{"id":234,"date":"2006-05-25T23:09:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-26T05:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/05\/he-does-exist-in-scathing-attack-damron-calls-richardson-administration-most-corrupt-ever\/"},"modified":"2006-05-25T23:09:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-26T05:09:00","slug":"he-does-exist-in-scathing-attack-damron-calls-richardson-administration-most-corrupt-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/05\/he-does-exist-in-scathing-attack-damron-calls-richardson-administration-most-corrupt-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"He does exist! In scathing attack, Damron calls Richardson administration most corrupt ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Republican gubernatorial candidate J.R. Damron has been silent thus far in the election season, baffling those who believe Gov. Bill Richardson is vulnerable on many issues.<\/p>\n

No more.<\/p>\n

In a speech he gave across the street from the federal courthouse Thursday in Albuquerque, Damron called Richardson\u2019s \u201cthe most corrupt administration in our state\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPay to play, abuse of power and cronyism have become just the way we do things in New Mexico,\u201d Damron said. \u201cMultiple Richardson administration officials have had to resign in disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether by fear and intimidation, or rampant nepotism, this governor and his cronies are conducting the state\u2019s business \u2013 the people\u2019s business \u2013 in an irresponsible and dishonest manner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Damron was announcing his proposal for ethics reform, which is included below along with a transcript of Damron\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

More interesting than the proposal was Damron\u2019s message to voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthics laws mean nothing when those who violate them are not held accountable for their actions. And if the people do not demand that their top elected officials, such as the governor and the attorney general, be held accountable, no one else will,\u201d Damron said. \u201cThe best and most important way to ensure our government operates in the highest ethical manner is to elect honest officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democracy requires debate and choice. Until Thursday, Damron was doing little to challenge Richardson\u2019s re-election campaign. I hope there is more of this to come in the next few months, and that Richardson also engages Damron.<\/p>\n

Maybe we\u2019ll even see the candidates in a debate. How about holding one in Las Cruces?<\/p>\n

Here are the details of Damron\u2019s ethics proposal and a transcript of his speech:<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Damron\u2019s ethics proposal:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Standing nonpartisan ethics commission<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. A standing nonpartisan ethics commission should be established.<\/p>\n

2. The commission will hold open, public meetings and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor on a codified, regulated standard code of conduct for all state employees.<\/p>\n

3. Ethics training, education and counseling must be made mandatory for all state employees and political appointees who have a fiduciary or procurement responsibility.<\/p>\n

4. The commission must be empowered to punish those who violate this code.<\/p>\n

5. All ethics findings and\/or violations must become part of the public record.<\/p>\n

6. The governor should be required to present an annual state-of-ethics report to the legislature, at which time he and the ethics commission will be required to answer questions about the report by members of the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Eliminating Cronyism<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Implement a rigorous, merit-based system for hiring qualified state and political appointees.<\/p>\n

2. Establish a thorough vetting process.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Eliminating Pay to Play
<\/strong>
1. All political appointees will have to submit and sign annual financial disclosures, which will be open to the public.<\/p>\n

2. Any company with business before the state will be prohibited from contributing to the campaigns of any sitting elected state official. All meetings concerning RFPs (requests for proposals) must be open to the public and include all bidders.<\/p>\n

3. The timely disclosure of travel expenses and funding from all state elected officials and political appointees will be required.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Transcript of Damron\u2019s speech<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Good afternoon. I\u2019m J.R. Damron, and I\u2019m here today to prescribe a solution for ending the corruption and scandals that are running amok in our state government.<\/p>\n

For the last three and a half years, New Mexico has had to endure the most corrupt administration in our state\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

In the courthouse across the street, the trial for the worst scandal in our state government\u2019s history just played out.<\/p>\n

Pay to play, abuse of power, and cronyism have become just the way we do things in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Multiple Richardson administration officials have had to resign in disgrace.<\/p>\n

Friends, you can be blind or you can turn a blind eye, but the most hands-on governor we\u2019ve ever had can\u2019t use either of those excuses.<\/p>\n

Whether by fear and intimidation, or rampant nepotism, this governor and his cronies are conducting the state\u2019s business – the people\u2019s business – in an irresponsible and dishonest manner.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a leadership problem.<\/p>\n

I find it strange that this administration has to look to another task force to find its ethics. It\u2019s been my experience that if you have to look outside for something, you probably didn\u2019t have it at home in the first place!<\/p>\n

Strong ethics are the backbone of good government, not something you make up as you go along.<\/p>\n

We must seek to bring more transparency in general to government by opening more meetings and documents to the public.<\/p>\n

Pay to play and cronyism are games that must stop.<\/p>\n

The governor has established an ethics task force to study what new laws or regulations may be passed. And there are steps that should be taken to restore higher ethical standards to our state government and discourage corruption. These include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Enforcing a rigorous merit-based system of hiring qualified state and political appointees and implementing a thorough vetting process.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Implementing a standing nonpartisan ethics commission. We are one of only a few states that doesn\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The commission should hold open, public meetings and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor on a codified, regulated standard code of conduct for all state employees and officials.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ethics training, education and counseling must be made available to all state employees and be made mandatory for all state employees and political appointees who have a fiduciary or procurement responsibility.<\/p>\n

But laundry lists of new ethics guidelines or laws are not a magic bullet. Every time an official violates the law or behaves in an unethical manner, the first impulse is to pass more new laws. But the bottom line is that ethics mean nothing to unethical people, and new laws are meaningless if the current ones are not being enforced.<\/p>\n

Ethics laws mean nothing when those who violate them are not held accountable for their actions. And if the people do not demand that their top elected officials, such as the governor and the attorney general, be held accountable, no one else will.<\/p>\n

The best and most important way to ensure our government operates in the highest ethical manner is to elect honest officials.<\/p>\n

The headlines from over the past year show just how endangered democracy is in New Mexico. It is embedded with corruption and unethical officials at virtually all levels of government, all the way up to the Fourth Floor of the Roundhouse.<\/p>\n

Our governor demonstrates his lack of ethical standards all too clearly, even in the legislation he chooses to sign or veto.<\/p>\n

Let me ask you, what kind of governor – what kind of man – saddles the most vulnerable of our state with a $3,200-a-year bed tax, and then uses taxpayer money to buy a new $5 million jet?<\/p>\n

What kind of man spends half a million dollars trying to get a pro-football team, but vetoes money for homeless children?<\/p>\n

How is it that this governor couldn\u2019t find $7,000 for school library books for our kids, even with a $1.4 billion surplus?<\/p>\n

Not the kind of governor who puts New Mexicans first.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s a headline I threw in just for fun. \u201cGovernor pays $200,000 for new ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well here\u2019s an idea: How about electing an honest and ethical governor to lead New Mexico?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to put New Mexicans first. It\u2019s time to make the state\u2019s opaque government as transparent as possible in order to protect their best interests. And it\u2019s time to throw out corrupt, dishonest officials and replace them with people who have a track record of honesty and integrity.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

This should make the election a bit more interesting. Chew on that while you enjoy the holiday weekend, and come back Monday for more on New Mexico politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republican gubernatorial candidate J.R. Damron has been silent thus far in the election season, baffling those who believe Gov. Bill Richardson is vulnerable on many issues. No more. In a speech he gave across the street from the federal courthouse Thursday in Albuquerque, Damron called Richardson\u2019s \u201cthe most corrupt administration in our state\u2019s history.\u201d \u201cPay […]<\/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-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","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=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}