Aragon mess proves that university president positions should not be political appointments

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Manny Aragon is proving why university president positions should not be political appointments. As one of the most powerful legislative leaders in state history, the political mastermind left the Senate a couple of years ago to take the job as president of New Mexico Highlands University. It’s been a disaster. The professors don’t like him. He’s been at odds with the regents, who are attempting to fire him. Continue Reading

White Sands missile defense test a success

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The Air Force successfully completed its third test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system this morning at White Sands Missile Range. Area media reported that the test, which took place at about 5:30 a.m., was seen in El Paso and as far away as Phoenix. The missile defense system test comes days after North Korea’s testing of several missiles. The United States was prepared to shoot down one missile that had been aimed at the waters near Hawaii, but the missile failed. Two more launches will be held at White Sands before testing moves to Hawaii. Continue Reading

Fired county elections supervisor speaks out

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Fired Doña Ana County Elections Supervisor Mari Langford responded today for the first time to her termination. Her comments come the day after the county issued a statement saying she was fired both for poor job performance and allegations of personal misconduct. It’s unusual for governments to release such information about personnel matters. “According to popular perception, the quality of an election administrator’s job performance ultimately translates into whether Election Day runs smoothly, with few complaints,” Langford said in a written statement. “I found it was much more than that. Continue Reading

ACLU comes to defense of minor parties

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The American Civil Liberties Union is coming to the defense of minor political parties in New Mexico, and it’s about time. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Albuquerque, the ACLU is attacking a state law that requires minor parties to twice gather signatures to get candidates on the ballot – once to petition for formal party status, then again to get their names on the ballot, according to an Associated Press article that you can read via the Albuquerque Journal. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Libertarian Party of New Mexico and its four candidates who are trying to get on the November ballot. The ACLU says the law violates the right of political association by forcing the minor parties to obtain signatures from people who aren’t party members. The Libertarian Party has already gathered the signatures to become recognized with formal party status. Continue Reading

Commissioners oppose annexation and development proposal that sidesteps their voices

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Doña Ana County commissioners voted Tuesday to oppose a proposed city annexation and development that would skirt the normal approval procedures. Developer Ken Thurston wants to build 1,707 homes on 210 acres in the Taylor Road area north of Las Cruces. The city council is set to vote later this month on a proposal to annex the land into the city and approve the development. There are two problems with this proposal: Residents of the area in question live in the county and have no voice in city government. In addition, the proposal bypasses the normal approval procedures. Continue Reading

White House strikes back at Richardson over North Korea diplomacy

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The White House finally struck back Tuesday at New Mexico’s governor and his repeated (and successful) attempts to step on the Bush Administration’s toes over the North Korea situation. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who served as United Nations ambassador and energy secretary under President Clinton, “went with flowers and chocolates, and he went with light-water nuclear reactors… and a basketball signed by Michael Jordan and many other inducements for the ‘dear leader’ to try to agree not to develop nuclear weapons, and it failed,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said today, according to the Washington Post. “We’ve learned from that mistake.” Bush has increasingly expressed frustration in recent days with diplomacy after North Korea test fired several missiles last week. For a time, it was Bush who was calling for cooperation with other nations, a rare event indeed. But Richardson knows how to get on national television and has appeared in the past several days saying that the North simply needs more attention, including promises of aid similar to those being offered to Iran. Continue Reading

County treasurer and manager need to put aside differences and work together

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Tuesday’s presentation by Doña Ana County Treasurer Jim Schoonover to the commission about the county’s investments felt more like a Congressional impeachment hearing. Schoonover and the county’s contract investment advisor, former State Rep. Robert Burpo, answered tough questions from the commission for almost two hours about how the county’s money is invested and how Schoonover hired Burpo. Commissioners expressed three concerns: ● Though income from interest on investments has increased since Schoonover took office in 2005, a few mistakes have been made that resulted in less being made than was possible. ● Commissioners expressed varying degrees of concern about how Burpo was hired, with one saying there was at least the appearance that he was improperly pre-selected for the job. ● Many locally owned banks have been cut out of the county’s investments because Schoonover has begun requiring them to secure the money at a rate of 102 percent, making it impractical and in some cases impossible for banks with smaller amounts of capital. Continue Reading

Job performance wasn’t the only reason for Langford’s firing, county says

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Doña Ana County released a statement today indicating that job performance wasn’t the only reason for the firing of former Elections Supervisor Mari Langford. “Mari Langford was terminated for issues related to job performance and allegations of personal misconduct,” said county spokesman Jess Williams. He released no further information. It’s highly unusual for any government to comment about a termination beyond acknowledging the date that it happened. Reasons for termination are generally not made public, and considered by most to be protected personnel information. Langford could not be reached for comment. Continue Reading

N.M. is part of nation’s ‘next great swing region’

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We all know that New Mexico has become a battleground state in national politics, but one researcher says it is part of a group of states that’s becoming “the next great swing region in American politics.” Eight states – Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming – are becoming the next great battlefront, writes Ryan Sager of RealClearPolitics.com in a new article. He notes that while a shift of about 60,000 votes in Ohio would have given the 2004 election to John Kerry, a shift of 70,000 votes in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico would have done the same. George Bush won those states by 5 percentage points, 3 points and 1 point, respectively. What’s unique here, Sager writes, is that the West is as fiscally conservative as the South, but is much more socially libertarian. The West is less religious, more Hispanic, and has a huge influx of ex-Californians. Continue Reading

County acknowledges firing elections supervisor

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Doña Ana County confirmed today that it fired former Elections Supervisor Mari Langford. “She was terminated on Monday, July 3,” County spokesman Jess Williams said today in an e-mail. Langford was placed on leave two weeks ago “pending the outcome of a personnel matter” the county said would be resolved within two weeks. At the time, her county issued cellular telephone and e-mail address were cancelled, indicating that she was probably being fired. But the county gives up to two weeks for appeal following a notice of termination. Continue Reading

Richardson goes on the attack when he should be taking the high road

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Most expected John Dendahl, when he jumped into the gubernatorial race last month as the Republican nominee, to ruthlessly attack Gov. Bill Richardson. It’s what he’s always done in the past, and he is an extreme underdog, so it made sense that he would do it again. Instead, it was Richardson who, days later, unveiled a radio ad accusing Dendahl of political tactics that are more common in third-world nations than the United States, and essentially called the Republican nominee a liar and cheater. The Republican Party responded with a news release questioning why Richardson prefers “mudslinging to debating the issues.” Dendahl had invited Richardson to debate eminent domain just before the governor’s radio ad began. On Thursday, Dendahl failed to turn in a campaign finance report, though the reports were due. Continue Reading

Tireless spaceport supporter dies at 86

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I first met Len Sugerman eight months ago. He was being recognized at one of many events in the past year related to the development of the Southwest Regional Spaceport for his work to keep the spaceport dream alive. At every event I’ve attended since, he was also recognized. Sugerman died Thursday at his home in Las Cruces at the age of 86. The cause of his death was not released. Continue Reading

Most say Torres should not be county clerk

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Today marks the start of me putting on the record the results of the weekly polls on this site. Last week, I asked whether you think Rita Torres should continue serving as Doña Ana County clerk. Most of you said no: 23, or 26 percent, said she should continue to serve, but 66, or 74 percent, said she should not. Of course, the poll results aren’t scientific, though the poll only allows one vote from each computer’s internet address. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located on the right side of the page. Continue Reading