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Guv says GRIPgate isn’t why he skipped meeting

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The governor’s office says an ongoing federal probe into allegations of pay to pay isn’t the reason Bill Richardson skipped a weekend meeting of the National Governors Association. “The governor felt that he needed to be here in New Mexico because of the possibility of a vote on domestic partnerships and because lawmakers were working on budget issues over the weekend,” said Alarie Ray-Garcia, Richardson’s deputy communications director. The Washington Post has noted that two prominent governors — Richardson and Alaska’s Sarah Palin — skipped the weekend of meetings in Washington related to the stimulus package, which included a black-tie dinner at the White House and a meeting with President Barack Obama. And the Post noted the context of Richardson’s absence: The governor “withdrew in January as Obama’s commerce secretary nominee amid a federal ‘pay to play’ investigation.” Richardson has a history of traveling out of state while the Legislature is in session and insisting that he can keep track of the business being in conducted in Santa Fe via phone and through staffers who remain at the Roundhouse. In fact, in March 2007, when he was running for president, Richardson called lawmakers into special session for an agenda that included domestic partner benefits, and then left the state to attend a fundraiser in California. Continue Reading

The art of compromise

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By Carter Bundy Politics is often called the art of compromise. This year, one of the most hotly debated, controversial and expensive proposals in state history, tax increment financing (TIF, whose vehicle is known as tax increment development districts, or TIDDs) is ground zero for New Mexico politics. So is there room for compromise? On one side are developers, most of whom, to their credit, have outstanding plans for mixed-use, smart growth. These developers want taxpayers to foot the bills for the entire infrastructure costs of their developments. Continue Reading

Mayor to deliver State of the City Address

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Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima will give his State of the City Address this afternoon. The speech begins at 12:15 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 200 N. Church Street, and is open to the public. It will also be televised live on Comcast cable channel 20 and webcast online at clctv.com. Miyagishima, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News, plans to focus on the city’s sustainability and budget. “We had to tap into reserves to meet our budget this year,” the newspaper quoted Miyagishima as saying. Continue Reading

Reimbursements raise ethical questions

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Senator gets state per diem for travel, then reimburses himself from his campaign fund for other costs. Should that be allowed? The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a body that considers many ethics-reform proposals, is under scrutiny after a weekend article in the Albuquerque Journal called into question his use of campaign funds. Essentially, Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, is taking the per diem and other reimbursements he is entitled to from the state for travel as a lawmaker, then also reimbursing himself for additional travel expenses out of his campaign fund. For example, McSorley was reimbursed $2,803 by the state in 2006 for travel expenses, a registration fee and $144 per day in per diem related to a business trip to South Carolina, yet he also reimbursed himself $3,682 from his campaign account for “unreimbursed expenses,” the newspaper reported. Continue Reading

House OKs National Popular Vote legislation

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The New Mexico House approved a proposal on Friday that would, if enacted by enough states, effectively eliminate the Electoral College process for selecting the president of the United States. On a largely party-line vote of 41-27, the House approved the National Popular Vote proposal — House Bill 383, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque. “I’m thrilled that the National Popular Vote has passed the House and will now be headed to the Senate,” Stewart said in a news release. “Every vote should count equally in our country, and this vote today takes us one step closer to expanding our democracy.” The National Popular Vote proposal takes effect only when adopted in identical form by states possessing enough electoral votes to elect the president (at least 270 of 538). States with a total of 50 electoral votes — Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey — have already enacted it. Continue Reading

Ethics reform bills are on the move

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Sen. Dede Feldman says a vote on a bill that would require disclosure of gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors will be a test of the Senate’s receptiveness to some reform bills that would increase transparency. Senate Bill 99, sponsored by the Albuquerque Democrat, would require such disclosures in reports to the attorney general’s office, which would post them in an online database available to the public. Feldman said the measure “aims to shine a light on any conflicts of interest and, thus, increase the quality of prescribing and lower prescription drug costs.” The bill is on the Senate’s calendar, and a vote could come today. Feldman also said the vote on the bill “may be a sign of the Senate’s receptiveness to future bills containing disclosure requirements for state contractors, open conference committees and additional campaign reporting for candidates.” That’s one of a handful of news items related to ethics reform, which has been a hot topic in the New Mexico Legislature. Over the weekend, the House unanimously approved House Bill 394, the Whistleblower Protection Act, which would allow government employees to sue their employers if they are retaliated against for reporting corruption, testifying about problems in public or refusing to participate in illegal activity. Continue Reading

Zanetti, Weh considering running for governor

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Former U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson aren’t the only Republicans openly considering running for governor in 2010. Greg Zanetti, an Albuquerque financial adviser and New Mexico National Guard brigadier general, is establishing an exploratory committee this week, he was quoted by the Albuquerque Journal as saying. And Allen Weh, former chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, indicated to the New Mexico Federated Republican Women at their state convention in Santa Fe on Friday that he plans to form an exploratory committee after the legislative session ends next month, sources with knowledge, including an attendee of the convention, confirmed. Pearce and Wilson have been openly considering the race, and either would make a formidable candidate in a GOP primary. Continue Reading

Local film-industry union backs Denish

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A New Mexico union representing film and television technicians is coming out with an endorsement of Lt. Gov Diane Denish in the 2010 gubernatorial race more than 20 months before Election Day. Of course, the endorsement from IATSE Local 480 comes as actor Val Kilmer very publicly considers running against Denish in the Democratic primary in 2010. “Personally, I think he is a great guy,” the union’s business agent, Jon Hendry, told Variety about Kilmer. “If you want to have someone to have a beer, pick up chicks, he is the guy. He also was very helpful in getting (production) incentives in our state. Continue Reading

Guv skips DC meeting with Obama

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Most of the nation’s governors are in Washington this weekend to meet with President Barack Obama and discuss how they’re spending their chunks of the stimulus package. Notably absent from the events: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The National Governors Association winter meeting kicked off on Saturday with governors outlining their plans to spend the cash and meet with some of Obama’s cabinet secretaries, the Washington Post is reporting. Tonight, they were to attend a black-tie dinner at the White House. Tomorrow morning, they will meet with Obama. Continue Reading

Most voters in poll want an ethics commission

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said the Legislature should approve an independent state ethics commission with its own subpoena power. Of 179 voters, 138, or 77 percent, said the Legislature should approve such a proposal, while 35, or 20 percent, said it should not, and six voters, 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

Colón’s column raises new questions

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Brian Colón says in a column published today in the Albuquerque Journal that a federal investigation into allegations of pay to play in the Richardson administration is politically motivated. That’s not surprising, given his ties to the governor, but there’s one point in the column that I found quite noteworthy. In the column, Colón writes about the governor’s office producing documents last fall in response to a subpoena that was issued by the grand jury investigating the allegations. “On Oct. 1, the Governor’s Office produced all the documents requested by the government’s extensive subpoena and there was no smoking gun,” Colón wrote. Continue Reading

Senate committee OKs another ethics bill

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This article has been updated.The Senate Rules Committee gave a do-pass recommendation today to a proposal to ban former legislators from becoming lobbyists for a year after their terms end. The committee also continued discussion on two other ethics-reform proposals as it works its way through a host of ethics bills. On the proposal related to legislators becoming lobbyists, after considering Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, and Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, the committee opted to move Griego’s bill forward because it “is actually much more expansive,” committee Chair Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, said at today’s meeting. That’s because Boitano’s bill would have prohibited legislators from becoming lobbyists for a year after they leave office, which would have left open the possibility of a lawmaker resigning from office mid-term to become a lobbyist more quickly. Under Griego’s bill, even if a legislator resigns, he or she could not become a lobbyist until a year after the term he or she did not fulfill ends. Continue Reading

North Korean envoy named, and it’s not the guv

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has named a special envoy to North Korea, and it isn’t Gov. Bill Richardson. Last month, U.S.-run Radio Free Asia reported that the Obama administration was considering making Richardson a special envoy assigned to deal with the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The report said former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Stephen Bosworth was also under consideration for the job. A Richardson spokesman said at the time that the report was false. Pahl Shipley said Richardson was “not interested” in the job and had not “discussed it with anyone.” Ultimately, it was Bosworth who Clinton tapped for the position earlier today, The Associated Press is reporting. Continue Reading

Senate Rules meeting to be webcast today

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This article has been updated.The New Mexico Independent will once again webcast the meeting of the Senate Rules Committee this morning. The webcast is part of a continued attempt to shine light on the debate about ethics reform in the New Mexico Legislature. Several reform bills are currently being considered by the committee. The Independent has webcast the committee’s last two meetings. A week ago, the committee left a proposal to expand the state’s public financing system in limbo but gave a do-pass recommendation to a bill that would establish a process for the forfeiture of retirement benefits for state employees and state retirees convicted of felonies “arising from conduct related to” their public employment. Continue Reading

Like sheep to the slaughter

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© 2009 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington The talk in our nation’s capital is about the need to silence conservative talk radio using the misnamed Fairness Doctrine. With the majority of the media in the political fold of the Democrats, it is the one slice of mass media they cannot intimidate. When radio first started and few channels existed, perhaps there could have been a concern. Today we have thousands of channels with no problem finding points of view from Rush Limbaugh and my favorite, Glenn Beck, to Air America and another of my favorites, National Public Radio. Differing views from progressive to conservative have their own constituencies. Continue Reading