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Task force considers lobbyist disclosure proposals

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The state Task Force on Ethics Reform is considering a number of proposals designed to increase transparency in state government. In chairing the subcommittee proposing changes related to transparency, state Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, has an opportunity to make an impact. The subcommittee made several recommendations to the task force at Monday’s meeting in Socorro: • Improving the campaign finance reporting system on the Secretary of State’s Web site. • Requiring lobbyists to wear badges that identify them and disclose their client lists. • Requiring lobbyists to disclose how much they’re being paid by their clients. Continue Reading

U.S. attorney controversy flares up again

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The controversy surrounding the firings of several former U.S. attorneys, including David Iglesias of New Mexico, has flared up again this week with a possible perjury probe against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and a subpoena for White House Political Director Karl Rove. Gonzales’ job once again appears in jeopardy after he testified before a Congressional panel on Wednesday. Four Democratic senators wrote the U.S. solicitor general today asking for the appointment of an independent council to investigate the truthfulness of Gonzales’ sworn testimony about the U.S. attorney controversy and President Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program, the Associated Press is reporting. Gonzales’ previous testimony in the U.S. attorney controversy contradicted that of employees who work below him. And the FBI director became today the newest official to contradict testimony Gonzales gave Wednesday about the spying program. Continue Reading

Here’s Richardson video from CNN/YouTube debate

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Remember me writing on Tuesday that I thought Gov. Bill Richardson’s answer on a question about Darfur at Monday’s CNN/YouTube debate was perhaps his strongest yet in any debate? Well, here’s the video, provided by the Richardson campaign. Here’s Richardson answering a question about Iraq. And a question about the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Obviously, the campaign put up video of Richardson’s three strongest answers. Continue Reading

Three in running to replace Flores at NMSU

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Three finalists have been selected for the position of executive vice president and provost at New Mexico State University. The successful applicant will replace Bill Flores, who recently left the job to become deputy secretary of higher education for the state. Flores has a unique working situation – one that’s under review by the state attorney general. He technically remains on staff at NMSU as an assistant to the provost assigned to work with the higher education department. The university is paying his entire $220,000 annual salary for the state. Continue Reading

Denish to co-teach NMSU course this fall

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish will co-teach a course at New Mexico State University this fall on women leaders in public service and the journalists who cover them. The course, “Women, Politics and the Media,” will be co-taught by Mary Benanti, a former reporter, editor and public relations professional. The weekly course, which will meet Tuesday evenings beginning Aug. 28, will explore the role of women in politics and media coverage of them. “As more young people consider public service, it’s important that they understand the political arena and the significance of 24/7 media coverage in shaping the debate,” Denish said in a news release. Continue Reading

Health-care system is in need of reform

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By Richard Magee, Vicki Simons and Cathilia Flores In his July 21 column “We can make our health care worse,” Michael Swickard gets at least two things right: • We can make our health care worse – something we have been doing quite effectively for quite some time, resulting in more than 47 million Americans being without health insurance at a cost that is projected to reach 17.7 percent of gross domestic product by 2012. That’s up from 14.1 percent in 2001. In the other industrialized nations, everyone is covered, and the costs as a percentage of gross domestic product, on average, are less than half that of the United States. Yet the United States ranks very low on a variety of health measures and is rated 35th in the world by the World Health Organization, raising the obvious question: How can our health-care system simultaneously be so expensive and so ineffective? Among industrialized nations, only South Africa shares with us the distinction of not having universal access to medical care. Continue Reading

Richardson isn’t gaining ground in Florida

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A new poll finds that Gov. Bill Richardson isn’t gaining any ground in Florida, the X-factor in the Democratic presidential primary. The newest Rasmussen Reports poll has Hillary Clinton at 46 percent, Barack Obama at 15 percent and John Edwards at 13 percent in that state. Richardson and the four other candidates in the race split 4 percent in the poll, and 21 percent were undecided. Florida moved up its primary earlier this year to Jan. 29 – the same day as South Carolina – in opposition to the wishes of the Democratic National Committee. Continue Reading

Task force explores complexities of ethics commission

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Most members of the state Task Force on Ethics Reform seem to agree that New Mexico needs an ethics commission. But they’re wresting with a lot of complicated issues in trying to determine its structure. For example, should it have oversight of judges, or leave that to the state’s Judicial Standards Commission? Should it have oversight of the Legislature or leave that to the Interim Legislative Ethics Committee? Should it oversee local governments? Continue Reading

Foley case a political hot potato for judges

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The police officer who arrested House Minority Whip Dan Foley last month has moved the case out municipal court, ensuring that a judge who has faced criticism for refusing to recuse himself won’t preside over the proceedings. The police department didn’t tell the Roswell Daily Record whether Municipal Judge Clyde McKee’s decision to stay on the case resulted in Officer Pete Hernandez’s decision to move the case from municipal to magistrate court in Roswell. Regardless, the move was wise after McKee refused to recuse himself. McKee gave $50 to one of Foley’s past campaigns, and his son is a close friend and financial backer of Foley. In addition, McKee told the Record last week how he would likely rule on a motion to delay the trial date in the case even though he hadn’t yet seen the motion, creating an appearance of prejudice. Continue Reading

Power runs amuck in our corporate-driven democracy

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On Friday evening, three successive stories on EPSN were about an NFL quarterback charged with running an illegal dogfighting ring, an FBI investigation into whether an NBA referee illegally bet on games he called, and the notorious Barry Bonds being booed as he approached baseball’s all-time home run record. Bonds, as many know, is at the center of baseball’s steroids scandal and could soon be indicted. The stories reminded me of the never-ending scandals in Washington and Santa Fe. They also caused me to ponder the danger of power that’s unchecked. Baseball is probably the best example in sports. Continue Reading

Pearce wins immunity for reporting suspicious activity

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In case you haven’t noticed lately, I really like when congressional offices provide video for blogs. Our state’s representatives and senators often get lost in the shuffle in Washington, and the video is a way to not only be assured that they’re paying attention to issues about which New Mexicans care, but to also see exactly what they said. U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce has begun providing such video. Today, Democratic leadership in the House and Senate decided to include a provision in the Homeland Security Bill he sponsored that would give civil immunity to citizens who report suspected terrorism. The move follows outcry the resulted from the Democrats stripping the provision last week. Continue Reading

The blogosphere is coming of age in New Mexico

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By Whitney Cheshire One of my favorite subjects is the political blogosphere. Could we really be coming of age in New Mexico? Call them blogs, call them on-line newspapers, call them anything you want, but collectively they can be described as increasingly powerful. Take, for example, the Bill Richardson Debate Performance Saga. Every public appearance now seems to be coupled with intense online scrutiny and embarrassing report card-like grading systems. This week’s CNN-YouTube debate didn’t even throw Richardson a question until a full 20 minutes into the program, but oh how the online Quarterbacks weighed in on his so-very-brief performance! Continue Reading

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln…

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By Carter Bundy Last week, as always, my blogging arch-nemesis Whitney Cheshire had some great insights: Bill McCamley appears likely to be the Second Congressional District’s Democratic nominee; McCamley is hustling his tail off; the district has a conservative streak; and incumbent Steve Pearce is going to be able to raise oil and gas money. What wasn’t mentioned is that we’re in the fourth year of a war that isn’t going anything like planned (quite the understatement, and awfully generous of me to imply there was a plan). Here’s what we have to show for it: • Thousands of dead, brave American military heroes. • Tens of thousands more physically, mentally and/or emotionally devastated vets. • Hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis. Continue Reading

With guv on campaign trail, Denish steps up

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For the past three months, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish estimates that she has been acting governor all but 12-15 days. As Gov. Bill Richardson continues his quest for the presidency, she doesn’t see that changing anytime before Feb. 5 – the day so many states hold primaries that we’ll most likely know who wins the Democratic nomination. That doesn’t mean Denish is calling all the shots, however. “We’re working really closely with his staff,” she said. Continue Reading

Auditor tells task force he should remain independent

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State Auditor Hector Balderas urged the Task Force on Ethics Reform during a meeting Monday in Socorro to recommend that his office remain independent of the governor. The task force didn’t make a final decision on whether to recommend that the auditor become an appointed, instead of elected, position. The group is also considering whether to recommend, if the auditor remains independent, placing requirements on who can run for the office. I wrote last year that I believe the auditor should remain an elected position. But Monday’s discussion shed some interesting light on the debate about how to improve the system. Continue Reading