NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/category/haussamen-columns/page/22/)
Every Republican member of and candidate for Congress should condemn the violent acts and threats against the president and members of Congress who supported health-care reform. And Democratic members who supported the bill should be very, very careful. Continue Reading
Secretary of State Mary Herrera’s latest public-records controversy – the one involving redacted e-mails that should not have been redacted – appears to be either a flagrant disregard for state law or a sign of incompetence. Continue Reading
For nearly two years, I’ve been pulling double duty, operating NMPolitics.net and also working as a reporter for The New Mexico Independent. As of April 1, I’ll no longer be doing that. I’ve made the choice to leave The Independent so I can focus on this site. Continue Reading
Saturday marked NMPolitics.net’s four-year anniversary. I want to thank all of you for helping make this one of the most popular political news sites in New Mexico. Look for some changes in the coming weeks that I hope will improve the site. Continue Reading
Secretary of State Mary Herrera has made a scandalous situation worse by refusing to release former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar’s resignation letter. The Journal has already shown us part of the letter. Herrera should immediately show us the rest. Continue Reading
The GOP guv primary remains wide open, Denish has the advantage in November but isn’t unbeatable, and Pearce/Teague remains one of the hottest House races in the nation. Then there’s the guv. Of course his approval rating has tanked. Continue Reading
The clock is ticking. There are fewer than 15 hours left in the session, with some of that (probably) spent in recess so lawmakers can get some sleep. Here’s to hoping Sanchez calls the webcasting bills up for hearings before the clock runs out on Thursday. Continue Reading
When the House Judiciary Committee gave a do-pass recommendation this weekend to a bill that would create a publicly accessible database of financial information from government agencies in New Mexico, it took two steps forward and one step back. Continue Reading
On Friday, a controversial piece of legislation narrowly passed the House while two Democrats were ostensibly hiding out somewhere in the Roundhouse to avoid voting. I’m pretty sure that isn’t what those representatives’ constituents wanted them to do. Continue Reading
(UPDATED) The New Mexico House of Representatives took three giant steps forward in the area of government transparency today by approving resolutions that allow the expansion of webcasting and require, for the first time, that floor roll-call votes be posted online. Continue Reading
A couple of revisions to Rep. Jeff Steinborn’s webcasting legislation would ensure that unofficial webcasting of committee meetings is allowed and actually require committee chairs to work with Legislative Council Service on producing official webcasts of committee meetings. Continue Reading
State Rep. Jeff Steinborn wants to expand official legislative webcasting to interim committee meetings and make permanent a rule that allows webcasting of House committee meetings during sessions. But legislation he has introduced may need to be reworked if he wants to continue to allow unofficial webcasting. Continue Reading
The state finance and personnel departments, like the governor’s office, say they have no information about the 59 political appointees who are losing their jobs Friday. I remain skeptical.
Continue Reading
It’s nothing short of hypocritical that Gov. Bill Richardson has talked about the importance of “open, accessible and accountable government” and then flagrantly disregarded the requirements of the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. Continue Reading
Our corrupt system gives corporations and other special interests undue influence that undermines the Constitution that created it. The ongoing health-care reform debate in Washington proves the point. Continue Reading