{"id":41117,"date":"2012-06-28T08:26:27","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T14:26:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=41117"},"modified":"2015-05-31T22:27:52","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T04:27:52","slug":"e-mail-mess-looks-a-lot-like-richardson-scandals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/06\/e-mail-mess-looks-a-lot-like-richardson-scandals\/","title":{"rendered":"E-mail mess looks a lot like Richardson scandals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Heath<\/a>

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

A company that donated to the governor\u2019s campaign won a lucrative state contract after hiring a political insider who was communicating privately with at least one person in the governor\u2019s inner circle before the contract was awarded. Think I\u2019m talking about Bill Richardson? Think again.<\/h4>\n

While a candidate for governor in 2010, Susana Martinez<\/a> worked hard to convince New Mexicans that state government was corrupt.<\/p>\n

For example, former Gov. Bill Richardson and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish created \u201cone of the most corrupt state governments in New Mexico history where \u2018pay-to-play\u2019 has become a household term,\u201d Martinez wrote in a guest column<\/a> for NMPolitics.net.<\/p>\n

Martinez promised to do things differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe acceptance of a culture of corruption will finally come to an end, and a new culture of zero tolerance and responsibility will be instilled in the Roundhouse as we once again serve the people we represent,\u201d she wrote in that same column.<\/p>\n

Well, we haven\u2019t seen proof of actual corruption. But the appearance created by the recent revelation that Martinez insiders, including some staffers, have discussed public business using private e-mail accounts smacks of the same sort of activity that got Richardson in so much trouble.<\/p>\n

The Downs deal<\/h3>\n

The most damning example yet was revealed Tuesday when the left-leaning Independent Source PAC<\/a> released a new batch of e-mails it had obtained. The three e-mails<\/a>, sent from attorney Pat Rogers to people close to Martinez, relate to the awarding of a contract for a 25-year lease at the state fairgrounds and were sent after the bidding process was complete but before the State Fair Commission approved the lease.<\/p>\n

Rogers represented the Downs at Albuquerque, which had already been recommended and ultimately won the contract. Companies have the right to lobby for contracts, and there are lots of e-mails Rogers sent to Martinez officials\u2019 government accounts, proving he did much of his communication through official channels.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s unique in this instance is that Rogers sent the three e-mails to Deputy Chief of Staff Ryan Cangiolosi\u2019s campaign e-mail account. Two of them also went to Martinez\u2019s political adviser, Jay McCleskey, who is not a state employee.<\/p>\n

In one e-mail, Rogers told Cangiolosi and McCleskey that a state fair commissioner who cried foul over the Downs at Albuquerque deal had copied an Albuquerque Journal reporter on an e-mail she sent to an official involved in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need 5 minutes of your time, quickly, this am, now,\u201d Rogers\u2019 e-mail states.<\/p>\n

As NMPolitics.net reported today<\/a>, the Martinez administration claims the e-mails to Cangiolosi were \u201cillegally intercepted\u201d and he never received them. Regardless, the situation raises questions about what other off-the-record communications Rogers had with people close to Martinez about the Downs deal.<\/p>\n

Why is that important? Rogers is a GOP insider. He\u2019s the Republican National committeeman<\/a> for New Mexico and a former general counsel for the state GOP. His client won the contract in question after giving at least $70,000 to Martinez\u2019s 2010 campaign (it also gave $50,000 to Martinez\u2019s opponent, Denish).<\/p>\n

And now we have evidence that Rogers was communicating or attempting to communicate about the contract, using private e-mail, with a Martinez government staffer and her political adviser \u2013 people who have influence.<\/p>\n

Martinez promised to be different<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s true that we don\u2019t know the full context of the e-mails, but the context doesn\u2019t really matter. The point is this: A company that gave lots of money to Martinez\u2019s 2010 campaign won a lucrative contract after hiring a GOP insider who was communicating privately about the contract, before it was awarded, with, at the very least, McCleskey \u2013 who Martinez has called \u201ca top adviser.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

How is that different than what Richardson did?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one important difference: There were too many situations like this in the Richardson years to track them all. We haven\u2019t seen as many from Martinez. That\u2019s an improvement.<\/p>\n

But it appears that such situations are still occurring.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not calling Martinez or her administration corrupt. We\u2019ve not seen proof of actual graft. However, we usually didn\u2019t see proof of actual pay-for-play in instances in which Richardson donors won state contracts. That didn\u2019t stop Martinez from working to convince voters \u2013 successfully \u2013 that Richardson\u2019s actions were actual corruption.<\/p>\n

And she promised to be different.<\/p>\n

Avoiding the appearance of impropriety<\/h3>\n

I understand that New Mexico is a small state and many of us have ties that create awkward ethical situations from time to time. We wear many hats. I\u2019ve disclosed repeatedly that I\u2019m friends with Bill McCamley, who is a candidate for a state House seat this year.<\/p>\n

In an ideal world, that would mean I never cover McCamley\u2019s races. But I don\u2019t have the resources to pass an entire race off to someone else. So I do the next best thing \u2013 be fully transparent about the situation and let you hold me accountable for providing fair coverage.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another example of the lengths I believe those who have influence over the public debate have to go at times to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Awhile back I was cited for running a stop sign in Las Cruces. I didn\u2019t believe I had run the stop sign, and considered contesting the ticket. I had every right to contest it.<\/p>\n

But that would have meant pleading my case before one of two municipal judges, and I had written about both having run-ins with the Judicial Standards Commission. I didn\u2019t want to create a situation in which, if I wrote positive stories about the judge, people would question the potential appearance of a quid pro quo: the dismissal of my ticket in exchange for more favorable coverage.<\/p>\n

So I paid the fine.<\/p>\n

Establishing that you have nothing to hide<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m not saying Rogers shouldn\u2019t represent a company seeking a state contract. That\u2019s his choice. But if he\u2019s going to do it, he\u2019d better make damn sure the situation is as transparent as possible. He should know that, given that he is on the board of the N.M. Foundation for Open Government and one of the best government transparency lawyers in the state. All communications should be through official channels \u2013 to government e-mail accounts, for example \u2013 so there\u2019s a public record. Creating a public record establishes that you have nothing to hide.<\/p>\n

Independent Source PAC\u2019s Michael Corwin told me that, in response to a records request, he received \u201ca whole bunch\u201d of e-mails that Rogers sent to Martinez officials\u2019 government accounts during the lease process. That\u2019s great. It\u2019s what should have happened with every e-mail. The fact that it wasn\u2019t raises further questions about why Rogers sent some to private addresses.<\/p>\n

McCleskey\u2019s request for information from the Public Education Department, which also recently came to light<\/a>, creates a similarly negative appearance. McCleskey first made the request verbally to public information officer Larry Behrens. Behrens sent his initial response<\/a> from his personal e-mail account to McCleskey. The personal e-mail accounts of high-raking Martinez administration officials were copied on the response.<\/p>\n

That creates the appearance that the request was to be off the books \u2013 an appearance that was compounded by the fact that Behrens separated union teachers from non-union teachers for McCleskey before sending him a list of teachers\u2019 e-mail addresses.<\/p>\n

That apparently wasn\u2019t what McCleskey wanted, and his consulting business later filed a formal, written request for teachers\u2019 addresses and received a formal denial.<\/p>\n

McCleskey should have used such formal channels from the start.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not because McCleskey isn\u2019t allowed to pick up the phone and request documents. McCleskey, like anyone else, is entitled to request information from government, and the Inspection of Public Records Act allows verbal requests. But McCleskey should instead make written, official requests to create public records and establish that he\u2019s using formal channels, not insider status, to get records.<\/p>\n

Martinez\u2019s next step<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s possible Martinez wasn\u2019t aware of Rogers\u2019 e-mails to people close to her about the state fairgrounds lease. And Behrens\u2019 response to McCleskey using his personal e-mail was sent to Martinez\u2019s susana2010.com address that her administration says was compromised, so it\u2019s possible she never saw it.<\/p>\n

Other e-mails that came to light recently show that Martinez was discussing Corrections Department business with staffers using a political action committee e-mail account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Martinez took a positive step last week by ordering state government employees to use state e-mail<\/a> when conducting official business \u2013 an order that apparently also applies to herself. Now she needs to take the next step and direct others around her, such as McCleskey and Rogers, to use official channels when they communicate with her administration about official business.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the appearance of special treatment for insiders created by these e-mails \u2013 the very same appearance Martinez correctly criticized Richardson for creating \u2013 will remain.<\/p>\n

This commentary has been updated to clarify that Rogers sent his e-mails after the bidding process was complete but before the contract was awarded. An earlier version incorrectly stated that he sent them before the bidding process was complete.<\/em><\/p>\n

Haussamen bio<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Commentary page<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susana Martinez promised to do things differently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[111,107,208],"class_list":["post-41117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-open-government","tag-roundhouse","tag-susana-martinez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41117","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=41117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}