Top staffer for state DAs arrested for DWI

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The top staffer for the state’s district attorneys was arrested last weekend on suspicion of drunken driving, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting. Randy Saavedra, director of the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys, was stopped at a DWI checkpoint near Bernalillo over the weekend and arrested, but he says he wasn’t intoxicated and will fight the charges. “I am very upset about this,” the Journal quoted him as saying. Saavedra, the newspaper reported, has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving before, in 2001, but the charge was dismissed by the district attorney in Bernalillo County. That was before Saavedra became head of the state-funded office in 2006. Continue Reading

Vigil-Giron questions timing of audit’s release

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State auditor’s office says release on Tuesday was routineFormer Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron is questioning the timing of the Tuesday release of an audit that was completed last summer and slammed her administration’s handling of federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds. But the state auditor’s office says the audit is being made public along with hundreds of others this month following the office’s annual review period for such audits, and there’s nothing unusual about it. The audit, which I reported about when the state auditor released it on Tuesday, was completed in July and adds to the body of evidence indicating that Vigil-Giron’s administration severely mismanaged $6.3 million in federal funds. State Auditor Hector Balderas announced in a Tuesday news release that he had forwarded the audit to three investigatory agencies, including the attorney general, who is already scrutinizing the situation. “Can you believe that they waited more than seven months to release this report! Continue Reading

Services set for Debi Rounds

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Visitation will be held Thursday and a funeral service will be held Friday for Debi Rounds, wife of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds, who died earlier this week. The visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at Getz Funeral Home in Las Cruces, the school district announced this evening. The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Las Cruces. Burial will be in Plainview, Texas. Continue Reading

Another audit points finger at Vigil-Giron

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Report released today reveals ‘severe mismanagement of federal funds that were intended to improve voter education,’ state auditor says A financial audit released today adds to the body of evidence indicating that former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron’s administration severely mismanaged federal funds appropriated under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The regular, annual audit of the secretary of state’s office for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, conducted by Atkinson and Co. and released today by state Auditor Hector Balderas, highlighted “questionable payments” totaling $6.3 million made to a single contractor by Vigil-Giron’s administration, according to a news release from Balderas’ office. That is similar to what the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) Office of the Inspector General found last year in its own audit — that Vigil-Giron paid Gutierrez & Associates $6.3 million for advertising and voter education leading up to the 2006 election using the federal funds, which were not to be used for such purposes. To top it off, the company can’t account for how $3 million of that money was spent. Continue Reading

Looking back on Lady Sunlight’s webcasting quest

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I’ve already written about one definitive account of the battle to bring webcasting to the New Mexico House of Representatives. Now there’s another, edgier account of the situation. The Santa Fe Reporter’s Dave Maass, in last week’s edition, took a look at the fight from a fictional, futuristic perspective. The article begins in the year 2059 with an account of what might be: a statue of “Lady Sunlight” in the Roundhouse. It’s “a life-sized likeness of Janice Arnold-Jones, the turn-of-the-century Republican legislator who, through civil disobedience, forced the New Mexico House of Representatives to begin broadcasting its meetings to the public.” The article goes way in-depth on this topic. Continue Reading

Guv announces new ethics reform proposals

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Gov. Bill Richardson announced today that he’s proposing a ban on campaign contributions from corporations, contractors and lobbyists and a second piece of legislation that would require contractors to register with the state and disclose information including contributions. In doing so, the governor is taking on what is at least a perception of a pay-to-play culture in Santa Fe at a time when his administration is dogged by pay-to-play allegations. “I’m proud of the reforms we’ve enacted since I’ve taken office, including gift limits, public financing for appellate judges and a ban on contractor campaign contributions during the procurement process,” Richardson said in a news release. “I’m urging lawmakers to expand on those reforms and to break the logjam that has blocked our past efforts to create strong and meaningful ethics laws.” Richardson called the new proposals the “strongest pieces” in his legislative package, which also includes the creation of an independent ethics commission, campaign contribution limits for candidates and political action committees, public financing for statewide candidates, stricter and more frequent campaign reporting and a rule prohibiting legislators from becoming lobbyists for one year after leaving office. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a question about who would be sponsoring the new bills, which the news release said would be introduced this week. Continue Reading

Wife of LCPS chief dies in Santa Fe

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The wife of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds died while her husband was attending a hearing at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe this morning. LCPS spokesman Mike Cook confirmed Debi Rounds’ death. He said he didn’t know the cause of death or have any information about funeral arrangements. Rounds died at a hotel in Santa Fe. “We’re all still in shock,” Cook said. Continue Reading

Some ethics reform bills gain momentum

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Some high-profile ethics reform bills gained momentum today in the Senate Rules Committee. Members of the committee who were present unanimously gave a do-pass recommendation to Senate Bill 128, sponsored by Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe. The bill would require that candidates file reports of expenditures and contributions twice a year in off-election years. Currently, the law requires that annually. And they discussed at length proposals to prohibit lawmakers from becoming lobbyists for one year after they leave office and to ban campaign contributions from state contractors and prospective contractors, or at least require the disclosure of such contributions. Continue Reading

Senate to hold short session on Wednesday

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The New Mexico Senate will convene at 8 a.m. on Wednesday to hold a short session so members can attend a public memorial service later in the day for Patty Jennings, wife of Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, who died on Saturday. Jennings, a tireless advocate on behalf of those with disabilities and the uninsured, died following a long battle with breast cancer. She was 53. News of Wednesday’s short session was announced today. The floor session will last until 10 a.m., and senators who want to travel to Roswell can then board a bus and ride together. Continue Reading

Webcasting the Senate Rules meeting here

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Update: The meeting and webcast are over, but here’s the transcript of the chat: The New Mexico Independent’s Gwyneth Doland is webcasting live from the Senate Rules Committee meeting again today, as she did on Friday, but the Independent’s Web site is currently down. So, you can join the webcast and chat right here: <a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=9f233a2645″ >Senate Rules Committee hears Ethics Bills</a> Continue Reading

Remembering Patty Jennings

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This article has been updated.Patty Jennings, wife of Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings and a tireless advocate on behalf of those with disabilities and the uninsured, died Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer. Jennings, who was director of the New Mexico Medical Insurance Pool, was 53. Jennings’ family plans to hold a private service this week, and a public memorial is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Roswell Convention Center, according to The Associated Press. Gov. Bill Richardson says he will order that flags be lowered in memory of Jennings. Here are some comments I gathered over the weekend about Jennings’ death: “Patty was one of the most magnificent women I have ever known. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll don’t want Kilmer to run

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Val Kilmer should not run for governor. Of 295 voters, 204, or 69 percent, said he should not run, while 81, or 27 percent, said he should, and 10, or 3 percent, said they don’t know. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Kilmer meeting with political operatives in DC

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Val Kilmer has apparently been meeting with political operatives in Washington this week, and there’s a lot of speculation that he’s looking for staffers to work on his potential 2010 gubernatorial campaign in New Mexico. I wrote earlier this week that Kilmer was in Washington to visit with some members of the New Mexico congressional delegation and attend a speech on American Indian issues. In addition, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed, someone representing Kilmer set up meetings between the actor and some operatives in the D.C.-area that were held this week. Then there’s this from Washington blogger Joshua Baca, who keeps an eye on issues related to New Mexico: “My sources tell me that Val Kilmer was dining this morning at the Royal Restaurant — a local breakfast diner in Alexandria, Virginia,” Baca wrote in a Thursday posting on his site. “This time, however, he wasn’t dressed as Batman, rather dressed in a suit and tie, chatting with two other gentlemen in suits and ties.” “Could he be in the market for a Democratic consultant or operative?” Baca asks. Continue Reading

New Foy lawsuit seeks release of agency records

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Man alleging pay-to-play scheme says educational retirement board has no basis for denying records request A man who has already filed a civil lawsuit alleging a pay-to-play scheme involving the Richardson administration filed a second suit on Thursday alleging that the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board is illegally withholding public records and seeking a court order to force their release. Frank Foy, the agency’s former chief investment officer, filed a request under the state Inspection of Public Records Act in January seeking a myriad of documents, including minutes of board meetings and any other records related to the board, any other committee or advisory group, Vanderbilt Capital Advisors — the company at the center of the pay-to-play lawsuit, and dozens of other individuals and companies. In addition to paper records, the request sought electronic records including text messages, e-mails and cell phone messages. The request matches a subpoena Foy’s attorney, Victor Marshall, issued to the retirement board, according to documents provided by Marshall along with a news release sent today. In Foy’s pay-to-play lawsuit, which he has filed on behalf of the state, he alleges that the state made investments with Vanderbilt and affiliated companies in exchange for a little more than $15,000 in contributions to Gov. Bill Richardson’s 2008 presidential campaign. Continue Reading

Committee leaves public financing bill in limbo

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A bill that would expand the state’s public financing system remains in limbo in the Senate Rules Committee after members who were present for a vote on whether to table the bill earlier today were evenly split. The party-line vote on a motion from a Republican senator to table Senate Bill 165 was 3-3. Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, did not attend the meeting, and Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, left the meeting when debate on the bill started. At the time of the committee’s vote on the bill, the Senate had already begun its daily floor session. Sanchez runs the floor sessions. Continue Reading