Political Favors at Taxpayer Expense

Some people never learn. Governor Bill Richardson has been exposed not once, but twice for illegally creating and then handing out cushy jobs to a long list of supporters with questionable qualifications. On top of that a minor media uproar was caused when UNM spent a $120,000 to create a new position for the Governor's spokesman, Billy Sparks. Now Governor Richardson has gone and done it again:

The Center for Economic Development at the University of New Mexico has hired the governor's director of Cabinet affairs as project manager.

Bianca Ortiz Wertheim, wife of Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman John Wertheim, will start the position in August.

The position, which was just created, drew 60 applicants, UNM officials said.

Ortiz Wertheim received an MBA from the UNM Anderson Schools of Management in 1999. She worked as a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society for three years before joining Gov. Bill Richardson's office in 2004.

Oh, I know what you're thinking. It's just a coincidence that this is another newly created position. It's just a coincidence that Mrs. Wertheim is married to the Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman. It's just a coincidence that her previous job was working for the Governor. After all, there were sixty applicants and it was only because of Mrs. Wertheim's impressive resume and substantial background in the arena of economic development that she got the job.

Yeah, and Manny Aragon was the best choice for president of New Mexico Highlands University.