{"id":212,"date":"2006-05-01T23:28:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-02T05:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/05\/reputable-figures-on-ethics-task-force-and-bob-schwartz-rejoins-richardson-administration\/"},"modified":"2006-05-01T23:28:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-02T05:28:00","slug":"reputable-figures-on-ethics-task-force-and-bob-schwartz-rejoins-richardson-administration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/05\/reputable-figures-on-ethics-task-force-and-bob-schwartz-rejoins-richardson-administration\/","title":{"rendered":"Reputable figures on ethics task force, and Bob Schwartz rejoins Richardson administration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gov. Bill Richardson unveiled the names of members of his ethics task force late Monday. He made some impressive choices.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s own ethical challenges.<\/p>\n

Task force member and Albuquerque City Councilor Brad Winter has been praised lately by the GOP for being a Republican\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

One item that\u2019s noteworthy because it doesn\u2019t deserve praise: Richardson named two powerful, veteran Democratic legislators \u2013 Sen. Dede Feldman and Rep. Ken Martinez \u2013 to the task force, but chose two less-experienced Republicans \u2013 Sen. Gay Kernan and Rep. Kathy McCoy. Why not Sen. Lee Rawson from Las Cruces?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the complete list:<\/p>\n

Co-Chairs<\/strong>
\u2022 Former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, dean of the New Mexico State University School of Business Administration and Economics
\u2022 Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law
Task Force Members
<\/strong>\u2022 Chief Deputy Attorney General Stuart Bluestone
\u2022 Barbara Brazil, president, New Mexico First
\u2022 Matt Brix, executive director, Common Cause
\u2022 Marilyn Budke
\u2022 John Carey, president and CEO, Association of Commerce and Industry
\u2022 Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque
\u2022 Mary Gra\u00f1a
\u2022 Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs
\u2022 Rep. W. Ken Martinez, D-Grants
\u2022 Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-Cedar Crest
\u2022 Jim Noel, executive director of the Judicial Standards Commission
\u2022 Leonard Sanchez, CPA, Moss-Adams+Neff LLP
\u2022 Ron Solimon, president and CEO, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
\u2022 Stuart Udall
\u2022 Brad Winter, Albuquerque City Council member<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

And I quoted a couple of sources who doubt the governor\u2019s 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\u2019t do any real work.<\/p>\n

One politico called to tell me he sympathizes with Richardson. Politicians have goals. Some want to preserve the environment. Others want to criminalize abortion. Some want to create jobs.<\/p>\n

Richardson wants to be elected president and create a few jobs in the process.<\/p>\n

How do you do that while maintaining ethical standards in a system dominated by corporate money? Should a politician spend all his political capital on ethics reform, or should he focus on other issues?<\/p>\n

The source argued that it\u2019s not Richardson, the legislature or an ethics task force that has the power to clean up state government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the American people are going to keep supporting the candidate who raises the most money, what are you going to do about it?\u201d he asked. \u201cI\u2019ll admit, I feel pressured if someone gives me a lot of money. I feel pressured, even if there\u2019s nothing overt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The age-old question in politics, he said, is when to compromise and when to stand firm. Without taking campaign contributions and corporate money, the other issues don\u2019t matter much, he said, because those candidates won\u2019t get elected.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s right about one thing: Corporate money rules politics in America because Americans allow it. As long as public cynicism of politics translates into doing nothing, the door is open for corporate money and lobbyists to take control.<\/p>\n

We have a duty not only to vote, but to be actively involved in politics. Our absence creates a void that is filled by corporations that only care about making money.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I would argue that Richardson should spend all his political capital on cleaning up state ethics. Take the influence of lobbyists and corporate money out of politics, and decisions suddenly become about doing the right thing rather than staying in office. Debate on every issue becomes about merit, rather than money.<\/p>\n

Then again, most would say Richardson isn\u2019t willing to spend all his political capital to clean up state ethics laws. He needs corporate money for his next project.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Changing subjects, Bob Schwartz has a new job, a month after dropping out of the Republican primary in the attorney general race. The former district attorney and state crime adviser to Richardson was trounced in the pre-primary nominating convention by Jim Bibb because of his ties to the Richardson administration.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

Schwartz began work last week in the Regulation and Licensing Department, Superintendent Edward Lopez confirmed Monday in response to my question. Schwartz will serve as a prosecutor in the department, focused on arguing at hearings for tough sanctions against liquor establishments that serve alcohol to minors and intoxicated persons.<\/p>\n

Lopez said Schwartz will also be tasked with assisting him in defining the department\u2019s role in \u201cthe governor\u2019s war on DWI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sends a clear message to all with liquor licenses in the state that we\u2019re serious,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Schwartz will be paid about $71,000 annually for his work.<\/p>\n

Schwartz and Lopez are both moderate Republicans who have chosen to work in Richardson\u2019s administration despite opposition from their party. But if they can help make a difference by cracking down on bars and stores that have ignored liquor laws in the past, who cares what some Republicans think about them.<\/p>\n

After all, politics should be about making a difference, right?<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t write today about the immigrant boycott because not much happened that wasn\u2019t expected. Some protested. Some stayed home from work. Most didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading today. Keep telling your friends about my blog, and come back tomorrow for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}