Open-government champion retiring from Senate
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UPDATED: State Sen. Dede Feldman, a longtime champion of government transparency, announced today that she won’t seek a fifth term this year. Continue Reading
It’s time to teach Sunland Park to behave
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Sunland Park officials are like children: They’ve been allowed to break the rules, so they keep doing it. Let’s hope this time law enforcement and state officials do what it takes to clean up this mess. Continue Reading
Campaign-disclosure bill loses GOP supporter
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A bill aimed at fixing problems with the state’s campaign-disclosure law was amended slightly by a House committee on Tuesday and sent to the floor for a vote, but it’s been so changed from its original version that it has lost one of its top supporters. Continue Reading
Don’t poison the Sunshine Portal
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The Sunshine Portal was intended to be a venue for making already-public information more accessible. If there’s one fix lawmakers and the governor need to implement, clarifying that nonpartisan and narrow mission is it. Continue Reading
Public means public; in 2012, that means online
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It’s simply a misconception to believe that by keeping public salary information obscure, we are protecting public employees. I believe what we are really protecting are illegal and unfair hiring practices that ultimately harm the public and the vast majority of public employees who are qualified and hard-working. Continue Reading
Opposition to changing Sunshine Portal’s purpose
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The Senate and AFSCME are proposing to pull private information into the public domain, using the Sunshine Portal as the vehicle. That was never the intent of the Sunshine Portal, which is meant to make already-public information available at the click of a mouse. Continue Reading
Senate’s contractor disclosure vote toys with absurdity
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I’m glad Sen. Eric Griego and AFSCME have brought contractor disclosure into the debate about government transparency. But the proposal they convinced the Senate to approve – an overly broad amendment to the Sunshine Portal – is simply not appropriate. Continue Reading
Lawmakers, quit whining and expand webcasting
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As long as lawmakers refuse to webcast and archive all their proceedings, the governor and others will do it for them. And those others will be champions of open government, while legislators will continue to look like they have something to hide. Continue Reading
ABQ Journal calls AG’s record ‘woefully inadequate’
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The Albuquerque Journal called the record of Attorney General Gary King “woefully inadequate” this weekend and questioned whether he has “the commitment and drive to actually deliver some results.” Continue Reading
Doland to lead open government foundation
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Gwyneth Doland, who is currently covering the Roundhouse for NMPolitics.net, will take over as the executive director of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government next month. Continue Reading
Election, ethics reform still on session agenda
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UPDATED: Gov. Susana Martinez scaled back the agenda for the ongoing 30-day legislative session on Monday, but election reform and various ethics-related proposals remain. Continue Reading
Romney hasn’t given the public reason to trust him
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To earn the public’s trust, Mitt Romney must demonstrate a commitment to openness. Between his efforts to keep records from his time as governor secret and his wishy-washy and flip-floppy statements on releasing tax returns, he hasn’t done it yet. Continue Reading
Guv OKs consideration of campaign reform
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Gov. Susana Martinez will allow lawmakers to consider bills related to fixing New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act during the session that begins next week. Continue Reading
These nonprofits need your help
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I’ve been meaning for awhile to urge you all to donate to a cause you deem worthy during this holiday season, if you can afford it. Here are a few of my favorite New Mexico charities and nonprofits. Continue Reading
Americans shouldn’t be detained indefinitely
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Civil liberties are the foundation of our democracy. In the debate over whether our military should be able to detain Americans without charge or trial, we must err on the side of protecting our due process rights, and protecting ourselves from our government. Continue Reading