Municipal Judge Melissa Miller-Byrnes (disciplined)

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Miller-Byrnes was issued a formal reprimand in 2004 after falsely stating during a radio interview that no complaints had been filed against her with the commission. She was also disciplined in January for calling a city prosecutor a “smart ass” during a 2004 interview with a newspaper reporter. That comment was part of a dispute between the municipal judges and city attorney’s office that exploded in 2004 when the city’s two judges wrote a letter to the Las Cruces Sun-News alleging incompetence by police and prosecutors. After the letter and Miller-Byrnes’ separate comment about the prosecutor were published, the city attorney’s office filed a complaint with the commission, which asked the high court to discipline the judges. The court dismissed the complaint related to the letter, but chastised Miller-Byrnes for the “smart ass” comment. Continue Reading

Municipal Judge James T. Locatelli (cautioned)

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Locatelli has never been disciplined by the high court, but was issued a cautionary letter by the commission in 2004 after pornographic e-mails were found on his city-owned computer at the court. Such letters are normally confidential, but Locatelli made his public when he applied for a district judgeship last year. Locatelli was the author, along with Miller-Byrnes, of the letter to the Sun-News complaining about city police and prosecutors. Key articles:• June 20: Judge Locatelli defends lawsuit against city Continue Reading

19 of the 20 highest-paid public employees in the county work for NMSU

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I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the top 20 salaries at New Mexico State University. With the exception of Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz, the 20 highest-paid public employees in Doña Ana County all work for NMSU. Diaz is currently paid an annual salary of $160,000. Here are the top 20 salaries at NMSU for the 2006-2007 fiscal year (which began July 1), based on information the university provided in response to a records request: 1 – Michael Martin, university president: $293,840.98 2 – Reggie Theus, men’s basketball head coach: $275,000 3 – William Flores, executive vice president and provost: $220,913.78 4 – Hal Mumme, head football coach: $207,923.66 5 – McKinley Boston, athletics director: $190,000 6 – Vimal Chaitanya, vice president for research, graduate studies and international programs: $177,000 7 – Jennifer Taylor, senior vice president for business, finance and human resources: $175,000 8 – Ben Woods, senior vice president for planning, physical resources and university relations: $166,171.43 9 – Stephen Hottman, senior director for technology, Physical Science Laboratory: $165,080.20 10 – Michael Hites, chief information officer, information and technology services: $163,174.93 11 – Waded Cruzado-Salas, dean, College of Arts and Sciences: $161,525.12 12 – Robert Moulton, dean, College of Education: $158,068.13 13 – Garrey E. Carruthers, College of Business Administration and Economics dean and vice president for economic development: $155,000 14 – Steven Castillo, dean, College of Engineering: $153,166.78 15 – Lowell Catlett, dean, College of Agriculture and Home Economics: $151,708.92 16 – Jeffrey Brandon, dean, College of Health and Social Services: $151,525.01 17 – Robert Widenhofer, assistant football coach: $149,873.90 18 – Thomas Burton, mechanical engineering department head: $146,300 19 – Jay Jordan, dean and director of the Physical Science Laboratory: $145,600 20 – Abbas Ghassemi, WERC executive director: $145,440.75 Continue Reading

t/Space doesn’t get NASA contract, but state could still benefit from space station project

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A company in which the state was considering investing $20 million was unsuccessful in its bid for a lucrative NASA contract, but that doesn’t mean the news is all bad for Spaceport America and New Mexico. t/Space was not selected as one of two finalists Friday to receive NASA funding for its attempt to develop a vehicle that could eventually be used to transport crew and cargo to the International Space Station. (Click here to view NASA’s home page for the project.) Picked instead were the El-Segundo, Calif.-based SpaceX and Rocketplane-Kistler of Oklahoma City. SpaceX will receive $278 million from NASA, according to Space.com, and Rocketplane-Kistler will receive $207 million. Both companies will be expected to conduct three flights before 2010 to prove they can deliver pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the space station, according to Space.com. Continue Reading

Lyons joins Richardson and Madrid in the hot seat over questionable campaign contributions

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State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons is under fire for intervening in a lawsuit in 2004 for a landowner who gave him campaign contributions before, during and after the court battle. Lyons said the contributions had nothing to do with his action, but that darned appearance of impropriety that has plagued Gov. Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid, both Democrats, now finds its way to the doorstep of Republican Lyons, though the donations are smaller than some of those that have haunted the two Democrats. According to a weekend article in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Lyons took $250 from Mike Machenbier of the Four Daughters Ranch in Valencia County in 2004, during a court battle with the Isleta Pueblo over access to a road. Then, between October 2005 and June 2006, he accepted several contributions totaling $4,225. Lyon’s opponent in this year’s election, Democrat Jim Baca, called it an “ethical lapse” by Lyons. Continue Reading

A firsthand account of the devastation in Hatch

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Gov. Bill Richardson will formally ask President Bush today to declare Hatch a federal disaster area and free up emergency money to help the town recover from Tuesday’s flooding. His request is sorely needed. I spent Sunday afternoon in Hatch, and it’s devastated. State and federal officials toured Hatch Friday afternoon to assess the damage. According to the governor’s office, some 402 homes have been affected in the town, which has a population of about 1,600. Continue Reading

Jury still out on new elections supervisor

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Many are optimistic that Lynn Ellins is the right person to run Doña Ana County’s election in November, but most believe it’s too soon to tell. Of 79 voters in last week’s poll, 33, or 42 percent, said it’s too soon to say. 29, or 37 percent, said Ellins is the right choice. 17, or 22 percent, said he is not the right choice. You can read more about Ellins by clicking here. Continue Reading

Wisconsin Republicans attack Richardson as he visits state to support Democratic governor

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Gov. Bill Richardson is in Wisconsin today trying to help the re-election campaign of the state’s governor. The administration of Democrat Jim Doyle has recently been plagued by scandal. According to the Washington Post, jurors convicted a member of Doyle’s administration of fraud on June 12 after an official was accused of “directing a contract to a company that donated money to Doyle’s campaign.” “Doyle disavows any knowledge of the scandal and has attempted to distance himself from the corruption charges by firing the employee,” the Post article states. “However, in a state that prides itself on clean government, Doyle’s hopes for another four years as governor have been damaged. How seriously remains to be seen, but with approval ratings hovering around 40 percent, chances for recovery do not look promising.” The Post says the governor’s race in the state is a statistical dead heat. Continue Reading

Republican magistrate hopeful faces uphill climb

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The Republican candidate for the magistrate judge Division II seat in Doña Ana County has a tough road ahead. The first hit to his campaign came in April, when the U.S. Office of Special Counsel began looking into whether Foldy and Sheriff Todd Garrison were in violation of the Hatch Act, which prevents some public employees whose jobs involve federal money from running for office while holding those jobs. Foldy is a corporal in the sheriff’s department. He’s also the only Republican running against any of the county’s five incumbent Democratic judges this year. When the feds began looking into the situation, Foldy stopped volunteering for overtime jobs such as DWI enforcement that are funded by federal grants. Continue Reading

Richardson tries to assure Iowa, N.H. of 2008 status despite Nevada caucus change

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The Democratic National Committee is expected to insert Nevada’s caucuses between Iowa’s and the New Hampshire primary when it adopts its 2008 primary and caucus calendar Saturday in Chicago. Gov. Bill Richardson defended that proposal in Iowa Thursday, according to the Des Moines Register. “The path to the presidency is through Iowa and New Hampshire,” Richardson told the newspaper. “I don’t see Nevada’s entrance in between, a caucus in a small western state, as going to affect either one.” The issue was contentious during a recent Richardson visit to New Hampshire. He is one of the backers of the Nevada proposal, designed to raise the status of the west, but, at the same time, has worked hard to convince Iowa and New Hampshire they won’t be harmed. Continue Reading

Many Democrats also upset over party’s ad comparing Hispanic immigrants to terrorists

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Some Democrats are upset about the lack of sense shown by those in their own party who created an advertisement many believe unfairly compared Hispanic immigrants to terrorists. After writing about the subject yesterday, I’ve had several calls and e-mails from Democrats who are upset about the ad created by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The ad, which was posted on the group’s Web site Tuesday, attacked Republicans and showed footage of two undocumented immigrants scaling a border fence along with images of Osama Bin Laden and North Korea’s leader. It compared the problem of illegal immigration to those of terrorism and rogue nations. The Democratic group’s spokesman, Phil Singer, dismissed criticism as a Republican group “trying to gloss over the White House’s abysmal record on security,” according to the Associated Press. Continue Reading

Acting Gov. Denish declares Hatch and Socorro disasters, and politicos push judge candidates

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While Gov. Bill Richardson is out of state doing the anti-Wal-Mart thing, there’s a lot happening locally. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, serving as acting governor, declared a disaster today in Hatch and Socorro, which have been pummeled (and in the case of Hatch, devastated) by recent rains. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the declaration frees up $750,000 in flood-relief funds for the communities. The funds can only be used to repair public infrastructure. Denish will fly over both towns today. Continue Reading

New web site a venue for quick, easy and public campaign finance reporting

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Conservative political blogger Mario Burgos has started a new Web site on which candidates for office can voluntarily report campaign contributions. Ethical Reporting is a blog-formatted site “for politicians and political candidates who want to provide real-time and easily searchable campaign finance information to the general public,” Burgos writes on the site. His goal is “to address deficiencies with the campaign finance reporting system in New Mexico,” though he invites candidates from across the nation to participate. It’s brand new and, as of Wednesday, only one candidate had signed up. Candidates can obtain free usernames and passwords that allow them to post their contributions, expenses and gifts on the site, which is updated by the candidates as they input data. Continue Reading

Treasurer paints bizarre picture of office under Vigil, and legislative salaries on the chopping block

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State Treasurer Doug Brown painted a bizarre picture Wednesday of the way the office operated under Robert Vigil. He said he found bugged telephones, rigged security alarms, altered personnel files and more when he was appointed in November to the job, according to an Associated Press article you can read via the Albuquerque Journal. Brown was speaking to the state ethics task force, of which he is a member, during a meeting of the group at which he suggested the treasurer should be an appointed, not elected, position. With no oversight, Brown said, a “rogue clique” was running the office, making inappropriate investments and ignoring personnel and procurement policies, the Associated Press reported. The new details provide insight into the severity the situation under Vigil. Continue Reading