or you know of Web sites for local candidates, send me an e-mail at heath@haussamen.com.Have a great weekend. Come back Monday for a new week in New Mexico politics.U.S. SenateJeff Bingaman: http://bingaman.senate.gov/Allen McCulluch: http://www.allen4senate.com/Joseph Carraro: http://www.senatorcarraro.com/David Pfeffer: http://www.pfeffer-for-senate.org/U.S. House District 2Steve Pearce: http://www.stevepearceforcongress.com/Albert Kissling: http://www.kisslingforcongress.com/GovernorBill Richardson: http://www.billrichardson2006.com/J.R. Damron: http://www.damronforgovernor.com/Lieutenant governorDiane Denish: http://www.dianedenish.com/Sue Wilson Beffort: http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/legdetails.asp?Name=252&Submit=SearchSecretary of stateMary Herrera: http://www.maryherrera.com/Stephanie Gonzales: http://www.newmexicansforstephanie.com/Shirley Hooper: http://www.shirleyhooper.com/Letitia Montoya: NoneVickie Perea: http://www.newmexicoforvickie.com/State auditorThomas Buckner: NoneJeff Armijo: http://www.jeffarmijo.com/Daniel Alvarez: NoneState treasurerJames Lewis: http://www.jamesblewis.net/Demesia Padilla: NoneAttorney generalGeno Zamora: http://www.geno2006.com/Gary King: http://www.garyking.org/Lemuel Martinez: http://www.lemmartinez.com/Jim Bibb: http://www.jimbibb4ag.com/Land commissionerJim Baca: http://www.jimbaca.com/Ray Powell: http://www.raypowell4land.com/Patrick Lyons: http://www.nmstatelands.org/GetPage.aspx?sectionID=15&PagID=69 Continue Reading

Public financing slows candidates, and Richardson supporter gives big money to E. Shirley’s opponent

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New Mexico’s experiment in public financing of campaigns appears to have slowed both candidates in the Public Regulation Commission District 5 race who opted to go that route.The public money arrived for E. Shirley Baca, the Democrat incumbent, and Republican D. Kent Evans just before reports were due this week. Including $16,203.19 in public financing money, Baca reported contributions of more than $22,000, some $7,000 more than her challenger in the primary, Sandy Jones.Baca hasn’t yet had time to spend much of her money. Jones has outspent her thus far by more than $4,000.Evans apparently didn’t receive his public financing money in time to report it, and has come up with far less money this period than his two opponents in the Republican primary.Baca reported raising a total of $22,183.19 and spending $7,480. She had a $500 donation to herself and several donations from public officials, including $100 from PRC Member Ben R. Lujan, $100 each from Las Cruces School Board Member Chuck Davis and his wife Helen, and $50 each from State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia and Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley.Jones reported raising $14,800 and spending $11,741.15. He was given $500 by Las Cruces developer Edgar Lopez, a member of the New Mexico Border Authority and a big supporter of Richardson, and another $1,500 to $2,000 from companies owned by Lopez. Continue Reading

Media-conscious Zamora traveling the state; plus, AG candidates weigh in on prison overcrowding

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Geno Zamora is very conscious of the media.After spending years around the media-obsessed Gov. Bill Richardson, how could he not be? The Democrat, one of three seeking his party’s spot on the November ballot in the attorney general race, has been Richardson’s chief legal counsel and a member of two of the governor’s boards.When I surprised Zamora by showing up a few minutes early for an appointment at his Las Cruces office last week, he was reading Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano’s blog.Here’s the disclaimer: I’m writing about Zamora because he took the time to come to Las Cruces and asked to meet with me while here. I’ll meet with any candidate for a statewide race who wants to chat when he or she is in town.Zamora chooses his words carefully. He tries to speak quotably. He is concerned with his image.An example: In announcing the opening of his Las Cruces office a few months ago, Zamora called this the third largest city in the state, when it’s in fact the second largest. Continue Reading

County audit is far more serious than pencilgate, but both need probed; plus, more on immigration

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Doña Ana County’s attorney will present the special audit of county government to commissioners at their public meeting today. The audit has been the subject of much controversy. It found widespread problems as recently as 2004, but the state auditor said it appears most identified problems have been fixed. Three findings have been referred to the New Mexico State Police, who are currently investigating.In advance of today’s presentation, I thought it would be appropriate to share what I know about the audit findings. I have a file cabinet that contains thousands of pages of documents related to my own investigation into the allegations that led to the audit.The findings referred to state police:• The county set up a loan agreement with landowners to repay its 1999 water bonds, which were used to build a water and sewer system in Santa Teresa. Continue Reading

Some Democrats want to oust House Speaker Lujan, and treasurer probe expands beyond pencils

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Some House Democrats want to oust Ben Lujan as their speaker.Though an organized effort has not begun, the push will start soon after the June primary, two longtime Santa Fe insiders who would know about such things told me.“He’s just upset too many Democrats,” one of the insiders told me.Apparently, many are outraged that Lujan quietly slipped a $75 million appropriation into this years’ capital outlay bill without the knowledge of most of his colleagues. Lujan told me last month he wasn’t trying to hide it from anyone, but the fact remains that legislators from around the state say they didn’t know about appropriation, which would have funded the state’s share of future water rights settlements with American Indian tribes, until Richardson vetoed it.The final days of the session were so frantic that it wasn’t until Lujan shared the story of what happened last month that many legislators learned how it went down.Lujan sponsored a bill that would have appropriated $20 million for the state’s share of one of three outstanding water rights cases. The bill passed the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee, but moved no further.Sometime in the last 2-3 days of the session, Lujan bypassed his fellow House members and their committees by sticking that settlement money and money for two additional settlements into the capital outlay bill.Lujan also sidestepped the secret legislative conference committee, something he has apparently done for years with the capital outlay bill. And he bypassed the Senate Finance Committee, though in the past the capital outlay bill has gone there so the Senate can add in its share of the money.Lujan and a few others, it appears, put together the 440-page bill, pushed it through a House committee, then sent it to the floors of the House and Senate for a final vote when there was almost no time left for legislators to scrutinize it.A few legislators and the governor’s office noticed the $75 million appropriation hours before the floor votes when they were trying to figure out why the capital outlay bill was much bigger than it should have been. Gov. Bill Richardson would later end up slashing more than $200 million.When legislators realized the capital outlay bill was far too large, most were so worried about helping their own projects survive the governor’s veto pen that they failed to notice the $75 million, though it was the largest expense in the bill.Politics at its best, folks.Lujan defended himself by saying he didn’t intend to fool anyone, and House members made him their leader because he works well with them.He may not have intended to fool anyone, but why did he change the process this year and skip the Senate committee?Legislators are so busy in the last few days of the session that they rely on the assumption that their leaders are following procedure. Continue Reading

Leaving the Las Cruces Sun-News

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Hello,Just a quick note to tell everyone that I am leaving the Las Cruces Sun-News to spend more time working on this blog and other journalistic projects. My last day as a reporter at the Sun-News will be Friday, May 12, 2006.I have plans to expand and improve this blog and will remain an active journalist in the Las Cruces area.Many of you are still visiting my blog by clicking on a link that has been on the Sun-News homepage. That link is no longer available on the Sun-News Web site.The actual Web address for my blog is http://haussamen.blogspot.com.You can bookmark the site by clicking on the link at the top of the page. I’d appreciate you telling or e-mailing your friends about the actual Web site address. You can e-mail this posting by clicking on the envelope icon at the end.I will soon begin selling advertising on my blog. Continue Reading

Friday bonus: Some public officials flirting with appearance of impropriety instead of avoiding it

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Why is it so hard for some public officials to avoid the appearance of impropriety?County Treasurer Jim Schoonover, a Republican, bought 1,700 pencils that advertise his name, but not other information about his office, with just under $500 in taxpayer money. The county attorney says it’s a felony because the pencils have no public value and wants to report Schoonover to police. When I learned recently about the pencil purchase, I put in a formal request for the records.And though he had been asked but refused to repay the money for months, Schoonover repaid it hours after my request.Schoonover said the two were not connected, and claimed he didn’t receive the records request until after he repaid the money. He said he repaid the money because he was harassed, and also to avoid the appearance of impropriety.But his claims that he was harassed and that he is the victim of a political attack don’t help him avoid the appearance of impropriety, true or not. He left County Attorney John Caldwell and Commissioner Kent Evans with the impression in January that he would repay the money, but he waited four months, until hours after a public records request, to do it.That isn’t really avoiding the appearance of impropriety, is it?Now we learn about a second pencil purchase. Continue Reading

Two more scandals plague tainted judiciary, and there’s a second treasurer pencil purchase

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Two more Doña Ana County judges are in the hot seat, extending the recent spate of judicial scandals that has plagued New Mexico in the past couple of years.First, on Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza: He is the third judge in the past few months to admit to interfering in a case involving someone with whom he had a personal relationship. Apparently, in 2004, he arraigned, took a plea from and sentenced a woman in a drunken driving case. He admits that, sometime after that, he began having a “personal” relationship with the woman, according to a stipulated agreement filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court.When that came to light, Garza recused himself, and the judicial proceedings began all over again in front of two other judges. The problem is, after admitting that he had a conflict and should have nothing more to do with the case, Garza contacted both judges on more than one occasion to discuss the case with them, and in at least one instance, he asked one of the judges to set a low bond or no bond.He did that in front of the presiding judge of the magistrate court, Oscar Frietze.Does Garza, a Democrat, really have no clue? Or was he so focused on “personal” issues that his ethics weren’t in the forefront of his mind?This is exactly why judges must stay out of cases when they have a personal interest in their outcome. Continue Reading

Judge Ramirez brought before high court again, and NMSU pushing hard for convention center

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The New Mexico Supreme Court will consider this morning a petition from the Judicial Standards Commission for the immediate, temporary suspension of District Court Judge Larry Ramirez, the children’s court judge in Las Cruces. The reason isn’t known publicly because the petition is sealed. But the hearing before the high court will apparently be public, so many of the details could come out.The hearing is at 9 a.m.Clearly, the allegations are serious. The last time a request for the immediate, temporary suspension of a Doña Ana County judge was granted was in 2004, when then-Magistrate Reuben Galvan was facing rape and bribery allegations.I’m not saying Ramirez is facing criminal allegations of any sort. I’m just saying the allegations are clearly serious.Even in the Galvan case, the Supreme Court filing wasn’t sealed. Continue Reading

Reputable figures on ethics task force, and Bob Schwartz rejoins Richardson administration

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Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled the names of members of his ethics task force late Monday. He made some impressive choices.Common Cause Executive Director Matt Brix, Chief Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone and Judicial Standards Commission Executive Director Jim Noel bring credibility to a task force that has already been accused of being nothing more than a diversion from the governor’s own ethical challenges.Task force member and Albuquerque City Councilor Brad Winter has been praised lately by the GOP for being a Republican’s Republican. While other party members on the council have voted with the Democrats recently, he has held out, making him an interesting addition to the task force.One item that’s noteworthy because it doesn’t deserve praise: Richardson named two powerful, veteran Democratic legislators – Sen. Dede Feldman and Rep. Ken Martinez – to the task force, but chose two less-experienced Republicans – Sen. Gay Kernan and Rep. Kathy McCoy. Why not Sen. Lee Rawson from Las Cruces?Here’s the complete list:Co-Chairs• Former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, dean of the New Mexico State University School of Business Administration and Economics• Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the University of New Mexico School of LawTask Force Members• Chief Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone• Barbara Brazil, president, New Mexico First• Matt Brix, executive director, Common Cause• Marilyn Budke• John Carey, president and CEO, Association of Commerce and Industry• Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque• Mary Graña• Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs• Rep. W. Ken Martinez, D-Grants• Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-Cedar Crest• Jim Noel, executive director of the Judicial Standards Commission• Leonard Sanchez, CPA, Moss-Adams+Neff LLP• Ron Solimon, president and CEO, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center• Stuart Udall• Brad Winter, Albuquerque City Council member***I called last week for the governor and his Republican opponent in November, J.R. Damron, to voluntarily agree to limit the size of campaign donations and their overall spending, to disclose campaign contributions on the Internet within 48 hours, and to disclose all travel paid for by outside interests.And I quoted a couple of sources who doubt the governor’s motivations in putting together an ethics task force. One pointed out that the governor has called for some changes in ethics law that are contrary to his prior actions, and the other predicted that the governor is trying to look tough without actually being tough, and the task force won’t do any real work.One politico called to tell me he sympathizes with Richardson. Continue Reading

Richardson’s opposition to Spanish anthem may be political, just like Domenici’s tax rebate

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Gov. Bill Richardson shocked many Hispanics this weekend by agreeing with President George W. Bush that the national anthem should only be sung in English.Many Northern New Mexico Hispanics were already upset with the governor because they believe he is ignoring their needs. They protested his action and inaction several weeks ago at the state Democratic pre-primary convention.One source said the latest move is a bad one for Richardson.“His national anthem position showed Gov. Richardson’s formerly well-tuned political ear has increasingly gone tone deaf,” the source said. “The governor has failed to lead on immigration and border issues, where he should be a natural. Growing up in Mexico, likely the only Hispanic running for president, why join the Bush position?”Richardson has pleased the left with some immigration stances and the right with others. Weeks ago he admitted the complexities of the issue to a group of grade-school students in Española.It isn’t easy to figure out what to do about more than 11 million undocumented immigrants and the future influx of others. Continue Reading

Want to know which candidates get donations from your neighbors?

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Anyone who wants to know more about the people who have the attention of our elected officials in Washington, D.C. should check out opensecrets.org.There are searchable databases that contain candidate and donor information. Whether you are curious about a big-time developer or your next-door neighbor, you can find out who’s giving money to who.For example, I learned that Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino owner Stan Fulton gave $25,000 to the Republican National Committee in the 2004 election cycle and $3,000 to George W. Bush. Gerald Peters, who wants to build a competing casino in Anthony, also gave $25,000 to the RNC, and gave $2,000 each to the campaigns of Bush and John Kerry.I also found that New Mexico State University Professor Nancy Baker, an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and author of a new book on John Ashcroft, gave $225 to moveon.org in the 2004 election cycle and David Steinborn, the owner of Steinborn Realty and a former Las Cruces mayor, regularly gives to Democrats.The top donors to Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., thus far in the current election cycle include the National Rifle Association, Exxon Mobile and the National Beer Wholesaler’s Association. His opponent, Democrat Albert Kissling, has raised almost nothing in comparison.In researching area demographics, I learned that people living in the 88005 zip code are a fairly balanced political group. They gave $9,400 each to Bush and Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Continue Reading