Only three states score higher than D+ in State Integrity Investigation; 11 flunk
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Annual investigation finds trouble at the statehouse: secrecy, questionable ethics and conflicts of interest in New Mexico and elsewhere. Continue Reading
New Mexico gets D- grade in 2015 State Integrity Investigation
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Behind New Mexico’s ranking: widespread and systemic weaknesses in overseeing ethics, campaign finance and lobbying. Continue Reading
El Paso Electric rate-case rejection is another win for solar
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El Paso Electric should engage in a dialogue with its customers and the renewable energy industry rather than continue pursuit of new rate cases that penalize local solar users. Continue Reading
Martinez says she’s confident McCleskey has done nothing wrong
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“I am confident that neither Jay nor anyone else has done anything wrong,” Gov. Susana Martinez said. As a former prosecutor, she added, “I trust the system to look into and then reject these types of political cheap shots.” Continue Reading
The right-to-work advantage in job creation
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It is not a panacea, but a New Mexico right-to-work law would make the Land of Enchantment more attractive to companies looking to find sites for new facilities and/or relocate existing assets. Continue Reading
Feds subpoena Tax and Rev audit records, newspaper reports
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Some people who currently work for Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration or political team pushed back against allegations of retaliation, saying they’ve also been audited and pointing to a recent, dramatic increase in efforts to identify uncollected taxes. Continue Reading
FBI still asking questions about McCleskey, newspaper reports
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The FBI has recently been asking questions about Gov. Susana Martinez’s fundraising and political consultant Jay McCleskey, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting. The FBI has been doing that since at least 2013, and the impact of the new report, which is light on details, isn’t clear. Continue Reading
‘Think tank’ butchers pension reform facts
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Not everything the Manhattan Institute publishes is false, or even misleading. But it’s hard to trust their analysis of the other 48 states when they got so many things so provably wrong in their analysis of pension reform in New Jersey and New Mexico. Continue Reading
What New Mexico politics can learn from Nebraska
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Open primaries have been transformative in Nebraska. Let’s stop blaming the voters in New Mexico for not engaging in a broken system and fix it. Continue Reading
Pension-stripping law needs fixed. Do officials want to fix it?
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A law enacted in 2012 was touted as an anti-corruption measure that could cause misbehaving public officials to lose their pensions. But neither side in the case of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran thinks the law applies. Continue Reading
Cruces candidate doesn’t meet guv’s requirements for felony pardon
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A Las Cruces City Council candidate wants Gov. Susana Martinez to erase his felony conviction so he’s eligible to take office if he wins — but he doesn’t meet Martinez’s requirements to be considered for a pardon. Continue Reading
Cruces candidate under scrutiny for political text from gov’t phone
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Before taking a leave of absence from her state job and giving up her government-issued phone, Kasandra Gandara sent a text from the phone related to her city council campaign. “I wish I could take it back,” Gandara says. Continue Reading
Readers say Maez did the right thing by resigning from House seat
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There were lots of kind words last week for Stephanie Maez, who announced her resignation from the New Mexico House of Representatives to focus on her family after her son’s arrest on a murder charge. Continue Reading
Public investments in our precious resources must be smart, sustainable
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Our children are also a precious resource, yet we continue to allow them to rank at the bottom of the nation in well-being. Continue Reading
Was Balderas sufficiently tough on Duran? Opinion is mixed
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Some are upset that Dianna Duran could avoid prison and keep her pension. Others are just glad she’s no longer New Mexico’s secretary of state. Continue Reading