Look, I've Said it Before

It's going from bad to worse for Governor Bill Richardson (subscription):

Gov. Bill Richardson said Thursday the state Transportation Department's headquarters project hasn't been tainted by campaign contributions and fundraising help from developer Gerald Peters.

"Of course not," he said in response to a question during a news conference.

"Look, I've said it before. There's no connection between donations and what happens in state government," Richardson said. "That's always been an established principle."

You know he's right. He has had to say it before - many, many times. There was that Guy Riordan problem. And, who can forget the Santa Fe Reporter's article on All the Governor's Men? Then there are all those state government jobs that were created for the Bill Richardson's favorite donors. Oh, and I almost forgot about that time that more than a few eyebrows were raised when "a developer's family members and their businesses contributed at least $130,000 to Gov. Bill Richardson's campaign several months after a family business was granted direct access to a city thoroughfare for a shopping-center project."

Well, at least the Governor has assured us that there is no connection between donations and what happens in state government.

Oops, Too Late to Avoid Taint

It looks like Governor Bill Richardson's Administration is in the middle of yet another sticky situation at a most inopportune time (subscription):

The Journal reported last week that the Transportation Department and SCS, a company affiliated with Richardson supporter and friend Gerald Peters, were discussing a headquarters of about 170,000 square feet— down from the 300,000 initially called for by the department.

In general terms, SCS is to build a headquarters and provide a Rail Runner station for the state free of charge in return for the right to develop the rest of the Transportation Department property.

The Journal also has reported that defendants in the Metropolitan Courthouse construction scandal in Albuquerque were linked to the early stages of the planned redevelopment on a 25-acre tract near downtown Santa Fe.

One of them was hired as project manager for the DOT redevelopment and two flew on state planes to out-of-state meetings about the headquarters redevelopment.

A new federal indictment alleges the same defendants in the courthouse case also conspired to corrupt another DOT project, which state officials have identified as the proposed redevelopment of its District 5 regional office on Santa Fe's southside.

That's an awful lot of defendants to be connected to a man running for President of the United States. It will be interesting to see if this reignites national investigations into other questionable Richardson activities.

Combine Governor Richardson's numerous gaffes on the campaign trail with his one degree of separation from several shady characters, and it becomes very clear why some folks are pretty disappointed with Governor Richardson:

The New York Observer’s Steve Kornacki writes that Bill Richardson “might just be the biggest disappointment of all” the White House candidates. The “hesitant, confused and jarringly inarticulate man the country has met this year is a far cry from the savvy and confident leader that his resume might lead one to expect.”

Stay tuned for more fallout.

What's Worse Than Tax Holiday

I wrote not long ago about how ridiculous New Mexico's back to school tax holiday is because there is little rhyme or reason to the exemptions. Well, leave it to Santa Fe City Council to top that absurdity:

The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a budget shortfall of $200,000 that it needs to fill. Every city, county and state faces this dilemma, and there are only two policy options: cut spending or raise taxes. To no one's surprise, the city council has chosen to raise taxes, but people should be surprised at the dreadful choice of tax the council has made. Instead of a tiny hike in a broad-based tax that most people in the city pay, it has chosen to violate every principle of sound fiscal policy by raising taxes on specific "unhealthy" products.

Yeah, that's brilliant.

Wait, Richardson Got It Started

Bill Richardson's latest ploy to appeal to the voters (subscription) in Iowa and New Hampshire is just too funny:

Presidential hopeful Gov. Bill Richardson appealed Saturday for an end to the one-upsmanship among states vying to hold the earliest Democratic party primary.

Speaking after a campaign stop at a home in Exeter, the New Mexico Democrat said he believes it is important that the leadoff roles of Iowa and New Hampshire "not be usurped."

What makes this so funny? Well, it was Bill Richardson who took a leadership role in kicking off this "one upsmanship among states" by pushing for an early Western Primary:

Richardson is leading an effort by four Western states -- New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona -- to hold a regional primary in the first week in February 2008, shortly after the Iowa and New Hampshire contests. Most of these states have large Hispanic populations and can be won by either party.

I don't have a problem with the idea of the early Western Primaries, but I think it is ridiculous for Bill Richardson to now try to stop the snowball he got started in the first place.

Scratch Your Head and Wonder

Sometimes, I just don't get it. Good old Joe, Joe Monahan that is, has been around the political scene for an awfully long time. So, he knows how the game is played. He knows that to be competitive in the race for New Mexico's First Congressional District a candidate - even an incumbent candidate - is looking at a minimum $4 million ante. Yet, Joe Monahan continues to post this rubbish:

Meantime, on the Heather front, my Alligators had told us she was up in Farmington recently, her latest stop outside of her congressional district as she appears to be prepping for a US Senate run in the event Senator Domenici is sidelined. Now we've received confirmation of the visit in the form of an editorial from the Farmington Daily Times which acted like Heather's unusual side trip was all in a day's work. Wilson has also recently been to Clovis, Las Cruces and Los Alamos. If she's not testing the waters for the Senate, the NM Tourism Department ought to hire her.

C'mon Joe, there's no prepping for a US Senate run going on here. You know it, and I know it. What is happening is the same thing that happens every single election cycle. A congressional candidate shows up in all parts of the state because he or she is going to have to raise money from all parts of the state. Because of campaign funding limits. you can't be limited to a certain geography. Instead, you have to raise funds far and wide.

Even Patricia Madrid went deep into what used to be Tom Udall territory, Los Alamos, to hold a campaign fundraiser last election cycle.

So, how about it Joe? Can you stick a little closer to the facts? Otherwise, I'm afraid you're going to give all of us bloggers a bad name. You keep up this silly US Senate run stuff up, and it won't be long before an editor of the Alibi is counting you among the "blogger crackpots."

Lie, Cheat, Steal - Whatever Works

The Albuquerque Journal has an interesting piece today on New Mexico State Engineer, John D'Antonio (subscription):

When New Mexico's top water official argued in April for a billion-dollar water project to benefit Navajos who have no running water, he cited a public television documentary in support of his argument.

"The reality faced by many Navajo families today and the benefits of the settlement agreement were highlighted in a recent PBS documentary, 'The Water Haulers,' and many New Mexicans were shocked to realize the primitive conditions some of their neighbors are faced with," state engineer John D'Antonio wrote in an April 8 opinion piece published in the Albuquerque Journal.

What D'Antonio didn't say was that his agency helped pay for the documentary.

Ouch! If this was done by corporate America instead of a Richardson appointee, people would be screaming for someone's head to be served on a platter. I mean is anyone actually buying the story D'Antonio's is selling:

D'Antonio said it never occurred to him he should identify his agency's role in the documentary's production when he cited it in his April 8 opinion piece.

"Quite frankly, it didn't even cross my mind," he said in an interview.

D'Antonio said he thought of the documentary as "an educational piece."

"It wasn't a piece of propaganda," he said.

Yeah, like heck it wasn't. The State Engineer's office pays half of the production cost and then uses it to make the case to provide a billion dollar project to the group the financed the other half of the project.

Now, I admit it. I'm not a big fan of Mr. D'Antonio - going back to the days when he decided he could unilaterally create his own "laws" to seize our water rights. But, I guess this just serves to confirm that in the Bill Richardson Administration, anything goes.

Leave No Constituent Happy

I'm trying to figure out Mayor Marty Chavez's plans for post-2009. There's been a lot of speculation that he was planning on challenging Diane Denish in a Democratic Primary for Governor. But lately, all he seems focused on doing is alienating just about everyone in the City of Albuquerque.

First, he installs the red light cameras to the dismay of nearly every citizen. Then, he makes Albuquerque the sanctuary of illegal immigrants with criminal tendencies. Mayor Chavez follows that brilliant plan with an announcement that he is seriously considering closing all golf courses in an attempt to balance a budget shortfall of $200,000:

Mayor Martin Chávez warned this week that he will shut down municipal golf courses if needed to balance their budget.

Chávez delivered the warning during a meeting Thursday with Albuquerque's golf advisory board.

The board, meanwhile, is discussing whether to ask the City Council for an increase in golf rates.

"I will close the doors," Chávez said he told the golf board. "I have to balance the books."

This coming from the guy whose administration went hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget on a couple of towers and tried to raise taxes to build an unneeded trolley down Central. Kinda makes you wonder what he's got planned next. I really can't figure out who he has left to alienate.

Eye on New Mexico

Did you catch me on Eye on New Mexico on Sunday? Probably not, because I think it got bumped for sports programming to 5:00 a.m. in the morning. But never fear, you can watch it online in two parts by clicking on the links below:

• Part One we discuss Bill Richardson's Gay Gaffe and publicly funded campaigns in the context of whether or not the political process is broken.
  
  
• Part Two we discuss women on the Presidential ticket, unionization of the blogosphere, Albuquerque City Council and back to publicly funded campaigns.

Enjoy.

Classic Bill Richardson

You've got to love it. Governor Bill Richardson's attempt to portray himself as a fiscal conservative (subscription) is nothing short of amusing.

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson on Thursday blamed President Bush for the nation's economic woes as he released his own economic plan.

It includes a constitutional amendment to balance the budget, and it would eliminate congressional earmarks to reduce wasteful spending, and reduce tax breaks and loopholes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

If anyone on the national scene takes time to look into Bill Richardson's actual economic policy as Governor, they too would realize how ridiculous this is. First, someone please help me understand exactly what "economic woes" Bill Richardson is blaming on President Bush. Take a look at some of these facts presented by William Poole, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in a speech made earlier this year:

Three remarkable facts deserve attention. First, real GDP growth, though sluggish in 2002, has been robust since 2003, and the unemployment rate is now down to 4.6 percent. Second, long-term inflation expectations have hardly budged. Third, the quarterly average yield on 10-year nominal Treasury securities is actually slightly lower today than it was in mid 2002. The economy has performed well despite a near tripling of crude oil prices since December 2001. In years past, an energy price shock of this magnitude was typically associated with a substantial increase in inflation and a sharp recession.

Two things are different about energy price increases this time. One is that the increases were primarily a consequence of a booming world economy, which raised energy demand rather than a supply shock. Second, monetary policies here and in most other countries have done a fine job of anchoring inflation expectations.

Now, I am a fiscal conservative, so I do admit I'm not at all pleased by the overall growth in government spending we've experienced at the federal level. However, for this same reason, I can tell you unequivocally that Governor Richardson is not the man for the job in Washington. State spending in New Mexico during Richardson's tenure has increased at an astronomical rate.

All I can think is that maybe Bill Richardson's Eastern Nevada Field Director, Kristian Forland, helped draft the economic policy before his departure. At least, that would explain the fuzzy mathematical logic.

Drivers Licenses, College Education and Relationships

You HAVE to read Steve Terrell's post today. Let me give you a little taste:

But then [Bill] Richardson [Governor of New Mexico and Presidential Candidate] went on: “I’m for gays having relationships with undocumented workers, and I’ve always felt that way.”

I guess Governor Richardson feels that providing illegal immigrants with New Mexico driver's licenses and a free college education just doesn't go far enough. You can listen

Political Backpedaling

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz is in a very uncomfortable position:

"Don't ask, don't tell" policy on illegals doesn't apply to criminal investigations.

Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said in a Tuesday news conference that police are not to ask about a person's immigration status and will not enforce federal immigration laws.

But that doesn't mean police can't arrest an illegal immigrant or inquire about a person's immigration status in a criminal investigation, according to this morning's Albuquerque Journal .

"Any officer investigating criminal activity is allowed to inquire about immigration status and take any action necessary," said Schultz, who said there is a lot of confusion about APD policy regarding illegal immigrants.

Schultz said false information is circulating that criminals will not be asked their immigration status, the Journal reported.

Hmm, I wonder what the cause of that confusion is:

Some police officers told News 13 that the change could prevent some serious criminals who are illegal immigrants from being deported.

The policy, a copy of which was obtained by News 13, states, "Officers shall not inquire or seek proof of a person's immigration status, even if an arrest is made for a non-immigration criminal investigation."

Schultz said the policy is being misinterpreted.

"The intent that's there was never to prohibit officers from conducting a criminal investigation, and, during the course of that criminal investigation, determining the immigrant status of the person that they're dealing with," he said. "So, we need to clarify that."

Sorry Chief Schultz, but clarification is not the problem. The policy language is very clear. What you need and the City of Albuquerque need to do is let police officers enforce the law. Illegal immigrants are illegal.

Now to be fair, Chief Schultz is operating in a politcal environment in New Mexico that is full of mixed messages when it comes to immigration.

The 2008 Republican Presidential Ticket

I came across a blog that makes a pretty interesting political argument for why Republicans ought to think long and hard about having a woman on the Republican Presidential ticket in 2008:

A Clinton-Richardson ticket will be very formidable. It will probably be well ahead in the polls as the parties head toward their summer conventions in Denver (Democrats) and Minneapolis (Republicans).

As people who visit this site know, I -- along with a growing number of other activists -- believe the Republican Party will follow tradition at its peril. We are not going to beat an exciting, dynamic ticket like Clinton-Richardson with two aging white gentlemen. In fact, we already have the "aging, white gentlemen" vote.

We also need votes -- a lot of them -- from other groups including Hispanics and female professionals (teachers, doctors, lawyers, businesswomen), as well as younger people.

To do that, we need to tear up the old Republican "playbook." We may have to throw a few of what the football people call "Hail Marys." That means we have to take chances, something the underdog must do to achieve any hope of victory.

Personally, I don't think Bill Richardson is going to make the ticket. He is having one Dan Quayle moment after another every time he opens his mouth. Even Quayle didn't have those moments BEFORE being selected for ticket. Between Richardson's "touchy-feely" leanings, and his propensity to open mouth and insert foot, he is better suited to a position not quite so prominent in the national media.

More Government Mandates

Sorry for the blogging absence. It wasn't planned. Well, the absence was planned, but I had fully intended on blogging. The family and I took a little Northern NM/Southern Colorado pre-back to school escape and blogging just sort of fell by the wayside. That's not to say I couldn't have blogged from Chama, Telluride or Durango - I just decided not to do it.

After catching up on recent news stories, I'm glad I took the break. For starters there is this gem of a recommendation from the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Committee (subscription):

• That everyone in New Mexico be required to have health coverage.

Great, I love where this is is going. Maybe in the near future we can have state funded committees to recommend:

• That everyone in New Mexico be required to have life insurance coverage.
• That everyone in New Mexico be required to have pet insurance coverage.
• That everyone in New Mexico be required to have property insurance coverage.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

And, it looks like this is not the only committee working overtime coming up with foolish recommendations on how to solve all that is wrong with the world. The Ethics Committee is back in the saddle with yet another brilliant recommendation:

Lobbyists would have to reveal how much they are being paid and wear badges identifying themselves and their clients if state government adopts recommendations by a task force studying ethics reforms.

The panel, appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson, recommended the New Mexico Legislature consider these and other proposals in a special session.

“The public deserves to know who’s influencing our laws,” said task force member Fred Nathan, who heads a local think tank called Think New Mexico.

Why stop with making lobbyists wear badges at the Roundhouse? We all know that all lobbyists are evil people who do nothing but corrupt our democratic system. We also know that their devilish efforts are not limited to the thirty and sixty day session. These lobbyists can be found throughout the year at committee meetings as well as local coffeehouses and restaurants poisoning the minds of our honest and hard working elected officials.

Let's do this right and have a recommendation with some teeth. Pass a law to require, from this day forth, that all lobbyists sew a yellow star onto all of their clothing, so that they are easily identifiable to the good people of New Mexico.

Welcoming the Vice President to Albuquerque

So, guess which one of your local favorite political bloggers was on the tarmac yesterday greeting Vice President Cheney when he arrived in Albuquerque (subscription)? That's right, yours truly was third in line to say, "It's good to see you back in Albuquerque, Mr. Vice-President."

Education Failures Continue to Increase

It's that time year again. The time when the No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress Reports comes out. Again, our schools are failing to deliver on improvement promises made by everyone from Governor Bill Richardson on down.

Two years ago, I went on a rant about the lack of a sense of urgency on the part of our education administrators and Governor appointees regarding the lack of progress. Then last year, I pointed out that the news had gone from bad to worse with more than 54% of schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

And guess what, this year we've fallen even further with more than 58% of the schools failing to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress. How much worse, can this get before we decide continuing along the same path year after year is just not working?

The spin coming from Governor Richardson's appointee (subscription) is nothing less than nauseating:

Statewide, more than 58 percent of New Mexico's schools didn't make adequate yearly progress. That figure is up slightly from 54.1 percent last year.

But state Education Secretary Veronica Garcia pointed out Friday that some schools found themselves on the failing list even though they met or exceeded proficiency standards in reading and math. Garcia pointed out 13 schools labeled as failing, even though they met proficiency targets for all students. Among those schools were Montessori of the Rio Grande and Twenty-First Century, both of Albuquerque.

"To label a school as failing— not making AYP for missing, for example, participation rate in one subgroup— and labeling the whole school as failing is very misleading to everyone," Garcia said. She said while the spirit behind the law is admirable, its implementation can be unfair.

Political Spin 101 is to reframe the issue to shift focus from your failures. If you reclassify those 13 schools the Education Secretary is referencing does that paint a prettier picture? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it would still mean that more than 50% of our schools are failing to meet Adequate Yearly Progress. No matter how you slice it or dice it, this is unacceptable.

And, what does APS have to say about their continued failure:

APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta said the district will scrutinize the designations carefully to ensure their accuracy.

"We are going to go page by page, school by school, category by category," Armenta said.

Oh yeah, that's the problem. The reports aren't accurate. Glad to see you've got your focus in the right place. Speaking of having things in the right place. Don't you think it is odd that APS has a news section on their front page, but fails to provide notification the latest Adequate Yearly Progress Reports have been released.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that APS, as a district, is failing for at least the second year in a row. Now, I'm not a big fan of breaking up the district because research doesn't demonstrate that will change much of anything. However, the time has come to revisit school choice options. Our government is failing, and it is time to give the responsibility of educating our children back to parents.

Back to School Shopping

So, that back to school tax holiday starts today. And, you can download the list of items to be purchased tax free here. But, I think it's worth taking a moment to call out some of a couple of "school essentials" that are showing up:

• Corsets and corset laces
• Diapers (adult and baby, cloth or disposable)
• Fur clothing, coats and stoles
• Garters/garter belts
• Lingerie
• Nightgowns and night shirts
• Pajamas
• Religious clothing
• Tuxedos, purchased
• Bridal gowns and veils, sold

Now, I know what your thinking. That is a bizarre list of items for going back to school. Just what are they teaching in those schools these days? Well, you're thinking that unless you happen to work for the New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue:

The state Department of Taxation and Revenue takes a broader view.

"We don't know if someone is not going to use a wedding dress in a school production or a tuxedo during a school activity," Libby Gonzales, director of revenue processing division, said. "We can't judge that."

Gonzales said the list was drafted by a large group in her department

"Women's lingerie is clothing that people need to go to school," she said.

Gonzales also said you never know what people will need. For example, diapers for babies and adults are tax-free.

"The list goes on and on and on, but you have to draw the line somewhere," she said.

To be clear, taxation and revenue said the lingerie could be worn under school clothes.

And, I guess you need the "fur clothing, coats and stoles" for over school clothes. Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for tax holidays, but like I said yesterday, a pet peeve of mine is tax incentives for specific industries. What is good for goose is for the gander. If we're going to provide tax holiday, let's not let certain industries lobby their way in to take advantage and then pretend they have something to do with going back to school.

Sometimes You've Got to Spend a Little

I've been thinking about this trip to China that Mayor Martin Chavez took, and as much as I enjoy taking the Mayor to task for questionable spending practices, I can't begrudge him spending $8,500 to make the trip to China (subscription). I'm inclined to agree that from a business perspective, it's a smart move.

There is a lot of talk about how government can promote economic development, and targeted tax incentives that benefit one industry but not others are a pet peeve of mine. However, I do believe that government representatives can be in a position to begin a dialogue that can be beneficial to all involved. Now, had Mayor Chavez's trip been solely about bringing a panda to the Albuquerque Zoo, I would have had a very different take on it value.

There was one part of the Albuquerque Journal article that I did find troubling:

City Council President Debbie O'Malley, who has criticized the cost of trying to bring pandas to the Rio Grande Zoo, said she's not sure the trip to China was worth it.

"I really wonder if it's necessary— I do," O'Malley said Tuesday. "I wonder what the real benefits are of his going to China. We're a midsized city."

Those last two sentences demonstrate a real lack of vision on the part of City Council President Debbie O'Malley. No wonder Councilor O'Malley is such a proponent for government subsidized housing. She seems to believe that you can never become more than what you already are.