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Friday bonus: Some public officials flirting with appearance of impropriety instead of avoiding it

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Why is it so hard for some public officials to avoid the appearance of impropriety?County Treasurer Jim Schoonover, a Republican, bought 1,700 pencils that advertise his name, but not other information about his office, with just under $500 in taxpayer money. The county attorney says it’s a felony because the pencils have no public value and wants to report Schoonover to police. When I learned recently about the pencil purchase, I put in a formal request for the records.And though he had been asked but refused to repay the money for months, Schoonover repaid it hours after my request.Schoonover said the two were not connected, and claimed he didn’t receive the records request until after he repaid the money. He said he repaid the money because he was harassed, and also to avoid the appearance of impropriety.But his claims that he was harassed and that he is the victim of a political attack don’t help him avoid the appearance of impropriety, true or not. He left County Attorney John Caldwell and Commissioner Kent Evans with the impression in January that he would repay the money, but he waited four months, until hours after a public records request, to do it.That isn’t really avoiding the appearance of impropriety, is it?Now we learn about a second pencil purchase. Continue Reading

Two more scandals plague tainted judiciary, and there’s a second treasurer pencil purchase

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Two more Doña Ana County judges are in the hot seat, extending the recent spate of judicial scandals that has plagued New Mexico in the past couple of years.First, on Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza: He is the third judge in the past few months to admit to interfering in a case involving someone with whom he had a personal relationship. Apparently, in 2004, he arraigned, took a plea from and sentenced a woman in a drunken driving case. He admits that, sometime after that, he began having a “personal” relationship with the woman, according to a stipulated agreement filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court.When that came to light, Garza recused himself, and the judicial proceedings began all over again in front of two other judges. The problem is, after admitting that he had a conflict and should have nothing more to do with the case, Garza contacted both judges on more than one occasion to discuss the case with them, and in at least one instance, he asked one of the judges to set a low bond or no bond.He did that in front of the presiding judge of the magistrate court, Oscar Frietze.Does Garza, a Democrat, really have no clue? Or was he so focused on “personal” issues that his ethics weren’t in the forefront of his mind?This is exactly why judges must stay out of cases when they have a personal interest in their outcome. Continue Reading

Judge Ramirez brought before high court again, and NMSU pushing hard for convention center

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The New Mexico Supreme Court will consider this morning a petition from the Judicial Standards Commission for the immediate, temporary suspension of District Court Judge Larry Ramirez, the children’s court judge in Las Cruces. The reason isn’t known publicly because the petition is sealed. But the hearing before the high court will apparently be public, so many of the details could come out.The hearing is at 9 a.m.Clearly, the allegations are serious. The last time a request for the immediate, temporary suspension of a Doña Ana County judge was granted was in 2004, when then-Magistrate Reuben Galvan was facing rape and bribery allegations.I’m not saying Ramirez is facing criminal allegations of any sort. I’m just saying the allegations are clearly serious.Even in the Galvan case, the Supreme Court filing wasn’t sealed. Continue Reading

Reputable figures on ethics task force, and Bob Schwartz rejoins Richardson administration

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Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled the names of members of his ethics task force late Monday. He made some impressive choices.Common Cause Executive Director Matt Brix, Chief Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone and Judicial Standards Commission Executive Director Jim Noel bring credibility to a task force that has already been accused of being nothing more than a diversion from the governor’s own ethical challenges.Task force member and Albuquerque City Councilor Brad Winter has been praised lately by the GOP for being a Republican’s Republican. While other party members on the council have voted with the Democrats recently, he has held out, making him an interesting addition to the task force.One item that’s noteworthy because it doesn’t deserve praise: Richardson named two powerful, veteran Democratic legislators – Sen. Dede Feldman and Rep. Ken Martinez – to the task force, but chose two less-experienced Republicans – Sen. Gay Kernan and Rep. Kathy McCoy. Why not Sen. Lee Rawson from Las Cruces?Here’s the complete list:Co-Chairs• Former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, dean of the New Mexico State University School of Business Administration and Economics• Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the University of New Mexico School of LawTask Force Members• Chief Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone• Barbara Brazil, president, New Mexico First• Matt Brix, executive director, Common Cause• Marilyn Budke• John Carey, president and CEO, Association of Commerce and Industry• Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque• Mary Graña• Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs• Rep. W. Ken Martinez, D-Grants• Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-Cedar Crest• Jim Noel, executive director of the Judicial Standards Commission• Leonard Sanchez, CPA, Moss-Adams+Neff LLP• Ron Solimon, president and CEO, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center• Stuart Udall• Brad Winter, Albuquerque City Council member***I called last week for the governor and his Republican opponent in November, J.R. Damron, to voluntarily agree to limit the size of campaign donations and their overall spending, to disclose campaign contributions on the Internet within 48 hours, and to disclose all travel paid for by outside interests.And I quoted a couple of sources who doubt the governor’s motivations in putting together an ethics task force. One pointed out that the governor has called for some changes in ethics law that are contrary to his prior actions, and the other predicted that the governor is trying to look tough without actually being tough, and the task force won’t do any real work.One politico called to tell me he sympathizes with Richardson. Continue Reading

Richardson’s opposition to Spanish anthem may be political, just like Domenici’s tax rebate

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Gov. Bill Richardson shocked many Hispanics this weekend by agreeing with President George W. Bush that the national anthem should only be sung in English.Many Northern New Mexico Hispanics were already upset with the governor because they believe he is ignoring their needs. They protested his action and inaction several weeks ago at the state Democratic pre-primary convention.One source said the latest move is a bad one for Richardson.“His national anthem position showed Gov. Richardson’s formerly well-tuned political ear has increasingly gone tone deaf,” the source said. “The governor has failed to lead on immigration and border issues, where he should be a natural. Growing up in Mexico, likely the only Hispanic running for president, why join the Bush position?”Richardson has pleased the left with some immigration stances and the right with others. Weeks ago he admitted the complexities of the issue to a group of grade-school students in Española.It isn’t easy to figure out what to do about more than 11 million undocumented immigrants and the future influx of others. Continue Reading

Want to know which candidates get donations from your neighbors?

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Anyone who wants to know more about the people who have the attention of our elected officials in Washington, D.C. should check out opensecrets.org.There are searchable databases that contain candidate and donor information. Whether you are curious about a big-time developer or your next-door neighbor, you can find out who’s giving money to who.For example, I learned that Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino owner Stan Fulton gave $25,000 to the Republican National Committee in the 2004 election cycle and $3,000 to George W. Bush. Gerald Peters, who wants to build a competing casino in Anthony, also gave $25,000 to the RNC, and gave $2,000 each to the campaigns of Bush and John Kerry.I also found that New Mexico State University Professor Nancy Baker, an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and author of a new book on John Ashcroft, gave $225 to moveon.org in the 2004 election cycle and David Steinborn, the owner of Steinborn Realty and a former Las Cruces mayor, regularly gives to Democrats.The top donors to Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., thus far in the current election cycle include the National Rifle Association, Exxon Mobile and the National Beer Wholesaler’s Association. His opponent, Democrat Albert Kissling, has raised almost nothing in comparison.In researching area demographics, I learned that people living in the 88005 zip code are a fairly balanced political group. They gave $9,400 each to Bush and Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Continue Reading

Many call for Richardson to follow his own advice, and Evans could hold two public offices

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The criticism of Gov. Bill Richardson’s ethics task force continues.Political analyst Joe Monahan challenged Richardson this week to put his money where his mouth is – literally – in calling on the governor and his Republican opponent in November, J.R. Damron, to voluntarily agree to limit the size of campaign donations and their overall spending, to disclose campaign contributions on the Internet within 48 hours, and to disclose all travel paid for by outside interests.Most of those are suggestions Richardson made in Las Cruces a week ago in announcing the formation of the task force, which he says will propose sweeping legislation to clean up state government.One inside politico balked at the governor’s proposals, which won’t even be debated by legislators until next year, after Richardson’s last election in New Mexico has come and gone.“How do you keep a straight face, when here’s the guy getting all the free rides, and sports tickets, and other gifts, and saying we need to eliminate gifts?” the source asked. “If you believe we shouldn’t be doing this, then why are you still doing it?”The politico is right. Richardson has accepted all sorts of gifts that sometimes teeter on the edge of ethical lines, and now he says the ability of New Mexico’s politicians to accept gifts should be limited.Another source, a longtime politico in New Mexico, reminded me that former Gov. Jerry Apodaca set up an ethics task force in the late 1970s. Its members met periodically for two years and ultimately did nothing but hold a few press conferences and make Apodaca look good.“They didn’t want to do anything,” the source said. “It was a game.”Now, the source said, we have a similar situation. Continue Reading

Is giving free election passes to House Democrats part of GOP plan to take over county commission?

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Today I’m going to do something a little different.Rather than telling you what’s happening in New Mexico politics, I’m going to entertain a conspiracy theory a longtime politico shared with me. I don’t know whether it’s true, but I find it so intriguing that I have to pass it on.Let’s say you’re the Republican Party chair in a growing county that has been controlled by Democrats since the dawn of time – like, perhaps, Doña Ana County. Let’s say you’re fed up with the same old game. You run candidates in all the races but never gain ground.You look at the numbers and realize you aren’t going to win those south-valley House races. There’s just no way in the current climate.But the real problem is that darned county elections bureau and county government that has been corrupt for a long time, you believe. Continue Reading

County government on verge of political meltdown, and Leno mocks Richardson’s indecision

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There might be fireworks at today’s meeting of the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners.Republican Treasurer Jim Schoonover will ask the commission to approve several fee increases – some quite substantial – and at least one new fee, all tacked on to various transactions the office has with the public. The increased revenue will go to a discretionary fund “for employee training and equipment purchases,” according to a copy of the proposed resolution the commission will vote on today. Schoonover also wants the revenue from a couple of existing fees that currently goes to the county’s general fund moved under his control.The embattled Schoonover was accused last week of committing the felony crime of misusing public money by County Attorney John Caldwell. Last year, Schoonover purchased 1,700 pencils with almost $500 in taxpayer money. They look similar to Schoonover’s campaign materials and contain no information beyond his name and title.Caldwell says that means they serve no public purpose, but do serve the purpose of making Schoonover’s name known. Continue Reading

Minor parties stand to gain from corruption scandals, and Bibb’s answer on death penalty

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With the number of scandals currently plaguing local, state and national politicians, it’s a wonder citizens don’t rise up and overthrow the government.A Sunday article that I wrote for the Las Cruces Sun-News details the Doña Ana County attorney’s allegation that Republican Treasurer Jim Schoonover committed the felony crime of misusing public money by purchasing with taxpayer dollars pencils that look like his campaign materials.And the Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday that Century bank bought $16,500 worth of pens from the wife of embattled state Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna, a Democrat, about the same time the state put out a request for proposals for a banking contract Century later won.That further compounds the scandal that has resulted in Serna being suspended while the attorney general’s office investigates the relationship he had with the bank, which gave more than $124,000 to Serna’s non-profit health care foundation.The former state treasurer’s trial continues today. There might soon be indictments in an FBI investigation into construction contracts for government buildings in Bernalillo County. The special audit of Doña Ana County is still being reviewed by the New Mexico State Police.The list goes on and on.Now there’s an ethics task force, formed by the governor, that will examine and propose sweeping changes to state ethics and campaign finance laws, but the public has every right to view even that with skepticism.After all, it’s formed by a Democrat with ties to many of those currently plagued by scandal. And as I reported last week, one of the co-chairs of the task force, former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, compounded his own scandal when he was governor with an ethically challenged decision to have people who worked for him investigate the allegations against him. Of course, they found he did nothing wrong.Who is clean in politics? Continue Reading

Shady Carruthers decision revealed, governor defends spaceport and Cervantes in the hot seat

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So the governor wants an ethics task force to recommend to him and the legislature sweeping changes that will clean up state government. And he appointed New Mexico State University Business Dean Garrey Carruthers and University of New Mexico Law School Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia to head the effort.One source with a long memory snickered at the appointment of Carruthers to head a committee that will suggest how to properly deal with our ethically challenged state law book. That’s because Carruthers had a shady way of dealing with allegations against him when he was governor.Here’s the scoop from a Feb. 18, 1991 Associated Press and Las Cruces Sun-News article:“…a secret probe ordered by former Gov. Garry Carruthers revealed no wrongdoing regarding Carruthers’ alleged involvement in a proposed port of entry in Southern New Mexico.”In a nutshell: The creation of the Santa Teresa port of entry was finally gaining the support that would later make it a reality, but was delayed significantly when Carruthers got on a helicopter with then-Chihuahua Gov. Fernando Baeza to tour the border in 1989. When they landed, Carruthers said he would support a port at Santa Teresa or nearby Anapra, which was being pushed heavily by Mexican developers.That came to the dismay of those on the American side, including Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who had been working tirelessly for the Santa Teresa port until Carruthers threw a wrench in things.Rumors swirled about secret deals in choppers. Continue Reading

AG candidates respond to death penalty questions, and Zamora makes an embarrassing mistake

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I’ve been writing for awhile about the death penalty being an issue in this year’s attorney general race. Geno Zamora’s campaign had already responded to an e-mail from me by saying he supports the death penalty “in limited cases.” I was still waiting to hear from the other candidates.Earlier this week, I received this e-mail from Philip Muller, campaign manager for Democrat Lemuel Martinez’s campaign:“As the district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, Lemuel Martinez is the only Democratic candidate for attorney general who has taken an oath to uphold the law. The death penalty is the law in New Mexico. As the chief law enforcement officer in his district, he is the only Democratic candidate for attorney general who has prosecuted death penalty cases. Until the legislature decides to repeal this law, he will continue to enforce the death penalty.”Which doesn’t entirely answer the question about where he stands on the death penalty, so I e-mailed his campaign back and have not yet received a response.Gary King called me Wednesday. Continue Reading

Riordan first to fall during Vigil trial, but who’s next? Plus, $800 mistake raises GOP eyebrows

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Gov. Bill Richardson is coming to Las Cruces Thursday to speak to Southern New Mexico Common Cause about ethics in government. If the first day of testimony in the trial of former state Treasurer Robert Vigil is any indication, the talk might be more personal than the governor intended.Democrats Vigil and his predecessor Michael Montoya were charged last year with using the treasurer’s office to secure millions of dollars in kickbacks. Montoya and several others charged in the case have already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Vigil.Montoya took the stand Tuesday and, under oath, named Guy Riordan, a longtime political ally of Richardson, as someone who paid him at least $75,000 in kickbacks in exchange for state business.Riordan of Albuquerque is the managing director of Wachovia Securities, a large brokerage firm that has done a lot of business with the state. It should be noted that, if the feds had the evidence to charge Riordan with a crime, they probably would have done it.Riordan’s attorney told the Associated Press that Montoya is an “absolute liar.”Riordan, a registered lobbyist, was a member of the state Game Commission and, according to the commission’s Web site, a member of the board that oversees the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. He’s also a friend of Richardson who has attended many sporting events with the governor and given more than $24,000 to his gubernatorial campaigns.So Richardson wasted no time Tuesday in removing Riordan from the Game Commission. Continue Reading

Friendly press and spaceport vote have Richardson pumped, and Pearce finally lists accomplishments

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It’s shaping up to be quite a week for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.It began Sunday with a Denver Post article that said Richardson has what “may be the best résumé of any potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2008.”“Richardson has spent a lifetime positioning himself for this moment: He’s a Latino at a time when the ethnic group’s influence is growing. He’s a Westerner as the region is becoming critical to the national strategies of both parties. And he’s a powerful governor with impeccable foreign-policy credentials,” the article states. “… With the exception of Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Richardson, 58, may be the West’s biggest political star.”The profile of the governor was a bit shallow on some of the issues. For example, it called him a tax-cutting governor when, in fact, he has cut some taxes and fees and raised others, making it difficult to say whether the average New Mexican is paying less.But the article was a mostly positive look at a man who, because of a lifetime of hard work and a bit of circumstance, has a realistic chance of becoming the Democrats’ nominee for president in 2008.Following the Post article, Richardson appeared on “Face the Nation” Sunday morning to call for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Continue Reading

Important spaceport vote today, and McCamley decries audit attack as possible political ploy

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The Las Cruces City Council is set to vote today on whether to give 11 1/2 acres of land at the West Mesa Industrial Park to the startup Rocket Racing League for its worldwide headquarters. The league plans to develop an international racing series that involves manned rocket planes, with finals to be held annually beginning in 2008 at the yet-to-be-constructed Southwest Regional Spaceport at Upham.One influential source is troubled by the proposal to donate land. The source questioned, when four other companies plan to purchase land at the park (their proposals are also up for approval today), why the racing league needs the land donated.“Can a touted user of the spaceport survive only by ‘corporate welfare?’” the source asked me.The city also plans to add infrastructure to service the property, making the donation sizable – in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In exchange, the assurance is 30 jobs, at salaries ranging from $32,000 to $150,000, and local gross receipts taxes of about $140,000 on the estimated $2 million cost of building a 50,000-square-foot headquarters.The city estimates that the racing league will pump $34 million into the local economy in the next seven years.The doubter isn’t so certain, pointing out that the racing league is a startup company with no certainty of success.“If the city approves tomorrow, somebody is suddenly wealthier by whatever this land and the planned improvements are worth, but conservatively over a quarter million dollars: precisely what the Anti-Donation Clause prohibits,” the doubter said yesterday.Another source pointed out that the state constitution’s anti-donation clause has an exemption for economic development under certain conditions, and said the city has worked hard to meet those conditions.The spaceport has been quite the hot topic since Gov. Bill Richardson asked the legislature in December to approve more than $100 million to build a facility for Virgin Galactic there. The legislature gave the money, but many lawmakers from the northern part of the state have since come out against the project.The massive project is called visionary by its supporters and a waste of money by its detractors. Continue Reading