Should Ben Lujan remain speaker of the House?

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The fact that Lujan is still the state’s most powerful lawmaker despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him taints House Democrats Does the value of property increase when a highway interchange is built near it? Of course it does. So the fact that the state Department of Transportation abruptly moved the site of a proposed interchange to four-tenths of a mile from land owned by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambe, in 2007 should raise eyebrows. Of course, Lujan has been doing things for years that should raise the eyebrows of anyone who cares about honest and ethical government, so perhaps the revelations contained in Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal article about the DOT project shouldn’t come as a surprise. Nonetheless, in the context of the cloud of scandal that has descended upon state government in recent years, it’s simply embarrassing that House Democrats continue to make Lujan the most powerful lawmaker in New Mexico despite the appearance of impropriety that surrounds him. Continue Reading

Wall Street Journal ignoring facts in its attack on King

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At best, business-friendly newspaper is doing shoddy reporting. At worst, it has ulterior motives for distorting the truth with its ‘pay-to-sue’ allegation. The Wall Street Journal went after New Mexico Attorney General Gary King this weekend for a third time in its ongoing “pay-to-sue” assault. Its new editorial reveals that the newspaper is not treating King fairly and is doing a disservice to its readers. The Journal editorial left out a number of facts that contradict its claim that King took massive campaign contributions from a Texas lawyer who has a contract to sue a pharmaceutical company on behalf of the state. At best, it’s shoddy reporting. Continue Reading

Please, save some bullets for the cops

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Despite what some want us to believe, more gun control is DOA. So don’t hoard bullets to the point that cops don’t have enough to do their jobs. A forwarded e-mail I received Tuesday claimed that the Department of Defense was discontinuing the sale of spent brass — used bullet shell cases — to ammunition manufacturers, which would force the companies to purchase new shells instead and would significantly increase the cost of ammo. To top it off, the e-mail stated, “Obama wants To add a 500% tax on each shell.” “… If you’re not outraged at what this administration is doing you should Be!” the e-mail stated. “Be Afraid! Continue Reading

Feds should scrutinize this eyebrow-raising deal, too

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The state paid millions for a parcel of land it apparently didn’t need. Then Richardson got a $50K campaign contribution from a member of the family from which the state purchased the land. Hmm… Use your public position to spend taxpayer money to benefit the family of a private contractor, get $50,000 of that taxpayer money back as a campaign contribution. Is that how a land deal went down between Gov. Bill Richardson and Santa Fe contractor Sonny Otero? Continue Reading

Invest in commuter rail only where it makes sense

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I’m a big fan of programs that reduce our dependence on foreign oil and our impact on the environment. I’ve become more impressed with the Rail Runner Express — the commuter train that runs from Belen through Albuquerque to Santa Fe — over time as significant numbers of people have continued to ride and expressed satisfaction with the system. And, because of that, I like the idea of another commuter train between El Paso and Las Cruces, connecting communities in this populated region like the Rail Runner has done in north-central New Mexico. But, as an El Paso-Las Cruces train continues to be discussed, another idea keeps coming up that makes no sense to me. First, it was state Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, who, earlier this year, publicly floated the idea of funding a study on the possibility of extending the state’s commuter train from Belen to Las Cruces. Continue Reading

Dealing with uncertain times

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The media does sometimes exaggerate, but there’s much to be concerned about right now. There’s also a lot you can do to make sure you’re ready for whatever lies ahead. The Las Cruces Sun-News has been criticized by some this week for publicly raising the question about whether the sudden death of a six-year-old boy might have been related to the swine flu. The newspaper has been accused by some of unnecessarily spreading fear. But, while most journalists including me look back from time to time and realize they should have done something differently, I don’t think it was unreasonable for the Sun-News to raise the question. Continue Reading

‘Quality-of-life’ tax increase should be shot down

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People are struggling to make ends meet. We should not increase their tax burden just to create more fun things to do in Las Cruces. Some city officials and others in Las Cruces are proposing raising the gross-receipts or property tax this year to help fund “quality-of-life” initiatives such as operation and maintenance of city ball fields, creation of new bike paths and the expansion of artistic and cultural programs. Yes, really. Even though the nation is in its worst economic shape since the Great Depression. And even though the city had to cut its budget by 5 percent last year in response to the recession. Continue Reading

Building a new house of cards

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Because of a rule change, banks can now overvalue assets and falsely inflate earnings reports, all to increase lending and fool us into thinking the economy is getting better so we’ll spend, spend, spend In a stunningly foolish act, a nonprofit board that has authority over public companies’ accounting standards on Friday quietly got rid of a rule that requires banks to value their assets at what they’re currently worth. Instead, banks can now boost their books by valuing their assets at what they estimate they will be worth when the economy gets better. Seriously. The Associated Press describes it this way: “The changes, which apply to the second quarter that began this month, will allow the assets to be valued at what the banks project they might sell for in the future, rather than in the current, distressed environment.” The relaxing of the rule came from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which is granted the authority over accounting standards by the Securities and Exchange Commission. All I want to know is, can I get some special treatment too? Continue Reading

Pushing the darkness to the fringes

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The New Mexico Legislature makes a quantum leap forward with webcasting and open conference committees In 2006, the Legislature intentionally didn’t appropriate $75 million for water-rights settlements. House Speaker Ben Lujan didn’t like that, so he quietly slipped the funding into the capital outlay bill when no one was watching. Exactly when in the process Lujan did that has never been entirely clear, but this much is apparent: The speaker took advantage of his power and a system that allowed such acts to go undetected to bypass the legislative process and make himself the sole decider of how to spend $75 million in taxpayer money. Fortunately, the governor vetoed the funding, but the point remains this: The system should have been set up so that Lujan, D-Nambé, could never abuse his authority in such an egregious manner. The Legislature has taken two important steps toward increasing transparency and changing its own culture this session — steps that will make it more difficult for Lujan or any other ethically challenged lawmaker to abuse power in that manner in the future. Continue Reading

Transparency? We don’t need transparency…

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The legislative committee that crafts the budget shelved a bill last night that would open conference committees to the public because most of its members don’t like that it would also shine light on their own closed-door meetings. Would you believe that the House Appropriations and Finance Committee actually had the gall on Wednesday to table a bill that would open legislative conference committees and some other currently closed-door meetings to the public? That even in these times, when the Richardson administration is dogged by pay-to-play allegations, when the former Senate president has admitted to using the legislative process to help steal millions of dollars in taxpayer money, when scandal after scandal after scandal is further jading an already skeptical public, the majority of members of the committee voted to shelve a proposal that would increase transparency and public confidence in the Legislature? I didn’t believe it when I first heard it. After all, the committee’s members gave the same proposal a do-pass recommendation on a vote of 18-0 the last time it came before them, in 2007. Continue Reading

Obama’s spending spree won’t fix this mess

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Spending nearly a trillion dollars in borrowed cash isn’t bold. It’s foolish. And it only adds to a growing national debt that is the real albatross around our neck. Let me get this straight: With the new stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama this week, we’re borrowing more money so we can spend more money to generate more spending of money so that we’ll have more money to spend — when this started with spending money we didn’t have in the first place. Forgive my ignorance, since I’m not a trained economist, but that sounds ridiculous to me. Continue Reading

Trying a case or swaying public opinion?

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The actions of the plaintiff and his attorney in the civil pay-to-play lawsuit involving the Richardson administration are creating a media circus. It’s no secret that most judges don’t like their cases tried in the media. That’s why most attorneys don’t turn their clients’ lawsuits into media circuses. So the actions of Victor Marshall and his client, Frank Foy, who is alleging in a civil lawsuit a pay-to-play scheme involving the Richardson administration, should raise eyebrows. This isn’t the ongoing federal, criminal grand jury investigation into allegations that the Richardson administration traded a lucrative state bond contract for $110,000 in contributions to Gov. Bill Richardson’s political committees and his 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Continue Reading

Webcasting would change Santa Fe’s culture

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Finding new ways to shine light on public officials is the most important of all ethics reform proposals. It’s time for the Legislature to embrace webcasting and develop a formal system to make it happen. Two years ago, I traveled four hours from Las Cruces to Santa Fe to follow one issue — reform of the state’s housing authority system — through the legislative process. At the time I was in my first year as an independent online journalist, and most lawmakers in Santa Fe didn’t know me by sight. The issue I went to cover was a contentious one. Continue Reading

Learning from Bush’s mistakes

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Obama might appear to be wholly different than the outgoing president, but W wasn’t always the divisive figure he became after 9/11. Bush’s transformation should serve as a warning to the new president.Just before George W. Bush boarded a helicopter on Tuesday and left behind the nation’s capital and the presidency, Barack Obama saw him off with a hug, a handshake and a smile. In stark contrast, moments later, countless Obama supporters who had just watched the inauguration mocked Bush by singing, “Nah nah nah nah, hey hey, goodbye,” as his helicopter circled for one last look at the White House. That’s sad. Understandable, but still sad. Continue Reading

Acting like ‘Dictator Bush’

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Gov. Bill Richardson’s current troubles have me thinking back on my first real experience with him. Here’s a story about the time he tried to bully a 22-year-old single mother — and lost.Gov. Bill Richardson’s current troubles have me thinking back on past allegations that he was playing loose with the rules and bullying people. And that inevitably brings me back to my first real experience with the governor, during which I once compared him in a column to “Dictator Bush.” Richardson’s egregious actions actually inspired me to, for the first time, take advantage of my constitutional right to petition my government. First the context: In July 2003, Richardson summoned New Mexico State University Student Regent Felicia Ybarra to his office. On three key votes, the college student had disregarded the wishes of the governor who appointed her and who held her already signed but undated resignation letter in his hand, and he wanted an in-person meeting, on his turf. Continue Reading