Why Now?

Yesterday's Albuquerque Journal (subscription) had a story that began:

The attorney general's office says its request for documents from a charitable foundation set up by state Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna is separate from the office's investigation into a contract Serna signed with a bank.

Now there is a glaring problem with that sentence. It is what's known as lying by omission. The sentence should have began:

The attorney general's office says its request for documents from a charitable foundation set up by state Insurance Superintendent Eric Serna and Attorney General Patricia Madrid is separate from the office's investigation into a contract Serna signed with a bank.

That's right, our Attorney General is investigating the foundation she set up. Just what sort of leadership role did she have in how it was established? I'm glad you asked:

2001: Serna is co-chairman, along with Attorney General Patricia Madrid, of a panel that forms Con Alma, a charitable foundation that gives grants to community health care programs. Money to start the foundation comes from the assets of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, which was being sold.

Also that year, the Public Regulation Commission, on a split vote, selects Serna as superintendent of the Insurance Division. The PRC oversees that division.

Oh, and don't you think for a minute that Patricia Madrid was just a figurehead removed from the day to day operations.

"When I first reviewed the proposed sale of Los Alamos Medical Center, my priority was on the short-term and long-term health care needs and interests of the residents of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties who were served by the hospital. That same priority was applied as I considered how to distribute the $4.5 cash portion of the $11.5 million settlement. These charitable health care assets are being distributed to Con Alma Health Foundation and the Hospital Auxiliary of the Los Alamos Medical Center. The awards, in the amount of $3.5 million to Con Alma and $1 million to the Auxiliary, are to be used to make grants to serve unmet health needs of the people historically served by the Los Alamos Medical Center," Attorney General Patricia Madrid said.

That was taken from a press release from the Attorney General's office. There is no denying it, Madrid was intimately involved in bringing money into Con Alma. And who got to manage that money? I thought you'd never ask.

SFR has learned that investor Guy Riordan heads up a

Eric Serna, above, says he considers Guy Riordan, below, a friend, but was not involved in the decision to have Wachovia handle Con Alma's investments.

team from the national brokerage firm Wachovia Securities that is entrusted with handling nearly $23.5 million worth of investments for the Con Alma Health Foundation.

That's right, Governor Richardson's drinking buddy and a top palm greaser of both the Governor and both indicted former State Treasurers. You know, the State Treasurers that Attorney General Madrid refused to investigate. Also please note what it says under Serna's picture. "[Serna] was not involved in the decision to have Wachovia handle Con Alma's investments."

That's odd, because:

At least one former Con Alma board member, Barbara McAneny (CEO of New Mexico Oncology and Hematology Consultants), says Riordan's involvement with Con Alma is worrisome in light of the recent testimony.

"Hearing all of this, I'm concerned as to whether we did the job we were supposed to do," McAneny says "and I'm concerned whether we had the appropriate stewardship of that money."

McAneny - who served on the board from Con Alma's inception in 2002 until 2005 when the board declined to re-elect her - also questions how Wachovia was chosen to handle Con Alma's finances.

"It was a done deal by the time it got to the board," McAneny says. "We were told here are your financial advisors' and that was it."

So, then who does that leave making the investment decisions? Attorney General Patricia Madrid? Governor Richardson? Am I the only one who finds it unnerving that:

Agents of the attorney general were wheeling cartons of papers out of PRC offices even as the commission met behind closed doors to discuss Serna's future.

Why Now? Why would Attorney General Patricia Madrid pick this scandal to investigate? Why wouldn't she take the lead in calling for an investigation by an independent prosecutor? What is in those cartons of papers that were being wheeled out of PRC offices? What does it mean when the Attorney General's representative says (subscription):

Spokeswoman Sam Thompson said no timeline has been set to finish the investigation.

"We understand they would like to move as expeditiously as possible, but we are trying to do a thorough job,'' she said.

Is that a creative way of saying we are not going to be able to complete this investigation until after the November elections? Is the Attorney General trying to minimize the damage this could do to her Congressional campaign? Is she trying to keep from getting indicted?

Tax and Spend

These last few years, the New Mexico state budget has grown to monstrous proportions thanks to taxes paid by the oil and gas industry. Yet, as prices rise at the pump, Governor Richardson's next great idea is to hit the oil and gas industry with a request for another $50 million in "voluntary" taxes.

Heck, if $50 million is all he needs, why doesn't he ask billionaire Richard Branson to pay for his own spaceport, and then he'll have a $100 million to help New Mexicans at the pump. Or maybe, Governor Richardson can put the train to nowhere on hold and give back New Mexicans $350 million to help them at the pump.

Of course, Governor Richardson is not alone in the stupid idea category. Patricia Madrid - in a lame attempt to change the focus from the eight years of political corruption that thrived under her tenure as Attorney General - has decided to jump on the gas-to-high bandwagon and make it a campaign issue. Her answer, like Richardson, is to raise taxes on oil companies.

This is the problem with career politicians. They haven't got a clue how the business world works. Let me make it real simple folks. The government raise taxes, businesses increase prices. Consumers pay more, not less. If Madrid and Richardson want to do something for New Mexicans at the pump, how about they push for an elimination of the 36.4 cents a gallon in taxes we pay every time we fill up our tank with gas?

Pay to Play in Santa Fe

Monahan had a post on those who are donating their past contributions from Riordan to charity. It is interesting to go to Political Moneyline and note those who are hoping their ties to Riordan don't turn up:

Gary King (2004) - $500 - currently running for Attorney General
Eric Serna (1998) - $500 - currently being investigated
Jeff Bingaman (1994) -$1,000 - running for re-election to the U.S. Senate

However, what I find most interesting is that despite the portrait that has been painted in the press of Guy Riordan as a longtime big contributor in the Democratic Party, the truth is that there is no evidence at FollowTheMoney.org of him writing the really big checks until Bill Richardson first ran for Governor in 2002. His contributions going back a few years to folks like Manny Aragon were chump change compared to what he started writing to the Governor.

Which brings us to those nasty rumors that Governor Richardson, not unlike the Treasurers under indictment, runs a pay to play government in the Land of Enchantment. I can't help but wonder how many of the other large Richardson contributors noted in 2004 and 2002 have coincidentally landed lucrative state government contracts, or seen the terms of their pre-existing contracts sweetened?

Task Force Time

What to do, what to do? You're a Governor running for re-election with an eye on the White House, and one of your closest friends and largest contributors, the guy you take with you to World Series and Super Bowls, is finally fingered in the corruption scandals that are plaguing the state. Obviously, you need to focus the attention away from yourself, so you do the thing that comes naturally - you create yet another task force.

Governor Bill Richardson today announced the creation of a task force that will work immediately to develop a broad package of recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature to reform the state's ethics and campaign-finance laws.

"It is unacceptable that New Mexico does not limit or include any accountability for campaign contributions or gifts to elected officials," Governor Richardson said during a speech today to members of the Southern New Mexico chapter of Common Cause. "I will involve the Legislature in the development of the recommendations. But I also want good-government advocates to help us develop the toughest possible ethics and campaign-finance laws."

Problem is I don't remember Governor Richardson bparticularlyiarly eager to curb contributions to his own campaign during this last legislative session: (subscription):

Gov. Bill Richardson wants lawmakers to postpone work on broad ethics or lobbying reforms until next year and instead focus on anti-corruption proposals developed in the wake of a kickback scandal involving state treasurers.

Richardson's comments came Wednesday after a Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to prohibit campaign contributions and most gifts to legislators and state elected officials - such as the governor and treasurer - from companies and individuals providing investment or financial services to the state.

Sorry Governor Richardson, but I don't think anyone is going to be fooled by your latest use of smoke and mirrors, I mean task forces. You had a chance to prove yourself ethical, and you came down hard on a bill that would have limited your ability to raise money.

Richardson Slow to React

In September 2005, the Albuquerque Journal ran a front page article (subscription) on a big Bill Richardson supporter, Guy Riordan:

A broker with close ties to Gov. Bill Richardson conducted $1.2 billion in investment business with the state Treasurer's Office in the last budget year.

The business with Wachovia Securities represented one-third of all Treasurer's Office purchases of federal agency bonds, corporate bonds and commercial paper. The remaining two-thirds went to 12 other brokers, according to Treasurer's Office monthly reports.

Wachovia Securities' contact with the Treasurer's Office is Guy Riordan, a managing director for the company in Albuquerque.

He has contributed at least $28,000 to Richardson's campaign fund and helped raise other money for the governor. He was appointed by Richardson in January 2003 to the state Game Commission, which Riordan has chaired.

Did Governor Richardson immediately ask for Mr. Riordan to step down from his Game Commission appointment and away from any New Mexico business? No.

The Journal went on to do a series of articles on Guy Riordan with details like this (subscription):

Politics often being a two-way street, Riordan, a stockbroker, received billions of dollars in government investment work from elected officials.

Riordan attracted little public notice over the years; he was just one of the many who quietly work the political system and make money from it.

But whether by design, inevitability or some combination, the spotlight has found Riordan.

He has palled around with Gov. Bill Richardson and is a Richardson appointee to the state Game Commission.

He also handled government investments for former state treasurers Robert Vigil and Michael Montoya, both indicted in September on corruption charges.

Riordan hasn't been charged with a crime and has said his company prohibits him from talking about his business with the Treasurer's Office.

Still there was no action by Governor Richardson to remove this man from involvement with state government. Then all of a sudden after six months of exposes the Governor finally decides to remove Mr. Riordan:

But on Tuesday, Richardson announced that he was removing Riordan from his position on the state Game Commission. A spokesman said the governor is concerned about the accusations.

I don't get it. This is the Governor who is known for moving fast, very fast. Yet, when it comes to acting on matters of corruption, he moves like molasses.

The Numbers Speak Loudly

We all know that the Democratic Party is supposed to be the party of the little people. However, someone forgot to tell Patricia Madrid that:

Last quarter, Madrid's average contribution was $191, showing that the majority of her support comes from small donors.

Well, if we are to believe Madrid's claim, then everyone must acknowledge that there are a heck of a lot more of those small donors supporting Congresswoman Heather Wilson. Heather's average campaign contribution was $82. That's right less than half of the number Madrid is touting.

Following the Governor's Advice

Yesterday's Journal had a front page article (subscription) about Governor Richardson calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld:

Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should resign, in part because "our policy in Iraq is just not working."

"My view is the secretary should step aside," Richardson said at the outset of a 10-minute interview on "Face the Nation," a Sunday morning national news show hosted by Bob Schieffer.

Richardson went on to say:

"This reaches a new level of not being willing to admit mistakes and change policy that is just not working," Richardson added. He spoke in a live by satellite from Santa Fe.

Ok, I'm willing to accept the Governor's logic. Architects of unsuccessful public policy should resign. Of course, this line of thinking does present something of a quandary for our Governor Richardson. As I recall, the Governor has made himself clearly responsible for the success or failure of our education system:

Yes on One means now there will be a Secretary of Education -- providing real accountability for our educational system -- and ensuring that for the first time, the buck stops with one person, the Governor.

Yet after nearly four years in office, our education system is still one of the worse performing in the nation, but hey, don't take my word for it. Go read what the National Report Card on Higher Education has to say about the K-12 experience in New Mexico. They give our state a great big F, and provide this as the rationale:

Over the past decade, New Mexico has shown no notable progress in preparing students to succeed in college. New Mexico is one of only two states to receive an F in preparation this year.

And it's not just the education community that is taking notice of the Governor's failures to improve our school systems.

[Vern Raburn, CEO of Eclipse] needs good public schools in order to succeed.

It's not that Raburn can't or hasn't been able to recruit engineers and other talent from other states. He can. But that doesn't mean he'll keep them.

Raburn says he loses valuable employees for two primary reasons: Albuquerque's too brown for some out-of-staters to get used to and its public school system is too poor for his employees to accept it as the educational provider for their children. Most employees get used to the brown if they last a year, but they often become disenchanted with the schools.

So there you have it. Everyone agrees the education policies of Governor Richardson are failing our students and hurting our businesses. Therefore, I'm calling for the resignation of Governor Bill Richardson. Governor Richardson should resign, in part because our education policy in New Mexico is just not working. My view is the Governor should step aside, or at the very least give up the silly idea of running for re-election.

Simple Graphs

Next time you read about Governor Richardson and our legislators spending record breaking levels of taxpayer cash, I hope you'll think of these graphs.

The Heavy Hand of Bill Richardson

I'm not sure the Republican candidate for Governor, Dr. J.R. Damron, is getting the attention he needs to go ahead and really give Governor Bill Richardson a run for his money. Apparently though, the Governor is not willing to take any chances, and strangely Richardson's first behind the scenes strike is not at the candidate, but at the candidate's wife, Barbara Damron:

Barbara Damron, wife of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. J.R. Damron, says she was "pressured" to resign from the St. Vincent Regional Medical Center's governing board by hospital officials who feared retribution from Gov. Bill Richardson.

Barbara Damron said in an interview this week that St. Vincent chief executive officer Alex Valdez told her "he had heard comments around the Roundhouse that my being on the hospital board was jeopardizing the hospital's getting our requested funds."

This action by the Governor is right up there with those bed taxes the Governor enacted a few years ago before political pressure forced him to rescind them. Oh, and what kind of woman is Mrs. Damron:

Damron, an oncology nurse and Ph.D. psychologist, was the first nurse to be appointed to the board and had previously resigned as Chairwoman of the board when her husband, J.R., began his campaign for governor.

In addition, Damron has received the Roche Distinguished Service Award - the Oncology Nursing Society's highest honor, was named a "Woman on the Move" by the YWCA of the Middle Rio Grande at a 2004 awards banquet, and has been the recipient of numerous other awards.

Governor Richardson has stooped to a new low.

Skyrocket Success

Every time you read something like this (subscription):

Tuition at the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute will increase.

UNM regents on Tuesday approved a 6.1 percent increase in tuition that will raise the cost for a full-time New Mexico undergraduate to $4,360 a year for the 2006-07 academic year.

Make sure to think of Governor Richardson's priorities. Then again, maybe the spaceport should be considered a success - it has already resulted in something skyrocketing.

Immigration Debate

I'm a first generation American on my father's side (Ecuadoreans), and a second generation American on my mother's side (Hungarian Jews), so I feel pretty close to this debate. In fact, I was recently in Florida talking to my aunt, my father's youngest sister, who is working on getting her residency. The thing is, she is doing it legally. She visits the country often to stay with my grandmother, who is now an American citizen, and it would be very simple for my aunt to just stay illegally, but she doesn't. She is going through the required channels to get her residency.

Considering my family background, it should be no surprise that I don't have a problem with immigration into the country. I firmly believe it is one of our greatest strengths as a nation. However, I have a huge problem with illegal immigration, and no matter how many people march, the fact remains that people who are here illegally are breaking the law, and if you're caught breaking the law there are consequences.

Now, I may feel compassion for the motivation driving these people to seek a better life in America, but that does not make it right. Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons simply does not make it right. If as a country, we want to open our borders to one and all, so be it. We should pass laws to that effect, and after we change the laws we can welcome all those who come forward. However, we should not reward unlawful behavior with amnesty.

Let everyone return to their country of origin and go through the process to return legally. Would that be an inconvenience, a disruption to many lives? Yes. However, that is the consequence of having broken the law in the first place. If my aunt can do it the right way, why can't they?

Don't Talk to Me

Some politicians are blogging, and how they are doing it speaks volumes about their views on public discourse.

No Comments Allowed:
Patricia Madrid
UPDATE: I just read what some members of the left thought about Patricia Madrid's recent speaking engagement. Now, I think I understand why Madrid is unwilling to have anyone post comments on her "blog."
Jim Baca

Open for Comments:
Martin Chavez
Greg Solano


If there are more politicians blogging, please let me know, and I'll add them.

Now That's Economic Development

I've never understood the rationale behind "economic development legislation" pushed at the city and state level in New Mexico. Legislative bodies and the various private commerce chambers and associations around the state are forever pushing incentives for one business or another. Session after session, council meeting after council meeting, ideas like IRB's with clawbacks, government funded job training programs, and tax breaks for particular industry clusters are passed.

It has always been my firm belief that specific industries should not be the beneficiaries of special interest legislation. Nor, should programs be so limited in scope that only a handful of businesses can possibly benefit. Instead, the approach should more closely resemble the approach taken by the City of Anaheim in California:

The council waived fees for homeowners undertaking renovations, on the grounds that the city would gain in the long run by the increase in property taxes. Anaheim also waived fees for business start-ups for three months; some 2,000 new businesses formed in 2005, an increase of one-third from the previous year. It also passed a tax amnesty and eliminated business taxes altogether for home-based businesses. Most cities don't like to allow churches to build new worship centers, because tax-exempt churches typically locate in commercial and industrial areas, taking properties off the tax rolls. Anaheim has eliminated most hurdles for approving new churches. Its housing plan also avoids "inclusionary zoning"--an increasingly popular approach to mandate that builders set aside certain amounts of "affordable" housing.

Think about it... A tax amnesty, waiving fees and eliminating taxes altogether for home-based businesses resulted in a 33.33% increase in the number of new businesses in the city! Now, that's what I call economic development.

Piecemeal legislation needs to stop, and large scale change should be the call of the day. Oh, and for the increase the minimum wage crowd, you're focusing on the wrong issue. Earning $7.50 an hour is no more "livable" than $5.50 an hour. Instead, make it easy for people to go into business for themselves, and they will likely earn significantly more, and while you're at it, you might want to make sure that every kid learns how business works.

Spend, Spend, Spend

Mayor Chavez has a new budget proposal (subscription), and surprise, surpise he is again proposing to exceed the rate of inflation. The excuse... well, shucks we've got a population boom. Hmm, you mean the 11% increase from last year didn't cover that?

Shh, I Think Patricia Madrid is Sleeping

Yesterday the Albuquerque Journal (subscription) had a huge front page article on Governor Richardson's apparent free rides at the expense of his buddies in the Payday Loan industry. Now, of course, I don't really care what industry Governor Richardson wants to get into bed with; however, I would prefer him to be straight with me:

The final entry is based only on airline tracking data and matched to the governor's schedule. Because that itinerary occurred in 2006, the DGA has not yet filed information that would indicate whether it was a donation.

A Richardson spokesman declined to say whether the governor had traveled on Advance America aircraft.

Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos last week said he would not answer specific questions about Richardson's DGA travel and turned down a Journal request to interview Richardson concerning the matter.

If you can't admit to your friends, what kind of stand up guy are you? Now, here is where things get really interesting. Attorney General Patricia Madrid has made the Payday Loan industry public enemy number one. Do you think AG Madrid will hold a press conference where she calls Governor Richardson to task?

Nah, me neither.